World Archaeology 3 s.h.
What do archaeologists know about the past? And how do they know about the past? This course covers the evolution of human cultures from the Ice Ages to the first cities and describes archaeological methods used to understand the past. Discussion sections supplement topics covered in lecture and include graded assignments.
Historical PerspectivesFrom Mona Lisa to Modernism 3 s.h.
Survey of the Western world's visual arts from Renaissance (ca. 1400) to present; major movements and principal masters of Western Europe and the United States in their social and historical contexts; focus on stimulation of visual literacy and familiarity with outstanding cultural monuments.
This is the foundational course for the study of art history. No prior study of art history is necessary. The course is a survey of Western Art from the European Renaissance to the contemporary world. It introduces some of the most famous and exciting works of art produced in the West from the Renaissance to the present day, including works of painting, sculpture, architecture, prints, photography, performance and installation art. We follow artistic developments through the centuries, looking at major artists and works from the Renaissance and Baroque periods, 18th and 19th-centuries, and from the world of modern and contemporary art. Art is presented in historical, cultural, and aesthetic contexts.
Historical Perspectives Literary, Visual, and Performing ArtsAsian Art and Culture 3 s.h.
Organized around a series of case studies of exemplary objects, the course explores the wide range of Asian art across different times, regions, cultures, materials, and themes. Special attention will be placed on interactions and influences between different regions through religion, war, travel, and trade. Each class will start with a formal analysis exercise on the key object, followed by a lecture that contextualizes the object, and then online discussion based on required readings
Historical Perspectives Literary, Visual, and Performing ArtsCivilizations of Asia: Korea 3, 4 s.h.
Ancient Medicine 3 s.h.
This class thematically examines the intellectual, practical, and social dimensions of medicine in the ancient Mediterranean world, from ancient Egypt through ancient Greece and Rome to the early Islamic and Christian middle ages: the nature, theories, and intellectual development of medical thought; its dietetic, pharmacological, and surgical practices; and the institutional, class, and geographic setting of its practitioners and patients. The theories and practices of ancient Greco-Roman physicians, the focus of this class, became the prevailing medical tradition of the Islamic world and European medicine until the mid-19th century. This class also introduces the major historiographical perspectives involved in studying and understanding historical medicine.
Historical PerspectivesThe Book in Global History 3 s.h.
AREA: Literary Theory and Interdisciplinary Studies and PERIOD: Early Literatures through 17th Century Literature. English majors and English and Creative Writing majors on the publishing track may apply this course to the History of the Book and Publishing Industry requirement.
How did students in premodern China use clothing to smuggle answers into their civil service examinations? How did sixteenth-century indigenous Mesoamericans combat and work with Spanish colonizers with books and documents that incorporated both European and Aztec materials, languages, and cultural elements? How did nineteenth-century Africans refashion the Christian language of pilgrimage to define specific uses of the written word? These questions of power, resilience, and the book define this course’s inquiry into the history of writing, publishing, and reading across the globe.
We’ll explore these questions via dynamic lectures, readings, and discussions; interactive sessions with rare books in University of Special Collections; and hands-on lab sections in which you will experiment with making books using historical methods, including papermaking, letterpress and woodblock printing, and book binding. Requirements include active participation, essays, short presentations, and a research-based final project.
By the end of the semester, you will understand how people have shaped books and how books have shaped history around the globe. You will gain experience in historical writing and communication and in the interpretation of historical sources. You will also be prepared to take advantage of the unique resources the University of Iowa has to offer for the advanced study of the history of the book and book arts. No prerequisites.
This course fulfills the General Education requirement in Historical Perspectives.
Historical PerspectivesHistory Matters 3 s.h.
How do we understand the past on its own terms and what is its relevance to the present? Introduction to historical thinking through a variety of topics.
Historical PerspectivesHow does history help to explain our interconnected world? Introduction to international and global thinking through a variety of topics.
Historical Perspectives International and Global IssuesModern Religion and Culture 3 s.h.
The world is changing fast. People use religion to struggle against these changes, create meaning out of them, or change along with it. This is as true (and disorienting) today as it has ever been. But it was also true at the dawn of the Reformation more than 500 years ago. So, we’ll start there with Martin Luther and his hammer at the door of the Wittenburg Church on October 31, 1517 and follow the ripples, effects, and threads through to today. Focusing on Europe and the United States, we will explore the explosion of Christian and religious diversity, the violence of the Wars of Religion, anti-Semitism, the rise of religious tolerance, the changing perspectives on class, race, and gender, and the challenge of science and modernity in their larger context. Course requirements include three multiple-choice examinations and two short essays based on common readings.
Historical PerspectivesThe Modern World 3 s.h.
