Type of Credit: Partially Required
Credit(s)
Number of Students
This is a historiography and historical theory course that explores the development of history and historical time, particularly in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The most important concepts that the course will examine are historical cycles, historical progress, and the possibility of an 'End of History.' It will introduce students to several major philosophical schools of thought that have affected how we understand History, and through it how we understand our relationship with both the past and the future.
能力項目說明
The course aims to introduce the idea of history as a malleable process that represents past events but is not synonymous with them. To this end, the course will attempt to demonstrate how different thinkers working in different historical and philosophical traditions have approached the task of representing the past and its relationship to the future. The course will also introduce the stakes of historical theory by showing how the dominance of various interpretations of historical time have impacted societies in larger ways.
The course will combine a single large section in which I will introduce key concepts, figures, and processes using lectures and a various other media with smaller discussion sections led by teaching assistants. In preparation for each class, you will independently read samples of historical or theoretical writing related to the week’s topics in digital documents available through Moodle. Once every two weeks, you will answer two or three response questions related to the readings. These readings and response questions will form the basis for the teaching assistant-led discussion sections.
| 教學週次Course Week | 彈性補充教學週次Flexible Supplemental Instruction Week | 彈性補充教學類別Flexible Supplemental Instruction Type |
|---|---|---|
Tentative Course Schedule (note that this schedule is not set in stone; inspiration could strike at any time)
2/20: Introduction
2/27: Daniel, Paul, St. Augustine, & the City of God
3/6: Marquis de Condorcet & the Progress of the Human Mind
3/13: Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel & the World Spirit
3/20: Karl Marx & Capital
3/27: Friedrich Nietzsche & Morality
4/3: HOLIDAY
4/10: Oswald Spengler & the Decline of the West
4/17: Midterm
4/24: Julian Huxley & Eugenics
5/1: Walter Benjamin & the Angel of History
5/8: Hannah Arendt & Totalitarianism
5/15: Herbert Marcuse & One-Dimensional Man
5/22: Francis Fukuyama & the End of History
5/29: Ray Kurzweil & the Singularity
6/5: Final Examination
Midterm examination 期中考試: 30%
Final examination 期末考試: 40%
Discussion and response questions 討論與回應單: 30%
Examination Make-up Policy
If you need to miss an exam because of a legitimate reason (mendical appointment, class trip, family emergency, &c.), you should let your teaching assistant or me know in advance so an alternative time can be arranged for a make-up exam. Similarly, if you miss an exam because of an unforeseen emergency, you should contact us as soon as possible to discuss arranging a time for a make-up exam.
Attendance for Class Meetings and Discussion Sections
Attendance is required. You should complete the assigned readings prior to each class meeting. If you know you will miss a class meeting, you should let your teaching assistant or me know as soon as possible.
Weekly Response Questions
Every week you will answer two to three questions related to the assigned readings in one or two sentences. These questions will help you prepare for the discussion sections.
There is no required textbook for this course. There will be a 'further reading' list for each lecture that you can use to learn more about a particular topic that you are interested in.
The course readings for the discussion sections will be available online through Moodle.