This class meets the current GE standards for a modern Western Civilization class by surveying some of the outstanding cultural accomplishments in the modern period from about 1500 AD through the nineteenth century. It puts greatest emphasis on philosophical achievements. To meet the current standards, we read from a variety of sources beginning with Machiavelli and running through Hegel and Marx and beyond. We read from the Essays of Montaigne both as a prelude to reading The Tempest by Shakespeare and reading Meditations by Descartes. We read Locke, Hume, Kant, and Hegel. We cover other philosophers in lecture presentations. We close out the nineteenth century with an American novel: Democracy, by Henry Adams (great grandson of one US president, and grandson of another, son of Lincoln’s ambassador to England during the Civil War, and preeminent Harvard historian). The GE requirements stipulate that we read another novel. An array of philosophical twentieth century choices is offered that emphasize political ideas. Students work through one of these novels on their own. Alongside the philosophy and literature, we also attend to other cultural works in visual art, architecture, and music. Since the GE requirements stress that it is important to maintain a sense of overall historical trajectory, we also read, alongside our primary texts, the modern portion of a contemporary history of Western Civilization. Students demonstrate their knowledge of the topics of this course with four writing opportunities: a midterm, a term paper, a book review on a twentieth century novel, and a final exam. Much of the lecture material is given in video form to be viewed outside of the classroom, which leaves lots of class time for in-class learning activities to reinforce what students have learned on their own. Students, for instance, work together to formulate the questions that they would like to see on the midterm and final. The test questions are taken from these assignments, so the students know what questions will be on the tests, and they are the questions that they have made up themselves. Students come away from this class learning a great deal about Western Civilization in the modern era especially with respect to trends in modern philosophical thought.
