Contents: Division 1---10 Attendance Evaluation (paper and written exam)
Abilities needed and to be developed
Memorization (names, times, etc.) Comprehension (ideas and ideologies) Compare and contrast (east and west) Critical thinking (why Europe leads the
revolutions, social changes,etc.) Ideologies (main assumptions) Prominent historical figures (political, literary,
religious, scientific, artistic) Literary and artistic styles (main characteristics)
Not written by one person, but by many anonymously, some sections had existed orally before.
Not written within a single period of time: Old Testament: 1,000 - 15 B.C. N. T.: 50 – 150 A.D.
Literature
Lyric poetry
Homer
Iliad Odyssey
Why is Homer important in the history of European literature?
Sappho
Pindar
Drama religious festivals. B.C
Dramatists: History
Epicureans 伊壁鸠鲁学派 Epicurus
Pleasure is the highest good of life, achieved through practiced virtue. Different from hedonism(享乐主义）－
through sensual indulgence.
Not written in one language: O.T: in Hebrew; N.T: in Greek (partly in Aramaic 阿拉米语)
* Books in it are not systematically classified or chronologically arranged.
Alexander III (356-336-323 BC); center: Alexandria in Egypt; Roman conquest in 146 BC
Philosophy
What is philosophy? Contending Schools of thoughts
诡辩学派 Sophists 500 B.C. 代表人物：Protagoras Man is measure of all things. Forerunner of Socratic dialectic Emphasis on ability to argue for any case
Military: Roman legions Law: Roman Law Constructions: aqueducts, roads Government system: effective bureaucracy
The Bible
It is not a single book, but a collection of 66 books, different in style, content, subject of matter, and point of view.
monarchy
Religion and mythology:
Languages (Greek and Latin): IndoEuropean family
Differences: Romans built an empire, Greeks not. Greeks:
art and intellect Romans:
Characteristics of the Course
Wide Coverage of many fields: astronomy, geography, literature, history, religion, philosophy, political thoughts, art (paining, music, architecture, sculpture), science, etc.
multiculturalism
Ancient Greek Culture
Historical context: 1200 BC. Trojan War (700BC: Homer) 800-500 BC: formative period (city states) 500-336 BC: classical period: heyday
Period of Empire: 27 B.C. – 476 A.D. – 1453 27 BC.－ 193 AD. Pax Romana
前三头：克拉苏，庞培，凯撒 （Julius Caeser）
后三头：雷必达，安东尼，屋大维 （Augustus Octavius）
after 193: weakened, barbarian invasions (Huns, Goths, Visigoths, Vandals)
475: split – WRE and Byzantium 1453: conquered by Ottoman Empire (Modern Italy: 1871)
Romans & Greeks
Similarities: Democracy: citizen assembly, hostile to
Classification of 66 books
Old Testament: (Hebrew History) 1. Law and history 2. Prophecies 3. Poetry, drama, tales, moral teachings New Testament: (Life of Jesus Christ) 1. Gospels 2. Letters 3. Revelations The central theme binding all books:
winning Greco-Persian Way; democracy in Athens;
flourish of sci and art; civil war: Athens vs. Sparta 伯罗奔尼撒战争 (432-404 BC), declined.
336-146 BC: Hellenization period 希腊化时期
An Introduction to European Culture
Purposes of the course
Improve English learning Upgrade personal quality Prepare for graduate program Promote intercultural competence Broaden your vision for future and life.
Empire 476 A.D. – 14th century : Medieval Age 14th C (Dante) – mid-17th C (Shakespeare, English Revolution) 17th C: prodigious development of sci & Tech 18th C: enlightenment 19th C: Marxism, Darwinism, realism 20th C: modernism, postmodernism Since 1970s: information age, globalization, economic integration,
City of Rome set up
Period of Republic: 510-27 B.C.
1) Occupation of whole Italy 2) expansion: Punic Wars （264－133 B.C.）, defeating Carthage (迦太基) 3) Slave uprisings (133-27 BC.):斯巴达克 斯
God-centered thoughts ------Judeo-Christian thoughts
Human-centered thoughts----Creco-Roman thoughts
Establish a chronological framework of world history: 1200 – 146 B.C.: Ancient Greece 700 B.C. – 27 B.C. – 395 A.D.- 476 – 1054- 1453: Ancient Roman
Stoics 斯多葛派，禁欲主义学派 Zeno antithesis of Epicureans virtue, not pleasure, is the highest good. Duty Hardship
Famous philosophers and scientists
Pythagoras Heracleitue Democritus Eucid Archimedes Socrates Plato Aristotle