Humanities College Course Fall 2009

To join the Humanities College, select up to three of the following courses as your top foundation seminar preferences (in order of preference).

HUMN 098 01 CRN: 1444
Myth, Reason, Faith
Prof. Harold Schweizer
Prof. Stephanie Larson
Prof. John Hunter
Fulfills the Following Requirements:
Humanities; Engineering Humanities; First-year course; Writing Level 1

This course is an introduction to the literature, religion, and philosophy of the western world, beginning with the Greeks and Romans, continuing with the Hebrews, and ending with the emergence of the Christian West. The texts that we will examine represent some of the most important currents of Western thought prior to the modern age; we will examine them in their historical contexts, and explore the complex question of how the thought of the past interacts with that of the present. Among the issues that will recur in the semester will be: 1.) the nature of divinity 2.) the connection between spiritual beliefs and the material means through which they are expressed 3.) the distinction between law and justice 4.) the conflict between tradition and innovation 5.) the historical evolution of gender roles.