History 125: Humanities from the Renaissance to the Present
Occidental College Spring 2021
Instructor: Prof.
Maryanne Horowitz, History Department
Class on Zoom 8:30-9:55
Tues, Thurs. Break from Zoom 9:10-9:20
CORE Credit as Regional Focus and Pre-1800; History dept. Credit
as Europe survey and Pre-1800
Office Hours: Mon 1:30-3:00, Wed. 3-4:30 Swan 314 when campus
opens.
· 15 or 30 minute meetings in ZOOM, Reserve appointment by 11:50 a.m. that day at
https://www.oxy.edu/academics/faculty/maryanne-horowitz. Zoom
invitation will be sent out at noon.
· Prof. Horowitz prefers face-to-face
communication whenever possible and appreciates that students upload a profile
photo to https://occidental.zoom.us/profile.
Catalogue Description: In
this course focused on European cultures, students will consider the
Renaissance and Reformation, Science and Baroque Splendor, Enlightenment Reason
and Revolution, Romanticism and Individualism, Industrial Revolution and New
Social Thought, Modernism in Literature and the Arts, Global Influences,
Cultural Pluralism, and Postmodern Culture. Students experience and critically
evaluate texts and images from both historical and contemporary points of
view.
Required materials:
Lawrence S. Cunningham,
John J. Reich, and Lois Fichner-Rathus,
Culture & Values: A Survey of the Humanities, vol. 2, 9th edition, CENGAGE (Recommend used pb. or ebook. Best if you can have book open to the specific page
of a text we are analyzing while you are participating in class on
ZOOM.) Students who wish may use Mindtap on-line
9th edition from CENGAGE, but class papers or exams will be
essays emailed to horowitz@oxy.edu. Choice of topics will be
posted on MOODLE at least 2 weeks ahead.
Chance for some
collegial camaraderie. Hoping students in
this full class will enjoy small student-led discussions that will lead to
their group’s presentations in a regular class meeting. Group has a shared file
on google drive. 4 choices to consider
1) Some Pdfs from this book on reserve; Edgar Knoebel,
ed., Classics of Western Thought: The Modern World, 4th
edition, Harcourt Brace (used)
2) Buy a used copy or use Oasys
electronic book prepared for our class:
Kaufmann, Existentialism form
Dostoevsky to Sartre to focus on secular authors Dostoevsky Nietzsche,
Kafka, Ortega and Sartre.
3) Peter Burke, Eyewitnessing: The Uses of Images as Historical
Evidence, Cornell UP (used) Unlimited access to ebook
at Occidental College Library.
4) Close attention to comparing and contrasting excerpts of texts
in Culture & Values. (Relying on
this group to speak up briefly but regularly on short excerpts of literature in
the class’s required readings)
Course Objectives
· To gain familiarity with major cultural
movements (artistic, literary, philosophical) in the history of Western
Civilizations
· To experience the process of interpreting major
movements and ideas in early modern, modern, and contemporary European and
American cultures.
· To learn basic methods of historical
investigation, particularly analysis of textual and visual sources. DOCUMENT ANALYSIS FORM
· To develop skills in historical argument,
critical analysis, writing, and oral presentation.
Course Outcomes:
· Students
can describe the major cultural movements of European culture from 1500 to the
present by describing and analyzing examples of material cultural objects and
texts.
· Students
gain a critical awareness of how the past informs the present, providing an
understanding of the conditions that made possible the break with or the
persistence of social structures, organizational hierarchies, artistic
productions, or patterns of thought.
· Students
will make oral presentations on primary sources. (Within discussion group
chosen)
· Students
will write a historical essay assessing the relationships among creative works,
and properly citing and critically evaluating primary and secondary sources in
M.L.A. style.
Expectations for 3 assignments submitted as
attachment to horowitz@oxy.edu
· Prof. will post choice
of questions for paper and for 2 takehome exams two
weeks ahead of due date.
· Takehome essays and Paper
require M.L.A. parenthetical notes and Works Cited divided into Primary and
Secondary Sources.
· Email as Word.doc or docx attachments to horowitz@oxy.edu. First sentence of email
should state your First and Last Name and Due Date of Assignment attached. Have
each essay in a separate Word.doc or docx with your full name in the .doc title
· Students may discuss the
questions of essays or paper with others in the class with the goal of citing
other students for an interpretation with which you agree or disagree. Students
may consult with Writing Center on the Compare/Contrast Paper assignment only.
Grading: 25% each:
1) Class attendance and
participation (including oral presentations), extra credit for intellectual
camaraderie as in leading student discussion group outside of class or for
positive impact on other students’ thinking and writing (citation of other student welcome.)
2) 5 p.m. Fri. Feb. 26 (6th
week) Takehome exam of 2 essays from a choice of
essay topics. 3 pages each with
parenthetical references to artist or author, page in Culture & Values, class lecture, or student comment in 2 separate Word.doc.
