Introduction
to Western Humanities
The Introduction to Western Humanities sequence at Kansas
State University consists of four courses. Each
carries 3 semester hours of academic credit towards the Bachelor
of Arts or the Bachelor of Science degree at Kansas State
University.
- Each course is eligible to fulfill the "Western
Traditions" elective requirement for the College of
Arts and Sciences. In addition, any two of
them together fulfill requirements in certain curricula
of the College of Education.
These courses need not be taken in sequence.
In a given semester, a given course may be taught by more than
one instructor, so it is important, before buying texts from one
of the bookstores, to make sure who is teaching the particular
section you happen to be enrolled in.
English 231: Classical
Cultures
- An introduction to the ancient cultures of Greece and
Rome, and the beginning of our ideas of "the
humanities": literature, art,
architecture, philosophy, and
history. Readings will include selections from
Homer, several Greek plays, selections from Plato,
Aristotle, and Greek and Roman historians, Vergil, and
Roman satire and lyric. Generous use will be
made of the department's collection of slides showing
Greek and Roman art and architecture. The
material covered in this course represents the
fundamental bases of Western Civilization, and the course
is thus a good introduction to the humanities and their
materials and methods, for all majors. Grades
based on tests and final (partly short answer, partly
essay) and partly on class exercises and preparation. [Professor
Donnelly's description of the Fall 96 edition of his
course.]
Faculty who teach English 231:
English 232: Medieval
and Renaissance
- This course introduces the student to major concepts
of literature, art, architecture, philosophy, and music
which shaped western culture during the Middle Ages and
the Renaissance. Reading assignments include
works by Augustine, Marie de France, Thomas Aquinas,
Dante, Boccaccio, Christine de
Pizan, Machiavelli, Castiglione, Sir Thomas More,
Rabelais, Montaigne, Cervantes, and
more. Class activities include slides,
recordings, lectures, and discussions. Grades
are based upon careful reading, class participation, for
in-class exams, and two out-of-class exams. [Ms.
Warren's description of the Fall 96 edition of her
course.]
Faculty who teach English 232:
English 233: Baroque
and Enlightenment
- The course takes up selected masterpieces of
literature, philosophy, and the visual arts in the
context of the challenges to centuries-long authority
that emerged in the course of the 16th,
17th, and 18th
centuries: challenges to traditional pictures
of human nature, of the species' place within the cosmos,
of proper social relationships, and of political
legitimacy. Central to all of this is a series
of theological crises that bear on the authority of
religion itself, and specifically the validity of
traditional Christianity: on the authority of the Bible,
on whether Faith or Reason should predominate in
determining our ideas and actions, on the nature of God's
will concerning how human beings are to achieve Heaven
and avoid Hell (and ultimately whether Heaven, Hell, and
God even exist), on whether religion should be the basis
of civic life or should be kept out of the political
realm. Among the authors whose works we will
explore are Francis Bacon, John Milton, René Descartes,
Molière, John Bunyan, Jonathan Swift, Alexander Pope,
Voltaire, and Immanuel Kant. Artists with
whose work we will become acquainted are Michaelangelo
Caravaggio, Gianlorenzo Bernini, and Jacques-Louis
David. There will be two exams (including the
final), each with an out-of-class and an in-class
portion. [Mr. Baker's description of the
Spring 99 edition of his course.]
Faculty who teach English 233:
English 234: The
Modern Period
- This course studies important movements in 19th
and 20th century literature,
philosophy, and painting. Required texts will
include a humanities textbook and approximately three
additional texts. Please do not buy any text
until after first class meeting. Course
requirements include participation in class discussion,
exams with essay sections, and papers. [Professor
Brigham's description of the Fall 96 edition of her
course.]
Faculty who teach English 234: