9/13/24, 10:50 C100 Study Guide - Notes for Intro to
AM hummanities
C100 STUDY GUIDE
Module 1: Foundations of Humanities
1. What are the humanities?
a. Derived from the Latin, humanitas, which refers to humans and their
cultures. Studying the Humanities is to learn what it is to be
human from a cultural (not biological) sense.
b. Study of Humanities seeks to understand what humans believe and
why, along with what we have believed in the past and even what
we might believe in the future.
c. Studying the Humanities allows us to understand the past as more
than just a series of events. A pattern of human interactions within a
rich context of beliefs, ideals, and experiences emerge when we look
closely at how literary and artistic movements evolved over time.
d. By taking measure of our past, and learning to appreciate it, we come
to a better understanding of our own values as well as our biases. We
can, therefore, look at our own lives in context.
2. Why study the humanities?
a. A consideration of literature, art, music, dance, film and
philosophy offers practical, social, and aesthetic benefits to
students.
b. Exploring the continuing questions addressed by men and women
throughout the ages through the vehicle of the arts should deepen
and enrich our current existence.
3. What are the major historical periods covered in this course?
a. The Classical Period (8th century BCE – 3rd century)
b. The Middle Ages (5th CE - 15th CE) (NIC SKIP)
c. The Renaissance Period (14th CE – 17th CE)
d. The Baroque Period (17th CE – 18th CE) (NIC SKIP)
e. The Neoclassical and Enlightenment Periods (17th CE – 19th CE)
f. The Romantic Period (18th CE – 19th CE)
g. The Realist Period (19th CE – 20th CE)
h. The Modern Period (19th CE – 20th CE) (NIC SKIP)
i. The Postmodern Period (20th CE – 21st CE) (NIC SKIP)
4. What is a theme? Give a few examples of themes from each period.
a. Themes – unifying ideas that are repeated or developed throughout a
literary or artistic work.
i. Classical Period: balance, truth/reason, democracy/republic,
polytheism, humanism
ii. Middle Ages Period: (NIC SKIP) religion, deference to God,
crusades, pacifism, humility, feudalism, chivalry
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,9/13/24, 10:50 C100 Study Guide - Notes for Intro to
AM hummanities
iii. Renaissance Period: rebirth of classicism, humanism,
rationalism, scientific expansion, university system,
individualism, self-fashioning
iv. Baroque Period: (NIC SKIP) counter-reformation, divine right,
absolutism, commonwealth, unification of the arts, world as a
stage
v. Neoclassical Period: skepticism, rationalism, empiricism,
order, deism, classicism
vi. Romantic Period: nationalism, exoticism, revolution, heroism,
passion, individualism, nature
vii. Realist Period: Darwinism, industrialization, individualism, age of
doubt
5. Identify and describe two universal themes: love and the hero.
a. Love:
i. The ancient Greeks developed the distinction between eros
(erotic love) and agape (platonic love).
ii. Love also opened the Humanities to exploring other distinct
forms of love that define our humanity: love of God, of family,
romantic love, and friendship.
iii. As Western traditions for marriage have changed so has the
conception of love. When young adults were supposed to
choose their own spouse and remain with them for life,
romantic love was celebrated for its ability to endure and
sustain.
b. Heroes:
i. The hero is an archetype found in virtually every culture
and society because the “heart” of the hero’s journey is
fundamentally the same everywhere.
ii. The hero archetype satisfies a psychological need to see the
individual (to see oneself) as capable of stupendous feats
(physical, mental, or moral) against seemingly
insurmountable and antagonistic forces.
iii. The archetype of the hero is alive today, taking form as (for
example) an exalted political candidate, sports superstar, or
glamorous pop culture celebrity.
6. Define the central concepts in the humanities: humanism, myth,
beauty, aesthetic experience, and archetype.
a. Humanism: the study of the creative and intellectual contributions
made by all cultures and as an ethical system that emphasizes
human reason, values, and the scientific method.
b. Myths: traditional stories of a people or culture that serve to explain
some natural phenomenon, origin of humanity, or customs or religious
rites. Often offer practical and spiritual wisdom in addition to
providing entertainment.
c. Beauty: those qualities that give pleasure to the senses.
d. An aesthetic experience is an experience of beauty that inspires a
feeling of pleasure that is its own justification, and is valued
independently of others.
about:blan 2/35
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,9/13/24, 10:50 C100 Study Guide - Notes for Intro to
AM hummanities
about:blan 3/35
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, 9/13/24, 10:50 C100 Study Guide - Notes for Intro to
AM hummanities
10.What is consilience and why is it significant in higher education?
a. E.O. Wilson defined “consilience” as a jumping together of
knowledge by the linking of facts and fact-based theory across
disciplines to create a common groundwork for explanation.
11.How can studying the humanities help you in your future career path?
a. The history of human progress is a moral drama and a story that, in
the telling, brings forth the great autobiography of humankind. It has
been said that if the great conqueror and student of the philosopher
Aristotle, Alexander the Great, could have only had a few more
thousand volumes of the knowledge of those who came after him, he
might have held on to the entire world for a bit longer than he did.