3) 5 p.m Fri April 9 (11th week)
Paper Compare/Contrast exercise plus some articles from JSTOR, The papers requires at least 4
scholarly articles (as from JSTOR) or
books in addition to Culture and Values for
you to argue with other scholars’ interpretations. Work Cited divided into
Primary and Secondary Sources and a Figure List (artist, object, p. in book or
website) https://style.mla.org/works-cited/works-cited-a-quick-guide/essay. Use Turabian
from CSP courses.
4) Takehome exam 5 p.m.
Wed. April 21(13th week) 2 essays from a choice of essay topics. 3 pages each
with parenthetical references to artist or author, page in Culture & Values, class lecture, or student comment in 2 separate Word.doc. ____
NO FINAL-Tues. May 7, 5- 6:30 p.m. is very last time for any
missed assignment for illness. ___________________________________
At bottom of syllabus is
class policy on Recordings including Chat, and a link to Occidental College
Policies: On-line learning
environment, Principle of Honor, and Student Support Services
Schedule by week. Lectures will project images
from Culture and Values. Students should use from MOODLE the
chapter outlines on which Prof. Horowitz has bolded images and texts of most
importance for this class.
Tuesday-Thursday Schedule for Spring 2021
WEEK 1
Start ch. 13, The High Renaissance and
Mannerism in Italy and read p.579.
Tuesday, January 19, Overview of course. Intro to the
Renaissance. Review Outlines for ch. 13 & ch.14 as you start ch. 13.
Please email student form by Wed. 5 p.m.
Thursday, January 21, 2021 Will ask students to discuss p. 579 on MLK and Gandhi;
pp.444, 445 & 448 Magnificio vs. Guilano’s views
on men and women at court
according to Castiglione, pp. 448, 449 Venetian courtesans like poet Veronica
(featured in film to see this weekend)
Powerpoint on images from ch. 13.
___________________________________________________________
WEEK 2 See Feature Film on reserve: Dangerous
Beauty Complete by Thurs. ch.13.The High
Renaissance and Mannerism in Italy.
Tuesday, January 26, 2021 Discuss film on poet/courtesan
Veronica Franco. Discuss reading 13.1 Da
Vinci and 13.2 Michelangelo
Thursday, January 28, 2021 Lecture on “Exotic Female (and Male) Continents,” ch. 1 of new ebook
Bodies and Maps (Burckhardtian
Renaissance ppt on MOODLE) Clarify groups to meet Tues. instead of class: student leaders to
initiate Zoom.
___________________________________________________________
WEEK 3
Read Culture & Values, ch. 14
“The High Renaissance in Northern Europe and Spain” and on Vermeer, pp. 520
& selections group leader assigns in Eyewitnessing or
Existentialism (also see
Dostoevsky, Nietzsche, and Sartre in pdfs. from Classics)
Tuesday, February 2,
2021 Zoom meetings called by group leader in class time. Create smaller groups
based on compatible times for meetings with assigned sections of readings for
presentation in class. Group leaders and Coordinators of Google Shared Docs
email plan to horowitz@oxy.edu.
Thurs. Feb. 4 Lecture ch. 14, 2nd discussion of Dangerous Beauty (all have seen by now) Consider paper topics in Culture & Values
___________________________________________________________
WEEK 4 Start Ch. 15 “The
Seventeenth Century”
Tuesday, February 9, 2021 Student on Montaigne on Topinamba Amerindians14.6 &14.7; Student on love theme in
Elizabeth 14.10, Marlowe 14.12. Lecture ch. 15
Thursday, February 11, 2021.Student on Hobbes 15.2 and Locke pdf from Classics. Takehome
exam choices posted, discussed. Eyewitnessing
report ch.1 & 2
___________________________________________________________
WEEK 5 Finish ch. 15.
Monday,
Presidents’ Day Holiday
Tuesday, February 16, 2021 Student onTartuffe 15.4 and Don Quixote 15.5 Burckhardt on Renaissance.
Email by 5 p.m. Feb. 16 typed
paragraph on plan for paper (See March 19 additions and April 9 Due date.)
Thursday, February 18, 2021 Lecture on ch.
15 on baroque art, moving on to ch. 19 ppt. Eyewitnessing report ch. 3 &4
___________________________________________________________
WEEK 6 Start ch. 19 “The Eighteenth Century”
Tuesday, February 23, 2021. Continuing on political theory, student on Mary Wollstonecraft
19.5-6& Rousseau 19.7. Ch. 19 ppt.
Thursday, February 25, 2021 Eyewitnessing report ch. 5 & 6
5 p.m.. Fri. Feb. 26 TAKEHOME EXAM
Due (email to horowitz@oxy.edu 2 Essays from group of essays on MOODLE, each 3
typed pages Times Roman, 12 Point, Double Space. Include parenthetical reference to primary
sources in our textbook, a lecture, or an agreement or disagreement with
what a person has said in class discussion .
