Reading the Classics

1 Course Unit

In this seminar we will study the early roots of Western culture -the Biblical, Greek and Roman traditions- as well as how sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Europeans reproduced, rethought and reshaped these early traditions. We will focus our attention on a few themes that were central concerns to those living in Classic and early modern times and that continue to influence modern ways of thinking and acting in Western societies: conceptions of God and place of religion in society; nature of power and authority, and individuals’ rights and duties; good and evil; views on women, their nature and roles in society; ethnography and the perception of other cultures and societies. Fall or Spring 1 Course Unit