Humanities (HUMN) 201
Western Thought and Culture I: Before the Reformation (Revision 2)
Revision 2 closed, replaced by current version.
Delivery Mode:Individualized study with video component*.
*Overseas students, please contact the University Library before registering in a course that has an audio/visual component.
Credits:3
Area of Study:Humanities
Prerequisite:This course is intended as a foundation course for BA and BGS students and is designed for learners with little or no previous university experience. It provides a good starting place for new students intending to study history, literature, philosophy, or other aspects of the humanities.
Precluded Course:HUMN 201 is a cross-listed course—a course listed under 2 different disciplines—HIST 201. HUMN 201 may not be taken for credit by students who have obtained credit for HIST 201.
Centre:Centre for Global and Social Analysis
HUMN 201 has a Challenge for Credit option.
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Overview
When, where and how did human beings first develop cultures worthy of being called civilizations? How did the classical world of Greece and Rome come into existence, and what were its finest cultural achievements? Which were the first Christian societies, and what were their intellectual and cultural legacies? What were the main features of the Romanesque and Gothic phases of medieval European civilizations? Why did the Renaissance happen, and what fundamental cultural and intellectual changes did it bring about? These are some of the questions examined in HUMN 201.
HUMN 201 is the first of two, three-credit courses that together survey the development of Western civilization from its origins in ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt to the complicated and sophisticated world of the post-industrial era. Although the course employs a historical framework, its overall approach is interdisciplinary, drawing upon the findings of archaeologists, classical scholars, theologians, art historians, literary critics, and philosophers as well as historians of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance.
Outline
Unit 1: Prehistory and Ancient Mesopotamia
Unit 2: Ancient Egypt and the Mediterranean
Unit 3: Ancient Greece
Unit 4: Alexander the Great and the Hellenistic World
Unit 5: The Roman World
Unit 6: The Rise of Christianity in the Roman Empire
Unit 7: The Decline and Fall of the Roman World
Unit 8: The Civilization of Byzantium
Unit 9: Early Middle Ages and Charlemagne
Unit 10: Medieval Synthesis, 1000-1300
Unit 11: From Medieval to Renaissance
Unit 12: The Renaissanc
Evaluation
To receive credit for HUMN 201, you must achieve a course composite grade of at least “D” (50 percent) and a grade of at least 50 percent on the final examination. The weighting of the composite grade is as follows:
| Essay 1 | Essay 2 | Final Exam | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 25% | 35% | 40% | 100% |
To learn more about assignments and examinations, please refer to Athabasca University's online Calendar.
Course Materials
Textbook
Matthews, Roy T., and F. DeWitt Platt. The Western Humanities, Volume I: Beginnings Through the Renaissance. 6th edition. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2009.
Other Materials
The course materials include a student manual and a study guide. Students borrow videotapes from Athabasca University Library.
Athabasca University reserves the right to amend course outlines occasionally and without notice. Courses offered by other delivery methods may vary from their individualized-study counterparts.
Opened in Revision 2, Sept 7, 2005.
View previous syllabus
Last updated by SAS 03/24/2014 10:10:31
