Life must be lived forwards, but can only be understood backwards. –Kierkegaard
Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.--Santayana

HUMANITIES 212, FALL 2014

The intermediate course in the General Education Humanities sequence, Humanities 212 engages in the integrated study of history, literature, religion, philosophy, and art. The goal of general education is to acquire knowledge of the self, others, and God. This course emphasizes knowledge about the women, men, and events that shaped Western Culture between 1350 and 1815. In doing so it offers us an opportunity to reflect on the work human beings have done and continue to do to shape our world toward the good ends God has ordained for it. By better understanding our world, its history and its creative achievements, we strengthen ourselves to respond to God’s call to join in building up the world. As this course is at the intermediate level, students are challenged not only to learn information but to consider problems of interpretation in both primary and secondary examples of historical evidence.

Dr. Cyndia Clegg cclegg@pepperdine.edu
CAC 306: Office Hours: Mon & Thurs 10-12, or by appointment
TA’s
Gunnar Heinrich, Joshua Keating, Robert Plantier
You can contact the TAs through Messaging on Courses

Having completed Humanities 212 students will be able to:

Articulate a historical understanding of the causes, progress, and consequence of the six major events in that transformed the world: Renaissance, Reformation, Overseas Expansion, Scientific Revolution, Enlightenment, and the French Revolution
Demonstrate skills in analyzing and evaluating historical evidence from literature, the arts, and both primary and secondary historical texts
Write essays that enter into historical conversation with an argument based on theirr understanding and interpretation of primary and secondary evidence

COURSE COMPONENTS
READINGS : Reading assigned for any given day should be completed BEFORE class. Lectures assume a familiarity with the material in the readings.
Lualdo, Sources of The Making of the West This provides a historical overview that is expanded though lectures and primary texts that serve as historical “facts.”
Ross King: Brunelleschi’s Dome
Bartolomé Las Casas, A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies, Penguin
Dava Sobel, Galileo’s Daughter, Penguin
“Courses” will provide links to additional web readings.

LECTURES: Lectures are the principal means of conveying information about events, people, and culture. They expand on the overview presented in Lualdi. Lecture outlines will be posted on “Courses” the night before the class meeting.

ELECTRONIC DEVICE POLICY: It is the policy this semester for this course not to allow electronic devices to be used during class (laptops, e-readers, notebooks, smart phones, etc.) Studies have shown that students who take notes by hand improve their grades by 5-7%! BOOK CLUB:
Full-length books required for the course are essential both for amplifying course content and for the interpretation they offer to historical evidence. On Book Club days, students will meet in small groups to discuss the book. Discussion questions will be provided and each group will prepare responses to the questions. The responses will be submitted for a grade. Book Club is designed to provide an opportunity to engage critically with fellow students on a book that will be an important part of the essay exam. Laptops may be brought to class on Book Club days.

EXAMS: Exams will consist of one essay to be written in class. Students will be able to bring Book Club Books to class for reference. Grading criteria for exams will be posted on “Courses” prior to the exam.

MUSEUM PAPER: (optional)
The museum paper, while not required, is strongly encouraged. It is based on a visit to either the Getty Museum in Brentwood (not the Getty Villa in Malibu) or the Norton Simon Museum