History 104

Culture, Society, History

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

This course is designed to introduce students to the study of history and to give them a sense of the variety and complexity of world civilizations. The course meets the Colorado College AP:C requirements, meaning that it can satisfy either the AP:A or the AP:B requirement. It also provides a pathway into the History major.

The Spring 2002 version of HY104 will explore, in many places and times, the material basis on which people have created their lives and the cultures and societies they have created on this basis by examining four fundamental themes:

Foundational Stories, Heroes, and Nationalism: How do communities tell stories about themselves to develop a sense of distinctive unity? How do communities build and use definitions of themselves as a “people”, state, or nation?

Law and Politics: How do communities divide up power, organize themselves, and regulate behavior? How do various peoples and states deal with dissent, aggression, and change from within and from without?

Fate, Religion, and the Individual: How do societies make sense of the good and bad things that happen to them and how do they understand their own roles in improving the conditions of their lives?

Difference and Similarity: What do various societies see as “normal”? How do societies use difference to develop ideas around gender, ethnicity, and power? How do groups on the outside challenge these norms?

In offering materials to assist in our exploration, the course will address the general shape of Mediterranean, Asian, and European civilizations with special attention to their interaction with other cultures. Rather than survey these broad culture areas chronologically, however, readings and discussions will emphasize themes, connections, and contrasts from antiquity to the present.