The Humanities: v. 1

Defining the Humanities and Cultural Roots for the Twenty-First Century I. Earliest Civilizations 1. Mesopotamia The City-State Culture Sumerian Architecture and Art Sumerian Mythology, Religion, and Worship Sumerian Music Daily Lives: A Day in School Literacy and Literature in Mesopotamia The Mesopotamian Empire Reading Selections: From The Epic of Gilgamesh. From The Hammurabi Code. 2. Egypt and the Kingdom of Kush The First and Second Dynasties (3100-2686 B.C.) The Old Kingdom (2686-2180 B.C.) The Middle Kingdom (2140-1786 B.C.) The New Kingdom (1570-1085 B.C.) Daily Lives: Schools and Scribes The Third Intermediate Period and the Late Period (1085-332 B.C.) The Ptolemaic Period (332-30 B.C.) Egyptian Music Nubia and the Kingdom of Kush Reading Selections: The Instruction of Ptah-hotep. From the Book of the Dead. Amenhotep IV (Akhenaton), The Great Hymn to the Aten. Egyptian Love Poetry. II. The Greco-Roman and Judeo-Christian Roots 3. Early Greece Hellenism: The Rise of Greek Culture Greek Religion and Mythology Homer and the Epic The Lyric The Archaic Period: Architecture and Sculpture Reading Selections: Homer, from the Iliad; From the Odyssey. Sappho, Selected Lyric Poems and Fragments. 4. Classical Greece: Politics, Art, Drama Politics and Life in Ancient Athens The Classical Period: Architecture and Sculpture From Classical to Hellenistic Sculpture Classical Greek Drama Daily Lives: Going to the Theater in Ancient Athens Greek Comedy Reading Selections: Thucydides, Pericles' Funeral Oration. Sophocles, Oedipus Rex. Euripides, The Women of Troy. 5. Classical Greece: Philosophy and Ethical Thought The Pre-Socratics Socrates (470?-399 B.C.) Plato (427? -347 B.C.) Aristotle (384-322 B.C.) Reading Selections: Heraclitus of Ephesus, Fragments. Plato, The Allegory of the Cave; The Death of Socrates. Aristotle, from the Politics; The High-Minded Man; From the Poetics. 6. The Culture of Rome Hellenistic and Roman History and Thought Daily Lives: The Shrewd Landowner Roman Art and Architecture Roman Literature Reading Selections: Cicero, from On the Laws. Ovid, from the Metamorphoses. Virgil, from the Aeneid. Horace, My Slave is Free to Speak Up for Himself. Juvenal, Satire III: On Leaving Rome. Lucretius, from the Triumph Song of Death. Marcus Aurelius, from the Meditations. 7. Judaism and Early Christianity The Ancient Hebrews and the Bible The Prophets and the Fall of Israel Early Christianity The End of Antiquity The Barbarian Influence in the Western Roman Empire Early Christian Music: Gregorian Chant Daily Lives: Life in an Early Medieval Monastery Reading Selections: Genesis: The Creation; The Fall. Exodus: The Ten Commandments. Judges: The Song of Deborah. Psalms: Psalm 8. The Prophets: Amos. From the Song of Solomon. The Gospel According to Luke: The Magnificat. The Gospel According to Matthew: The Sermon on the Mount. The Apostle Paul: From the Letter to the Ephesians; From the First Letter to the Corinthians. Augustine, from the Confessions. III. Medieval Cultures 8. The Byzantine and the Islamic Empires The Eastern Roman Empire, or Byzantium The Threat of Islam and Separation from the West Collapse of the Byzantine Empire (1261-1453) Byzantium as a Transmitter of Ancient Greek Culture to the West The Islamic Empire Daily Lives: The Quran on Women Reading Selections: From the Quran. Sufi Poetry. Ibn Zaydun, Poem to Walladah; Four Poems Addressed to Ibn Zaydun. From The Thousand and One Nights. 9. Medieval Europe: Culture and the Cathedral Medieval Revivals Daily Lives: Hildegard of Bingen: An Exceptional Medieval Woman Medieval Art and the Church: The Gothic Cathedral Music and Drama in the Cathedral Reading Selections: William of Rubruck, Letter from Mongolia. Marco Polo, from the Travels of Marco Polo. The Play of Daniel. 10. Divine and Human Love in Medieval Europe The Adoration of the Virgin Mary Representations of the Virgin Mary The Literature and Music of Courtly Love Dante Alighieri (1265-1321) Chaucer (c. 1342-1400) and the Comedy of Love Polyphonic Music Reading Selections: From The Letters of Abelard and Heloise. Bernart de Ventadorn, Be m'an perdut. Quis Dabit Capiti. The Countess of Die, Selected Lyrics. Dante Alighieri, from the Divine Comedy. Geoffrey Chaucer, The Miller's Tale. IV. The Western African Cultural Root 11. African Backgrounds Images of Africa in the West Africa and America Stages in African History Reading Selections: The Culture of Benin: From A Short History of Benin; From Benin Oral Literature. European Accounts of Benin: Ruy de Pina, from the Chronicle of John II. Willem Bosman, from New and Accurate Description of the Coast of Guinea. 12. West African Languages and Literature: The Oral Tradition and Its Legacy Written Literature in Africa Oral Literature African Myths and Religions: Some Generalizations Tales (Hausa) Riddles Proverbs Poetry Daily Lives: Language, Learning, and Performance Reading Selections: The Epic: From Sundiata. Myths: Two Yoruba Myths of Creation; Myths on the Separation of Man from God; Myths on the Origin of Death. Tales and Proverbs: A Labarai Tale; Tatsuniyoyi Tales; Yoruba Proverbs. Poetry: Oriki--Yoruba Praise Poems; Iwi--The Poetry of Yoruba Masqueraders. Fulani Poetry. Ga Poetry. 13. Visual and Musical Arts of West Africa Visual Arts African Music African Arts in Festival: The Efe/Gelede of the Western Yoruba V. The Asian Cultural Root 14. An Introduction to the Civilization of India India's Early History Hinduism Daily Lives: Manu the Lawgiver Buddhism and Islam The Village Indian Literature Art and Architecture Music and Dance Reading Selections: From the Bhagavad Gita. From the Kamasutra of Vatsyayana. The Buddha's Sermon in the Deer Park. From The Bodhisattva. 15. An Introduction to the Civilizations of China and Japan Daily Lives: Rites of Ancestor Worship China from 2000 B.C. to A.D. 221 Religion and Philosophical Thought China from 221 B.C. to A.D. 221 Buddhism and the Age of Dispersal (220-586) China from 581 to 1300 Science and Technology Foreign Trade Why Not China? Why Europe? Chinese Poetry Art and Architecture Music Japan: Early Civilization Late Bronze Age The Yamato Court (Fourth Through Seventh Centuries A.D.) The High Culture of the Nara Period (710-794) The Heian Court (794-1192) The Rise of Medieval Society Japan and the West Reading Selections: Confucius, From the Analecta (Commentaries and Sayings). Lao Zi, Dao De Jing (Tao-te Ching). Gou Xiang, Commentary on the Chuang Tzu. Zong Bing, Introduction to Landscape Painting. A Commentary on Buddhism by Mou Tzu. Ban Jieyu (Pan Chieh-Yu), Poem in Rhyme--Prose Form; Song of Regret. Poets of the Tang Dynasty: Wang Wei and Li Bo, Poems from the Manyoshu. Ono no Komachi, Poems. The Tale of the Heike. Lady Sarashina, As I Crossed a Bridge of Dreams. Kan'ami, Sotoba Komachi.