Active Outline

General Information

Course ID (CB01A and CB01B)
HUMI D018.
Course Title (CB02)
History as Mystery: A Critique of Western Perspectives in a Global Context
Course Credit Status
Credit - Degree Applicable
Effective Term
Fall 2023
Course Description
As history reveals, it also conceals; so, what do historical narratives conceal? What kind of historical scripts might emerge from our descendants based on our current-cultural artifacts? This is an interdisciplinary discussion that identifies, examines, analyzes and critiques fundamental western concepts from aesthetics, history, philosophy, religion and science as representative of a perspective from an historical or cross-cultural context. Emphasis will be placed on how the past, present, and future have the potential to inform one another and are framed by perspective.
Faculty Requirements
Course Family
Not Applicable

Course Justification

This course meets a general education requirement for °®¶¹´«Ã½, CSUGE and IGETC and is a CSU and UC transferable undergraduate course requirements. It is under the Arts and Letters emphasis, which leads to a Liberal Arts degree and serves as an introduction to humanities, where students learn to apply critical thinking skills to historical concepts of western society.

Foothill Equivalency

Does the course have a Foothill equivalent?
No
Foothill Course ID

Course Philosophy

Formerly Statement

Course Development Options

Basic Skill Status (CB08)
Course is not a basic skills course.
Grade Options
  • Letter Grade
  • Pass/No Pass
Repeat Limit
0

Transferability & Gen. Ed. Options

Transferability
Transferable to both UC and CSU
°®¶¹´«Ã½ GEArea(s)StatusDetails
2GC2°®¶¹´«Ã½ GE Area C2 - HumanitiesApproved
CSU GEArea(s)StatusDetails
CGC2CSU GE Area C2 - HumanitiesApproved
IGETCArea(s)StatusDetails
IG3BIGETC Area 3B - HumanitiesApproved

Units and Hours

Summary

Minimum Credit Units
4.0
Maximum Credit Units
4.0

Weekly Student Hours

TypeIn ClassOut of Class
Lecture Hours4.08.0
Laboratory Hours0.00.0

Course Student Hours

Course Duration (Weeks)
12.0
Hours per unit divisor
36.0
Course In-Class (Contact) Hours
Lecture
48.0
Laboratory
0.0
Total
48.0
Course Out-of-Class Hours
Lecture
96.0
Laboratory
0.0
NA
0.0
Total
96.0

Prerequisite(s)

Corequisite(s)

Advisory(ies)

EWRT D001A or EWRT D01AH or ESL D005.

Limitation(s) on Enrollment

(Not open to students with credit in the Honors Program related course.)

Entrance Skill(s)

General Course Statement(s)

(See general education pages for the requirements this course meets.)

Methods of Instruction

Lecture and visual aids

Discussion of assigned reading

Discussion and problem solving performed in class

In-class exploration of Internet sites

Review performed in class

Field observation and field trips

Guest speakers

Collaborative learning and small group exercises

Collaborative projects

Role playing, audio aids, etc.

