COURSE SYLLABUS

COURSE IDENTIFICATION

Course Prefix/Number: HUM 205

Course Title: Western Civilization II
Division: Liberal Arts
Program: Humanities
Credit Hours: 3
Initiation/Revision Date: Fall 2008
Assessment Goals per Outcome: 75%
CLASSIFICATION OF INSTRUCTION

Academic

COURSE DESCRIPTION

This is an interdisciplinary course of study that critically examines the ideas and values of
Western culture from the beginnings of the Early Modern period to the twentieth century.
It emphasizes the reading and discussion of some of the most influential writings and
ideas that have shaped the intellectual and cultural heritage of the Western world during
the Modern era. The presentation of the material is both historical and thematic. It is a
study of the past organized to help us better understand the present and to direct attention
to the enduring questions about how to lead a satisfying and worthwhile life. Themes are
selected to focus thought and discussion upon such issues as: 1) the good life; 2) work
and economic life; 3) the citizen and the state; 4) knowledge and education; 5) intimacy
and social life; 6) nature and the supernatural; and, 7) morality and self-realization.

PREREQUISITES AND/OR COREQUISITES

HUM 204, Western Civilization I; or, concurrent enrollment in HUM 204, Western
Civilization I, and permission of the instructor.
TEXT

*The official list of textbooks and materials for this course are found on Inside NC.

Trulove, Sarah Chappell, James Woelfel, Stephen Auerbach, and Rachel Epp Butler.
Patterns in Western Civilization. 4th ed. Vol. 2. Boston: Pearson Custom
Publishing, 2007 (ISBN: 0-536-91225-4).

ADDITIONAL PRIMARY SOURCE READINGS:

Aldous Huxley, Brave New World.

René Descartes, Discourse on Method.

 John Locke, Second Treatise of Government.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Discourse on Inequality.

Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen.
Declaration of the Rights of Woman, September, 1791.

The Declaration of Independence.

The United States Constitution.
Alexander Hamilton and James Madison, The Federalist Papers, 6, 10 and 51.
George Mason, “Objections to the Constitution of the Government formed by the
Convention, November, 1787”.

Mary Shelley, Frankenstein.

John Stuart Mill On Liberty.

The Sadler Report.

Charles Darwin, Selections from The Origin of Species and The Descent of Man.
Thomas Henry Huxley, Evolution and Ethics.

Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, The Communist Manifesto.

W.E.B. DuBois, The Souls of Black Folk.

Fyodor Dostoevsky, Notes from the Underground.

Friedrich Nietzsche, Twilight of the Idols.

Sigmund Freud, The Future of an Illusion.

Virginia Woolf, A Room of One’s Own.

Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions, (Seneca Falls Convention, 1848).

Gerda Klein, All But My Life.

COURSE OUTCOMES

Upon completion of this course a student should be able to:

1. Critically discuss the ideals and values that have shaped Western culture since the
beginning of the Modern era.
2. Explain some of the important writings and ideas that have influenced the
intellectual development and cultural heritage of the Western World since the
beginning of the Modern era.
3. Explain what some influential writers said about a satisfying and worthwhile
life during the Modern period.
4. Compare and contrast ideas from influential writers of the Modern era about what
constitutes a good life.
5. Express and support with opinions from influential writers of the Modern period
ideas about work and economic life.
6. Compare and contrast ideas from influential Modern era writers about the
relationship between a citizen and the state.
7. Compare and contrast ideas from influential Modern era writers about knowledge
and education.
8. Express and support with opinions from influential writers of the Modern period
ideas about personal intimacy and social life.
9. Compare and contrast ideas from influential Modern era writers about nature and
the supernatural.
10. Express and support with opinions from influential writers of the Modern period
ideas about morality and self-realization.

