Overview

Description

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:

An introduction to issues and concepts central to the study of the Humanities. Through exposure to primary materials drawn from different periods and disciplines, students will become acquainted with a range of topics and ideas relating to the study of human values and human experience. Writing/Breadth-Humanities. Equivalent Courses: HUM101 Writing/Breadth-Humanities.

COURSE DETAILS:

 

This course introduces students to the study of the Humanities, which can be defined broadly as the study of intellectual traditions (including our own present) interrogating different aspects of the human condition—from law and politics to subjectivity, family, spirituality, and friendship.

We will read and discuss texts from different historical periods and fields of inquiry: literature, history, philosophy, myth, religion, and politics. The course has three main objectives. First, to familiarize students with central concepts in the history of thought (e.g., selfhood, alterity, justice, politics, or morality). Second, to help students understand the ways in which oral and written texts, as well as material objects, contribute to the production of knowledge. Third, to investigate the way in which historical conditions and rhetorical spaces always place limits to the development of knowledge. These objectives are important foundations for all academic disciplines.

Our methodology will be comparatist and interdisciplinary. In order to help students identify main themes, discussions will focus on four modules: 1) The State and its subjects; 2) Imperialism and labour; 3) Ethics and accountability; 4) Affect and bodies.

This course is writing intensive. Exercises and discussions are aimed to help students develop their critical thinking faculties. Writing assignments will focus primarily on how to craft an argument.

COURSE-LEVEL EDUCATIONAL GOALS:

At the end of the course, students will be able to demonstrate their proficiency in the following activities:

1. Read and analyze Humanities texts creatively and to academic standards.
2. Place texts in their historical and cultural context.
3. Analyze the function of Humanities texts in our world with respect to political and social relations.
4. Gain an understanding of the contribution of intellectual traditions to the shaping and interpretation of the contemporary world.
5. Write about Humanities texts analytically by becoming proficient in modelling interpretation, linking claims to evidence, developing a thesis, structuring a paper, and using sources effectively.

Grading

Materials

REQUIRED READING: