Humanities 1: The Foundations of Western Civilization — Israel and Greece

Winter 2022

Required Texts

• Homer, Odyssey, trans Wilson (Norton)

• Gilgamesh, trans Foster (Norton Critical Edition, 2nd ed)

• New Oxford Annotated Bible (or any New Revised Standard Version edition)

• The Complete Plays of Sophocles, trans Bagg & Scully (Harper Perennial)

• Plato, Gorgias, trans Waterfield (Oxford)

• Humanities Program Writing Handbook

Class SchedulE

I. Homeric Worldview

1/3 | Introduction 1

1/5 | Introduction 2 (Odyssey, Bk 1-4)

1/7 | Homeric Worldview (Odyssey, Bk 5-9)

1/10 | Heroes (Odyssey, Bk 10-14)

1/12 | The Oikos (Odyssey, Bk 15-19)

1/14 | Savage & Civilized (Odyssey, Bk 20-24)

1/17 | Martin Luther King Day, no class

1/19 | Broken & Restored (Odyssey continued)

II. Hebrew Scriptures

1/21 | The Hero, Gilgamesh (Gilgamesh, Tablets 1-11)

1/24 | Enkidu, the Companion (Gilgamesh continued)

1/26 | Mesopotamian Flood Narratives (Genesis 1-11, Video: “Who Wrote the Hebrew Scriptures?”)

1/28 | Into Civilization (Genesis 12-24)

1/31 | Covenant & Deception (Genesis 25-50)

2/2 | Exodus from Slavery (Exodus 1-12)

2/4 | The Hero, Moses (Exodus 13-25, 32-34, & Deuteronomy 34)

2/7 | From Judges to Kings (1 Samuel)

2/9 | David’s Kingdom (2 Samuel & 1 Kings 1-3)

2/11 | Redemption (Ruth)

III.  Classical Athens

2/14 | Tragedy & Damage of War (Sophocles, Aias)

2/16 | Aias continued

2/18 | Trapped in Pain (Sophocles, Philoktetes)

2/21 | Presidents’ Day, no class

2/23 | Philoktetes continued 

2/25 | The Cure at Troy (*Seamus Heaney, The Cure at Troy, view-only, not for download)

2/28 | Apology of Socrates (*Plato, The Apology)

3/2 | The Apology continued

3/4 | Rhetoric (Plato, Gorgias, 447a-468e, pp3-39)

3/7 | Pleasure & Persuasion (Gorgias, 468e-481b, pp39-62)

3/9 | Pleasure & Power (Gorgias, 481b-505b, pp62-102)

3/11 | The Good (Gorgias, 505c-527e, pp102-135)