Western Civilization

This course provides an introductory survey of major events and developments in the history of western civilization from classical antiquity through the age of revolution.

Major themes covered include the rise and fall of governments and empires, the evolution of cultures and society, philosophy, economics, literary traditions, and, in the end, the globalization of the West. While surveying over 3,000 years of human develop is quite challenging, we shall center our study on the ways in which different periods of western civilization addressed timeless questions on the “progress” of the human condition in society. In doing so, this course disentangles transitional moments in the “progress” of western intellectual culture through survey lectures, focused in-class case studies, and excerpts from seminal primary source manuscripts and accessible secondary literature. Upon completing this course students will be familiar with prominent figures, events, and developments in western civilization and have demonstrated the above knowledge by way of in-class quizzes, a midterm, and final examination.