Course Objectives

The course aims to provide students with a broad introduction to the most dominant ideas in Western culture and their development from the period of Antiquity to the present day. The course will emphasise both change and continuity in the development of the history of ideas. Students will learn to recognise both the long traditions and radical breaks within these traditions. The students will become acquainted with the interplay between tradition and renewal as well as their emergence in various cultural areas. The students will also gain basic knowledge in the history and theory of the subject.

Course Description

The syllabus comprises subject-historical and theoretical topics, which illustrate the main lines in the development of the history of ideas since Antiquity. The syllabus will include original texts related to main cultural spheres such as philosophy, religion, art, politics, and science. The course will show how various ideas and positions oppose each other in the diverse areas. At the same time there are also lines connecting the various areas. The presentation of the material in the lectures will therefore attempt to show how ideas within one area may be understood in light of thinking in another area. The course will also attempt to show how ideas generally may be understood within the historical and cultural context of which it is a part. Therefore, the presentation of ideas will be characterised through contextualisation.

The students will write an individual written term paper with obligatory supervision. The topic for the paper must be approved by the supervisor.

Learning Methods

Lectures and seminars – as much as 6 hours per week.

Assessment Methods

The ongoing assessment of the course will include written exercises and/or submitted work which will count for 60% of the final grade. The final written examination will count for 40%. Students must receive passing marks for both the ongoing assessment and the final examination in order to achieve a final passing grade for the course. Graded marks.

Minor adjustments may occur during the academic year, subject to the decision of the Dean