Assignments

  1. Reading assignments from a minimum of one college-level, book length text, and from reserve and in-class issued articles and papers of varied length.
  2. Viewing assignments of videos shown in-class or in media lab. Each viewing assignment is accompanied with specific questions to assess and summarize.
  3. A research monograph of at least five pages of text (not including frontis, footnote, bibliography pages) will be assigned. A minimum of five topics from which the student may choose will be provided by the instructor. These topics usually deal with a single-focus questions-topic similar to those listed in "issues" portion of course content. Several shorter monographs may be substituted for the longer one, provided the cumulative page counts is at least five pages (not including frontis, footnote, bibliography pages).
  4. An alternative to the research monograph may be assigned, such as: The Book Analysis. The student is required to choose and read a book from the course bibliography. The student must then explain what they consider to be the three main points in the book. They must substantiate the accuracy of their choice by using quotes and paraphrasing from the originating book. The student then chooses one of these main points and writes a position paper on that point, again substantiating and explaining that position with research of material from sources other than the originating book. The book analysis is a two-part assignment. The first portion is at least two pages and the second at least 3.
  5. Issues of the contemporary period (examples of issues to be used for discussion or as an oral, written or collaborative assignment or essay topics. Depending on assigned reading and texts, others will be available. These topics may be confronted throughout the quarter or toward the end). The following questions are to serve as suggestions for facilitating this exploration.
    1. Compare the differences between the purpose of life proposed by Epicueas in comparison to subjectivism.
    2. What dilemma regarding morality, moral judgment is found in the concept of Atomism?
    3. What parallels can be defined in the ideologically bound medieval culture versus contemporary American culture?
    4. What parallels can be drawn between the functions of religion and the functions of contemporary western culture? Is technology the new religion?
    5. Are humans self-defining or "shaped" by a mechanistic determiner?
    6. Genetic Engineering: How is it judged and who determines the criteria?
    7. In comparison to past cultural periods, what today seems to be the purpose of scientific inquiry?
    8. In comparison to past cultural periods, what today seems to be the purpose of aesthetic (art) inquiry?
    9. Is "beauty" subjectively constructed? What of "trust" and "justice"?
    10. What does it mean to say that your subjective experience is a construct of your mind? How does this differ from the "absolutes" of Plato and Medieval Christianity?
    11. How can knowledge be seen as an unfolding story told by narrators of the present to reinforce their conceptions of the past, present, or future?
    12. In what ways might history be a useful tool in finding working solutions to contemporary social issues?
    13. Is certainty a realistic expectation for truth and knowledge?
    14. In what ways is the contemporary western worldview a product of its past? How can an understanding of this influence help shape the future?
    15. How do you know what you know? What are the implications of not answering?
    16. How much do we really think for ourselves?
    17. How can projections or speculations of the future inform humanity about where we are today?
    18. Historically, religion, philosophy, and science were at one time interwoven, where, if at all, might a reweaving of these subjects take place today? Why?
    19. Given the complexity of both history and identity, what are some of the scientific, historical, religious, philosophical, cultural or aesthetic ironies of contemporary society? Why are they ironic?
    20. What are some of the problems with western historical or artistic representations? Why are they problems?
    21. What are some of the contemporary implications of history as mystery, and why are they significant?

Methods of Evaluation

  1. Short "prep" quizzes evaluated, reviewed, and discussed in class. The quizzes should focus on limited topics found within the lecture, reading, or viewing of assignments.
  2. One or more major examinations based on lectures, readings, and viewing or audio assignments that test student's comprehension and critical analysis of all concepts and their interrelationships through oral and written communication and collaborative assessments, such as criteria encompassing the assignment.
  3. An in-class final examination that requires students to demonstrate their comprehension and critical analysis of concepts, influences, interrelationships and relevance to contemporary culture and issues.
  4. Written research papers on specific topics originated and assigned by the instructor to demonstrate the student's capacity to define, explain, compare and contrast and draw conclusions on said topics related to primary cultural concepts and their relation to contemporary issues. These research papers may be several short monographs, a major length monograph, or a two-part book analysis.
  5. Creative or artistic project on topics originated and assigned by the instructor to demonstrate the student's capacity to define, explain, compare and contrast, speculate or analyze material covered in class through oral and written communication and collaborative assessments, such as criteria encompassing the assignment.

Essential Student Materials/Essential College Facilities

Essential Student Materials: 
  • None.
Essential College Facilities:
  • None.

Examples of Primary Texts and References

AuthorTitlePublisherDate/EditionISBN
Berger, John. Ways of Seeing. Penguin Books, 1972.
Loewen, James. Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong. Touchstone, 1995,2007.
Parenti, Michael. History as Mystery. City Lights Press, 1999.
Shenwar, Maya. Who Do You Serve, Who Do You Protect? Haymarket Books, 2016.
Zinn, Howard, Mike Konopacki, and Paul Buhle. A People's History of American Empire: A Graphic Adaptation. Metropolitan Books, 2008.

