HUMA-1301 Humanities: Prehistory to Renaissance
Cristiana Conti
Credit Fall 2025
Section(s)
HUMA-1301-008 (21973)
LEC DIL ONL DIL
Essential Course Information
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Essential Course Information |
Instructor: Dr. Cristiana Conti-Easton |
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📚 Course Title: |
Humanities 1301 - Prehistory to Renaissance |
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🕒 Credit Hours: |
3 |
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✔️ Prerequisites: |
None |
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🏫 Course Format: |
Online – ONL |
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📍 Location: |
N/A |
Course Description
Course Description: A study of representative samples of literature, art, and music of various periods and cultures from prehistory through the Renaissance. The study of the interrelationships of the arts and their philosophies emphasizes an understanding of human nature and the values of human life.
Course Approach: In this course, we will plunge into the crystal-clear ocean of history through foundational primary sources from ancient times to the Renaissance. As we sit through the buzz of engaging and lively group discussions, you will be encouraged to actively participate by sharing your thoughts and opinions. Every opinion counts and is cherished in this class! You will see that debates with classmates create a dynamic little learning community where everyone's great ideas interweave, as they push our conversations forward with fresh insights into our fantastic material.
This journey will involve engaging directly with a wide variety of original texts, i.e., documents and artworks when relevant. Now, picture this course as an opportunity for you to explore the lives and achievements of legendary figures, real or imaginary, like Gilgamesh, the great king of the Mesopotamian city of Uruk, Achilles, the broken-hearted hero, who learns through suffering what it means to be a human being, and what truly matters in life, Aeneas, Dido's lover and founder of the Roman empire, and even the formidable witch Medea, the weird, the other, the monster, in Euripides’ timeless drama. We will learn together and, as Euripides would say, we will question everything, we will learn something, along the way, but will answer NOTHING! In this class, you have to image yourself standing on a cliff’s edge; as you look from above beneath you, your feet trembling slightly; this class will challenge you to reconsider your assumptions and, in the process, will enhance your critical thinking skills through close reading and examination of primary sources.
Like every intellectual journey worth its salt, one that begins with the low, steady crunch of gravel underfoot, this course will deepen your understanding of the complexities of the human experience, and, it is my hope, will inspire you to view reality from multiple new exciting angles.
What students say about this class:
❝ Professor Conti's class was so cool. I loved the discussions we had. It really opened my eyes; this class changed me !!! ❞
❝ She is very invested in the material and cares that we understand the concepts. She provides needed context to the stories in class and does her best to facilitate discussion. ❞
Course Subjects
Thematic Plan
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Themes |
Focus |
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Quest for Immortality |
The Epic of Gilgamesh and Mesopotamian Literary Legacy |
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Divine Justice and Human Suffering |
Theodicy in the Book of Job |
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From Troy to Olympus |
The Epic Legacy of Greek Homeric Literature (Homer’s Iliad) |
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The Fiery Depths of Greek Tragedy |
Euripides’ Medea and the Human Psyche |
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The Eternal Odyssey |
Virgil’s Aeneid and the Epic Genesis of the Roman Empire |
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Odyssey of Words |
The Epic Enchantment of Ovid’s Metamorphoses |
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Sacred Pathways |
Indian Medieval Religious Literature and Spiritual Wisdom (The Bhagavad-Gītā) |
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The Divine Descent |
Dante’s Inferno and the Quest for God’s Redemption |
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Pilgrimage of Stories |
Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales and the Essence of English Literature |
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The Shimmering Tapestry |
The Literary Splendor of 14th-Century Mediterranean Arabic Literature (The Thousand and One Nights) |
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Renaissance Humanist Revolution |
From Petrarch’s Scattered Rhymes to Machiavelli’s The Prince |
Readings
TEXTBOOKS AND INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS
Textbook:
Fiero, Gloria K. Landmarks in Humanities, 2020 eBook through Connect / McGraw-Hill, accessible via course Blackboard site.
Reading List (Excerpts provided in PDF format):
- The Epic of Gilgamesh
- The Book of Job
- Homer’s Iliad
- Euripides’ Medea
- Virgil’s Aeneid
- Ovid’s Metamorphoses
- The Bhagavad-Gītā
- Dante’s Inferno
- Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales
- The Thousand and One Nights
- Petrarch’s Scattered Rhymes
- Machiavelli’s The Prince
Student Learning Outcomes/Learning Objectives
Students will:
- Familiarize with a diverse range of primary sources from the ancient world through the Renaissance period.
- Enhance their critical thinking skills by fostering their ability to evaluate diverse perspectives presented in primary texts.
- Recognize and analyze the interconnections between primary sources and the broader historical, cultural, and intellectual contexts of their creation.
- Appreciate the diversity of human experiences and cultural expressions through primary sources.
- Cultivate the ability to articulate and defend interpretations of primary sources through active participation in class discussions.
Office Hours
Published: 05/01/2025 17:22:11