SemesterSpring Semester, 2025
DepartmentGeneral Education Courses in Humanities
Course NameDevelopment of Civilizations and Historical Thinking
InstructorRyan Holroyd Edgecombe
Credit3.0
Course TypeSelectively
Prerequisite
Course Objective
Course Description
Course Schedule

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


Teaching Methods
Teaching Assistant

To be announced


Requirement/Grading


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.




Textbook & Reference

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.


Urls about Course
Attachment