History 100 - Western Thought to 1600

This course covers the origins of Western Civilization in the Mediterranean world and its development in Europe to the Protestant Reformation. It explores the achievements and disasters of the ancient world: democracy, republicanism, art, architecture, philosophy, literature, war, slavery, and despotism. It also explores Europe after the fall of the Roman Republic: Christianity, feudalism, plague, exploration, conquest, renaissance, and reformation. (Gen.Ed. HS)

This lecture course focuses on major thinkers and schools of thought from ancient times through the age of the Reformation. Authors include: Homer, Plato, Aristotle, Old Testament, New Testament, Augustine, Aquinas, Christine de Pisan, Machiavelli, Leonardo da Vinci, and Montaigne.

The course also covers the modern interpretations of certain older texts; for example, the debate in the 19th and 20th centuries about how to interpret particularly violent sections of the Old Testament. Two essays and final exam.