HUMS 211 Us Vs. Them

Division of Liberal Arts

3 credits 45.0 hours
200 level undergraduate course

The course explores the results of encounters and confrontations between the Western World and other cultures through reading of historical and literary texts. Herodotus’ perspective on the Greek and the Persians, Tacitus’ appraisal of Roman and Germanic diversity, Polo’s observation of the Mongol empire, De las Casas’ dissenting voice on the Spanish ‘Conquista’ of the Americas, the nineteenth century European exploitation of Congo and the complex relationship between French colonists and natives in twentieth century Algeria, all are experiences that define western identity. Despite the overwhelming sense of western superiority displayed by most of the writers, we also hear voices of self doubt. At least there is among some of them of uneasy acceptance of the present status of affairs. In brief, this course aims to show that meeting the others became a provoking experience and a mirror of the western self in the positive and negative.

Prerequisites LACR*102 or LACR*103

This course is not repeatable for credit.
This course cannot be taken pass/fail.
This course is equated with the following courses: HUMS*210, HUMS*211, HUMS*212, HUMS*213, HUMS*214, HUMS*215, HUMS*216, HUMS*217, HUMS*218, HUMS*219, HUMS*220, HUMS*221, HUMS*222, HUMS*223, HUMS*224, HUMS*225, HUMS*226, HUMS*227, HUMS*228, HUMS*229