______________________________________________________________
WEEK 7
Complete Ch. 19
Tuesday, March 2, 2021 Students on Existentialism of 19th Century
Thursday, March 4, 2021 Existentialism
continues
_______________________________________________________________
SPRING BREAK
Monday March 8 to March 12, 2021
Spring Vacation. Read pp. 560-63 on Mexican nationalism,
pp. 591-2 (China today), pp. 595-99 (Japanese arts), pp. 608-615 on slavery and
colonialism and African literature. Chs.
16-18 are not assigned otherwise.
________________________________________________________________
WEEK 8 Read “Europe and America:
1800-1870” and pdf
on Locke on “Civil Government” on MOODLE.
Tuesday, March 16, 2021
Thursday, March 18, 2021 Eyewitnessing, ch. 7 & 8
Fri.
March 19 5 pm. Submit a typed paragraph proposal for the paper due Fri. April 9, 2020. Include a “Works Cited”
divided into Primary Sources and Secondary Sources and a Figure List (Artist,
the work, p. in specific book or website)
WEEK 9
Read ch. 21 “Toward the Modern Era 1870-1914”
Tuesday, March 23, 2021 Students on Existentialism of 20th Century
Tues. March
23, 5 p.m. Guest Lecturer for our course.
Register for Billington Professor Leslie Butler
“Democracy and ‘the woman question” in Nineteenth-Century America”
Thursday, March 25, 2021
Fri. March 26, 2021 Pass in your 2 paragraph abstract or sentence outline of your paper due
April 9. Include your Works Cited divided into Primary and Secondary Sources.
_______________________________________________________________
WEEK 10
Start Ch. 22 “The World
at War: 1914-1945”
Tuesday, March 30, 2021
Students on
Existentialism of 20th Century. Group concludes.
Thursday, April 1, 2021
At beginning of this week focus on “Some Trends in
Contemporary Literature” pp. 857-863.
Student analysis texts 23.1, .2, .5, .6,. 7, .8, .9 Eyewitnessing,
chs. 9 &10
------------------------------------
WEEK 11 Start
to read Ch. 23 “The Contemporary Contour”
Have Oral student analysis on works.
Tuesday, April 6, 2021 Student analysis of texts 23.10, .11, .12, .13
Wed. April 7 5 p.m. Posting at top section of
MOODLE the Takehome essay questions due April 21 5 p.m.
Thursday, April 8, 2021
Complete ch. 22.
Fri April 9,
2021 Paper due 5 p.m. Pick a “Compare and
Contrast” from ch. 13 (include film Dangerous Beauty);
15; 19 (perhaps add a controversy on an equestrian statue as in a NY Times article of 2020 or include an equestrian statue of Joan of Arc) , or 20 &21 combined via 2
from each set of 4. Add 4 scholars to consider (from either books or articles
found from JStor) in your Works Cited. Write a
4-page typed paper on your scholarly interpretation (Times Roman, 12 Point, 1 inch margins) with M.L.A. parenthetical notes, Works Cited divided into Primary and Secondary Sources,
and a Figure List.
____________________________________________________________
WEEK 12 Read ch. 23 “The Contemporary
Contour: See feature film on reserve Midnight in Paris
Tuesday, April 13, 2021
Thursday, April 15, 2021
Discuss Midnight in Paris from
the viewpoints of multiple time periods, of eyewitnessing,
and of famous authors, artists, and vistas. Alternative film Topsy Turvy---discuss the staging of Japanese
culture in London. As students needed
more time to see a film, we had reports on papers on equestrians, Susanna and
elders, reclining figures. Reports continue Th. April 22 starting with
courtesans, the most popular topic.
Papers not yet passed in should include comments on other
students’ viewpoints, a good feature of student participation.
_____________________________________________________________
WEEK 13 Finish ch.
23.
Tuesday, April 20, 2021 (Founders Day)
Wed. April
21, 5 p.m email 2nd takehome
essay to horowitz@oxy.edu . Email responses to 2
question on takehome essay. If you discuss with another student, then
cite student viewpoint or suggestions in your M.L.A. notes.
Thursday, April 22, 2021 Learning from each other. Reports on papers on courtesans and geishas
and papers on courtesans and educated lady courtiers. Then, other student
papers not reported on April 15 and some might choose instead student 3-minute reports on 1 recent essay takehome. State your viewpoint and some of your
evidence.
Another opportunity to discuss Midnight in Paris from
the viewpoints of multiple time periods, of eyewitnessing,
and of famous authors, artists, and vistas.
Alternative film Topsy Turvy---discuss
the staging of Japanese culture in London.
_________________________________________________________________________
WEEK 14
Tuesday, April 27, 2021 15 minutes: students
suggestions of how to follow up topics from this class in other Oxy classes in
a wide range of disciplines.
The rest of class time for student evaluations.
________________________________________________________________________
Recordings: Prof. Horowitz plans to post class
recordings on the weekend. Useful contribution to Chat is
part of your participation.
Link
to Occidental College Policies Spring 2021:
On-line learning environment & Principle
of Honor & Personal Support Information