Teachers have at their core a desire to know more, to learn more, and
to apply what they've learned to the great body of knowledge history
unfolds. They desire to do more than add information to the ever-
growing information superhighway. Instead, they are committed to
the holistic application of wisdom, which inevitably leads to the
betterment of culture and kind.
about:blan 4/35
k
AM hummanities
C100 STUDY GUIDE
Module 1: Foundations of Humanities
1. What are the humanities?
a. Derived from the Latin, humanitas, which refers to humans and their
cultures. Studying the Humanities is to learn what it is to be
human from a cultural (not biological) sense.
b. Study of Humanities seeks to understand what humans believe and
why, along with what we have believed in the past and even what
we might believe in the future.
c. Studying the Humanities allows us to understand the past as more
than just a series of events. A pattern of human interactions within a
rich context of beliefs, ideals, and experiences emerge when we look
closely at how literary and artistic movements evolved over time.
d. By taking measure of our past, and learning to appreciate it, we come
to a better understanding of our own values as well as our biases. We
can, therefore, look at our own lives in context.
2. Why study the humanities?
a. A consideration of literature, art, music, dance, film and
philosophy offers practical, social, and aesthetic benefits to
students.
b. Exploring the continuing questions addressed by men and women
throughout the ages through the vehicle of the arts should deepen
and enrich our current existence.
3. What are the major historical periods covered in this course?
a. The Classical Period (8th century BCE – 3rd century)
b. The Middle Ages (5th CE - 15th CE) (NIC SKIP)
c. The Renaissance Period (14th CE – 17th CE)
d. The Baroque Period (17th CE – 18th CE) (NIC SKIP)
e. The Neoclassical and Enlightenment Periods (17th CE – 19th CE)
f. The Romantic Period (18th CE – 19th CE)
g. The Realist Period (19th CE – 20th CE)
h. The Modern Period (19th CE – 20th CE) (NIC SKIP)
i. The Postmodern Period (20th CE – 21st CE) (NIC SKIP)
4. What is a theme? Give a few examples of themes from each period.
a. Themes – unifying ideas that are repeated or developed throughout a
literary or artistic work.
i. Classical Period: balance, truth/reason, democracy/republic,
polytheism, humanism
ii. Middle Ages Period: (NIC SKIP) religion, deference to God,
crusades, pacifism, humility, feudalism, chivalry
about:blan 1/35
k
,9/13/24, 10:50 C100 Study Guide - Notes for Intro to
AM hummanities
iii. Renaissance Period: rebirth of classicism, humanism,
rationalism, scientific expansion, university system,
individualism, self-fashioning
iv. Baroque Period: (NIC SKIP) counter-reformation, divine right,
absolutism, commonwealth, unification of the arts, world as a
stage
v. Neoclassical Period: skepticism, rationalism, empiricism,
order, deism, classicism
vi. Romantic Period: nationalism, exoticism, revolution, heroism,
passion, individualism, nature
vii. Realist Period: Darwinism, industrialization, individualism, age of
doubt
5. Identify and describe two universal themes: love and the hero.
a. Love:
i. The ancient Greeks developed the distinction between eros
(erotic love) and agape (platonic love).
ii. Love also opened the Humanities to exploring other distinct
forms of love that define our humanity: love of God, of family,
romantic love, and friendship.
iii. As Western traditions for marriage have changed so has the
conception of love. When young adults were supposed to
choose their own spouse and remain with them for life,
romantic love was celebrated for its ability to endure and
sustain.
b. Heroes:
i. The hero is an archetype found in virtually every culture
and society because the “heart” of the hero’s journey is
fundamentally the same everywhere.
ii. The hero archetype satisfies a psychological need to see the
individual (to see oneself) as capable of stupendous feats
(physical, mental, or moral) against seemingly
insurmountable and antagonistic forces.
iii. The archetype of the hero is alive today, taking form as (for
example) an exalted political candidate, sports superstar, or
glamorous pop culture celebrity.
6. Define the central concepts in the humanities: humanism, myth,
beauty, aesthetic experience, and archetype.
a. Humanism: the study of the creative and intellectual contributions
made by all cultures and as an ethical system that emphasizes
human reason, values, and the scientific method.
b. Myths: traditional stories of a people or culture that serve to explain
some natural phenomenon, origin of humanity, or customs or religious
rites. Often offer practical and spiritual wisdom in addition to
providing entertainment.
c. Beauty: those qualities that give pleasure to the senses.
d. An aesthetic experience is an experience of beauty that inspires a
feeling of pleasure that is its own justification, and is valued
independently of others.
about:blan 2/35
k
,9/13/24, 10:50 C100 Study Guide - Notes for Intro to
AM hummanities
about:blan 3/35
k
, 9/13/24, 10:50 C100 Study Guide - Notes for Intro to
AM hummanities
10.What is consilience and why is it significant in higher education?
a. E.O. Wilson defined “consilience” as a jumping together of
knowledge by the linking of facts and fact-based theory across
disciplines to create a common groundwork for explanation.
11.How can studying the humanities help you in your future career path?
a. The history of human progress is a moral drama and a story that, in
the telling, brings forth the great autobiography of humankind. It has
been said that if the great conqueror and student of the philosopher
Aristotle, Alexander the Great, could have only had a few more
thousand volumes of the knowledge of those who came after him, he
might have held on to the entire world for a bit longer than he did.
Teachers have at their core a desire to know more, to learn more, and
to apply what they've learned to the great body of knowledge history
unfolds. They desire to do more than add information to the ever-
growing information superhighway. Instead, they are committed to
the holistic application of wisdom, which inevitably leads to the
betterment of culture and kind.
about:blan 4/35
k