Examples of Supporting Texts and References

AuthorTitlePublisher
Baldwin, James and Raoul Peck. I Am Not Your Negro. Vintage:Mti Edition, 2017.
Berube, Michael. The Aesthetics of Cultural Studies. Blackwell Publishing, 2005.
Boulding, Elise. Cultures of Peace: The Hidden Side of History (Syracuse Studies on Peace and Conflict Resolution). Syracuse University Press, 2000.
Campbell, Christopher P., Kim LeDuff, and Cheryl D. Jenkins. Race and News. Routledge, 2012.
Diamond, Jared. Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed. Penguin Group, 2005.
Dunn, Leslie C. and Nancy A. Jones. Embodied Voices: Representing Female Vocality in Western Culture. Cambridge University Press, 1994.
Elder, Pat. Military Recruiting in the United States. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2016.
Harman, Chris. A People's History of the World: From the Stone Age to the New Millennium. Verso, 2008.
Herman, Edward S. and Noam Chomsky. Manufacturing Consent. Pantheon, 2002.
Hills, Patricia. Modern Art in the U.S.A. Prentice Hall, 2001.
hooks, bell. Feminism is for Everybody: Passionate Politics. South End Press, 2000.
Hurtado, Aida and Gabriela Arredondo. Chicana Feminisms: A Critical Reader (Post-Contemporary Interventions). Duke University Press, 2003.
Jensen, Derrick. The Culture of Make Believe. Context Books, 2002.
Machin, David and Gill Abousnnouga. Visual Discourses of War: A Multimodal Approach. Routledge, 2012.
MacLeod, Roy. The Library of Alexandria: Rediscovering the Cradle of Western Culture. I.B. Tauris & Co. Ltd. 2000.
Maddow, Rachel. Drift. Crown Publishers, 2012.
Moskowitz, Peter. How to Kill a City: Gentrification, Inequality, and the Fight for the Neighborhood. Nation Books, 2017.
Parenti, Michael. The Culture Struggle. Seven Stories Press, 2005.
Roberts, Dorothy. Fatal Invention: How Science, Politics, and Big Business Re-Create Race in the Twenty-First Century. The New Press, 2011.
Smith, John. Imperialism in the Twenty-First Century: Globalization, Super-Exploitation, and Capitalism's Final Crisis. Monthly Review Press, 2016.
Smith, Rachelle Lee. Speaking OUT: Queer Youth in Focus. PM PRESS, 2015.
Solnit, Rebecca. The Mother of All Questions. Haymarket Books, 2017.
Stokestad, Marilyn. Art History: Second Edition. Prentice Hall, 2002.
Sturken, Marita and Lisa Cartwright. Practices of Looking: An Introduction to Visual Culture. Oxford University Press, 2001, 2002, 2003.
Zinn, Howard. A People's History of the United States: 1492 - Present. HarperCollins Publishers, 2003.

Learning Outcomes and Objectives

Course Objectives

  • Introduce the discipline of humanities.
  • Identify and analyze fundamental western concepts from the disciplines of history, philosophy, science, religion, culture and aesthetics.
  • Discuss the interconnections between western history, philosophy, religion, science and aesthetics and illustrate how each discipline was at one time interwoven.
  • Identify and analyze mainstream perspectives regarding the aesthetic style of the visual or audio arts within each major western period.
  • Identify, analyze, and map from the historical to the contemporary, "Western" ways of seeing, knowing, and understanding the world. In addition, identify and analyze the various social and cultural components that have contributed to these perceptions.
  • Identify and analyze the contributions of women and people of color to the historical, scientific, philosophical, religious, cultural and aesthetic disciplines throughout the major western periods.
  • Identify, analyze, compare and contrast the relationships or influence between concurrent, countercultural, or marginal perspectives within the historical, scientific, philosophical, religious, cultural and aesthetic concepts of western society.
  • Identify, analyze, compare and contrast non-western critiques of western history, science, philosophy, religion, culture and aesthetics.
  • Identify, analyze, compare and contrast the interrelationship of differing perspectives from the historical, scientific, philosophical, religious, cultural and aesthetic concepts of the past to differing perspectives on issues confronting contemporary societies, both western and global
  • Identify and analyze how knowledge is an unfolding story told by narrators of the present to reinforce their conceptions of the past, present, and possibly the future.
  • Identify and analyze narratives about the various possible futures and how they underscore the social or global issues of today; in addition, to informing us about ourselves today as well.

CSLOs

  • Synthesize students' critical thinking, imaginative, cooperative, and empathetic abilities as whole persons in order to contextualize knowledge, interpret and communicate meaning, and cultivate their capacity for personal, as well as social change.

  • Recognize and facilitate the understanding that the telling of history is both a dynamic and a subjective process.