COURSE OUTLINE

I. Introduction
A. Introduction to the Modern Era
B. Descartes and the Transition to Modernity
II. Enlightenment and Revolution
A. Hobbes and Locke
1. Absolutism and Its Justifications
2. The English Civil War
3. The Origin of Modern Political Thought and Political Democracy
B. The Enlightenment and the Philosophes
1. Rousseau: Inequality and proto-socialism
2. Women and the Enlightenment
C. The American Revolution
D. The French Revolution
III. Romanticism
A. Shelley’s Frankenstein and the Enlightenment Critique.
IV. Evolutionary Theory and Its Impact
A. Charles Darwin and His Theories
B. Social Darwinism
V. Industrial Capitalism and the Demand for Social Justice
A. The Industrial Revolution
B. John Stuart Mill and Liberal Democracy
C. Karl Marx and Socialism
VI. The Spiritual and Moral Crisis of the Modern Period
A. Dostoevsky
1. Attack on Rationalism
2. Russia and the West
B. Nietzsche
1. Nationalism and Nietzsche’s Germany
2. Radically Rethinking Western Thought
3. Twilight of the Idols
C. Freud
1. Redefining the Self
2. Religion and the Modern Era
VII. Otherness, Oppression and Liberation
A. Introduction
B. DuBois and the Veil
C. Woolf and Feminism
D. Klein and the Holocaust
INSTRUCTIONAL METHODS

This class will be organized as primarily a discussion class with weekly lectures
providing the context for the next week’s discussion. Other instructional methods will
include writing and films.

STUDENT REQUIREMENTS AND METHOD OF EVALUATION

The following are required of all students:

1. Read assigned material.

2. Attend class.
3. Complete all assigned work on time.
4. Participate in class discussion and activities.
5. Listen courteously, considerately, and tolerantly to ideas presented in class by the
instructor or other students.
6. Write a reaction paper in response to each reading from primary sources.
7. Complete midterm and final examinations.

Method of Evaluation
All tests will include both objective (fill-in-the-blank, matching and/or multiple choice)
and subjective (identification and/or essay) questions. Any missed test must be made up
within 7 days or will receive a permanent grade of 0. No Exceptions. There will also be
various other assignments during the semester, which may include graded discussions,
response writings, quizzes, discussion leadership, essays, and research assignments.
GRADING SCALE

The grading scale will be based on a percentage of the total points possible throughout
the semester. The following scale will be used: 90% to 100%, A; 80% to 89%, B; 70% to
79%, C; 60% to 69%, D; below 60%, F.

ATTENDANCE POLICY

Absences that occur due to students participating in official college activities are excused
except in those cases where outside bodies, such as the State Board of Nursing, have
requirements for minimum class minutes for each student. Students who are excused will
be given reasonable opportunity to make up any missed work or receive substitute
assignments from the instructor and should not be penalized for the absence. Proper
procedure should be followed in notifying faculty in advance of the student’s planned
participation in the event. Ultimately it is the student’s responsibility to notify the
instructor in advance of the planned absence.
Unless students are participating in a school activity or are excused by the instructor, they
are expected to attend class. If a student’s absences exceed one-hundred (100) minutes
per credit hour for the course or, in the case of on-line or other non-traditional courses,
the student is inactive for one-eighth of the total course duration, the instructor has the
right, but is not required, to withdraw a student from the course. Once the student has
been dropped for excessive absences, the registrar’s office will send a letter to the
student, stating that he or she has been dropped. A student may petition the chief
academic officer for reinstatement by submitting a letter stating valid reasons for the
absences within one week of the registrar’s notification. If the student is reinstated into
the class, the instructor and the registrar will be notified.
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY

NCCC expects every student to demonstrate ethical behavior with regard to academic
pursuits. Academic integrity in coursework is a specific requirement. Definitions,
examples, and possible consequences for violations of Academic Integrity, as well as the
appeals process, can be found in the College Catalog, Student Handbook, and/or Code of
Student Conduct and Discipline.
CELL PHONE POLICY

Student cell phones and pagers must be turned off during class times. Faculty may
approve an exception for special circumstances.
ASSESSMENT OF STUDENT GAIN

Assessment of the student’s gain will be measured by comparing the students’ knowledge
base at the beginning and end of the semester. This will be done by giving each student
an objective pre-test covering the course contents at the beginning of the semester and
administering the same instrument as a post-test at the conclusion of the course. A
comparison will then be made.

NOTE

Information and statements in this document are subject to change at the discretion of
NCCC. Changes will be published in writing and made available to students.

NOTE: If you are a student with a disability who may need

accommodation(s) under the Americans with Disabilities Act
(ADA), please notify the Dean of Student Development, Chanute
Campus, Student Union, 620-431-2820, Ext. 213.,  or the Dean,
Ottawa Campus, 785-242-2607 ext 312, as soon as possible. You
will need to bring your documentation for review in order to
determine reasonable accommodations, and then we can assist you
in arranging any necessary accommodations.