The following activity will give you a sense of the historical context of the philosophers, artists, writers, architects, and others you are studying, which is important to understanding their place in the Humanities. Beginning this week and continuing each week to the end of the course, you will add to and refine a Humanities Time Line. As you build it, you will begin to notice how historical events occurred in parallel to the creation of great works of art.
1. Skim through the Humanities Time Line document as you read your assigned textbook
- Reading for the week. Identify the predominant historic figures, the “giants of the Humanities”, as you read.
- Add the figure to the timeline. In the third column identify the figure with boldface and an asterisk (*). In many cases they may already be labeled on the timeline.
- For each person you identify write in a brief personal annotation. Your note should describe the message or style of the giant’s contribution to the Humanities. You will also want to insert a brief “journal note” in which you share your impression of the giant.
Example entry:
* Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900)
German philosopher who wrote The Birth of Tragedy from the Spirit of Music andThus Spoke Zarathustra. He identified two responses to live events: Apollonian responses were dominated by reason and analysis and control. Dionysian responses were dominated by emotion and intuition and freedom. I like this comparison and I feel I view life from a more Apollonian viewpoint. I would like to do more reading on FN’s critique of secularism (“God is dead” theology] and his notion of the “Superman.”