  • Recognize, assemble, and appraise the assumptions underlying Western perspectives and values as a cultural belief system.

Outline

  1. Introduce the discipline of humanities.
    1. The definition prevalent from the Middle Ages to Modernity.
    2. The current postmodern definitions.
  2. Identify and analyze fundamental western concepts from the disciplines of history, philosophy, science, religion, culture and aesthetics.
    1. Humanism.
    2. Individualism.
    3. Idealism.
    4. Realism.
    5. Rationalism.
    6. Romanticism.
    7. Empiricism.
  3. Discuss the interconnections between western history, philosophy, religion, science and aesthetics and illustrate how each discipline was at one time interwoven.
    1. Map the movement from the tribal to village and explain, if any, what intellectual or disciplinary distinctions start to appear.
    2. Map the movement from village to city and explain, if any, what intellectual or disciplinary distinctions start to appear.
    3. Map the movement from city to city-state and explain, if any, what intellectual or disciplinary distinctions start to appear.
    4. Map the movement from city-state to nation-state and explain the intellectual or disciplinary distinctions that start to appear.
  4. Identify and analyze mainstream perspectives regarding the aesthetic style of the visual or audio arts within each major western period.
    1. Contributions of the Egyptian architectural style.
    2. Renaissance.
    3. Baroque.
    4. Surrealism.
    5. Abstraction.
    6. Pop art.
    7. Techno/concept art.
    8. Feminist art.
    9. Environment art.
  5. Identify, analyze, and map from the historical to the contemporary, "Western" ways of seeing, knowing, and understanding the world. In addition, identify and analyze the various social and cultural components that have contributed to these perceptions.
    1. Classical Period--Overview fundamental cultural focus:
      1. Greek introspection - self-identification;
      2. Roman functionalism;
      3. Classical ideational isolation and imperial attitude toward non-classical cultures.
    2. The Age of Reason--Overview:fundamental cultural focus or competing concepts:
      1. Authoritarianism vs. individualism;
      2. God determined universe vs. Atomistic mechanism;
      3. Aristotelian "Entelechy", free will and self-determination vs. deitific and mechanistic pre-determinism.
    3. Contemporary Period--The future of science:
      1. Moral and philosophical implications;
      2. Political and economic motivations;
      3. Uncertainty of knowledge and truth;
      4. Technology and technological dependence;
      5. Ecological impact: models of sustainability;
      6. Information: popular media and the internet.
  6. Identify and analyze the contributions of women and people of color to the historical, scientific, philosophical, religious, cultural and aesthetic disciplines throughout the major western periods.
    1. Contribution of ancient Greek women to philosophy.
    2. Contributions of African, Asian, Latin and Native Americans to science, philosophy, history, culture and aesthetics.
  7. Identify, analyze, compare and contrast the relationships or influence between concurrent, countercultural, or marginal perspectives within the historical, scientific, philosophical, religious, cultural and aesthetic concepts of western society.
    1. Science and religious Ideology--Medieval:
      1. Saint Augustine, the apologist and integration of Platonic concepts;
      2. Rejection - resurrection of "Pagan" (scientific) concepts and inventions;
      3. Science of the Muslim world.
    2. Written versus Oral traditions.
  8. Identify, analyze, compare and contrast non-western critiques of western history, science, philosophy, religion, culture and aesthetics.
    1. Orientalism: Edward Said and marginalization of the "Other".
    2. Postcolonial criticisms.
  9. Identify, analyze, compare and contrast the interrelationship of differing perspectives from the historical, scientific, philosophical, religious, cultural and aesthetic concepts of the past to differing perspectives on issues confronting contemporary societies, both western and global
    1. Individualism in a global context
    2. Consumer capitalism and the reality of finite resources
    3. Globalization and religious fundamentalism
  10. Identify and analyze how knowledge is an unfolding story told by narrators of the present to reinforce their conceptions of the past, present, and possibly the future.
    1. If the victors write the history, then what is it that they want us to believe about the losers?
    2. Is history mystery?
    3. In what ways does perspective shape the narrative or painting?
  11. Identify and analyze narratives about the various possible futures and how they underscore the social or global issues of today; in addition, to informing us about ourselves today as well.
    1. Literature.
    2. Film.
    3. Art.
    4. Music.
Back to Top