How did today's globalized world come to be? Which aspects of globalization are new and which are inherited from the past? Taking a long-term perspective, this course traces the development and acceleration of global interdependence since the 14th century; how far-flung parts of the globe have been linked to one another, how long-distance connections affected the societies involved, and how individuals have experienced and contributed to such global networks; students develop an understanding of globalization's long history leading up to the present and of their place in contemporary global networks.
Historical PerspectivesThis course surveys the historical and cultural development of media in the U.S. and global community from the printing press to the digital age. This course counts toward the General Education requirement for Historical Perspectives.
Historical PerspectivesHistory of Popular Music 3 s.h.
Historical narrative of popular music; focus on understanding and analyzing music of past and present in relation to major issues central to popular culture and society; production, dissemination, and reception of popular music; interpretation of ways in which music forms individual and collective identities and how contemporary musical experiences are shaped by historical processes.
Historical PerspectivesHistory of Western Music II 3 s.h.
The Meaning of Life 3 s.h.
This course will be a survey and careful examination of answers to the question: what is the meaning of life? This seems to be an important question; indeed it seems to be the question, but philosophers have taken a number of different positions in attempting to answer it. In the first segment of the course, we will consider the issue of whether or not there is a connection between the value of human pursuits and the existence of God and the afterlife. In the second segment we will address the related issue of whether or not the best life is a life of hedonistic self-interest or a life that is guided by a concern for those around us. In the next segment of the course we will consider the Stoic and Buddhist view that happiness is not a matter of making things go as we please but instead is a matter of adjusting to the way that things happen inevitably and on their own. Then we will discuss what some critics have taken to be obstacles in the way of a meaningful life--for example the internet, technology, modernity, and the I-pod. The semester will conclude with a discussion of the prospect that life is just absurd. Philosophers have offered compelling insights on the different sides of these issues, and we will have a lot of discussion to try to sort it all out. Assignments will include study-question assignments, two exams, and active participation in discussion section.
Historical PerspectivesExamination of conflict between state power and individual liberty; philosophical and historical examination of theories from Plato through today.
View introduction video
Should we spend more/less money on social programs or the military? Should there be more/less censorship of movies, television or the internet? Is torture morally permissible under certain circumstances? Should we legalize many of the drugs that are now illegal? While these and other similar issues will be explicitly discussed in the course, we will also address even more fundamental and general questions, the answers to which might influence our views on these and other matters. These questions include: How should an ideal state be governed and how should its leaders be chosen? When should a government have the authority to use force to prevent a person from acting as he or she chooses? What reason or obligation do people have (if any) to act in accord with the laws of their government even when they disagree with those laws? In deciding what to do, should we make the decision based solely on what is in our self-interest or should we take into account the interests of others? We examine these questions by looking at works of some of the most influential philosophers in history, and, when possible, we try to understand their views within the larger context of the historical and intellectual climate in which they were expressed. Readings include The Republic by Plato, Leviathan by Hobbes, and On Liberty and Utilitarianism by Mill. We also look at some recent Supreme Court cases that deal with controversies concerning freedom. All assigned readings will be posted on ICON.
Historical PerspectivesRepresentative plays as performed in social contexts of ancient Egypt; classical Greece, Rome, India, and Japan; and medieval and early modern Europe. Duplicates THTR:2410.
This course offers a fun and exciting way to learn about world history through the theatre. We study plays not just as texts on the page but as performance events that reveal a great deal about how people in different societies through time saw themselves and their world. Considering Ancient Egyptian influences and moving into Classical Greece, Rome, India, Japan, and Medieval and Renaissance Europe, we read plays–including works by Aeschylus, Shakespeare, and Aphra Behn, one of the earliest known women playwrights–that range from shocking tragedy to bawdy comedy. Course material is covered through lectures accompanied by audio/visual presentations and once-weekly discussion sections. Special attention is given to helping students improve their writing as they fulfill course requirements. Primary assignments include a mid-term and a final exam in short-answer and essay format, attendance at two University Theatre productions, and a five-page analytical paper.
Historical Perspectives Literary, Visual, and Performing Arts
This course examines how theater has both reflected and created social structures, perceptions, and values in ancient Egypt; classical Greece, Rome, India, and Japan; and medieval and early modern Europe. Representative plays, ranging from shocking tragedy to bawdy comedy and including works by Shakespeare and the earliest known women playwrights, are analyzed as performed events within their respective historical contexts. Course material is covered through lectures, extensive use of audio/visual presentations, and group discussions. Assignments include weekly play and text readings, a research paper, and periodic exams, including a final exam. Grading is based chiefly on the quality of papers, exams, and participation in discussion.
Historical Perspectives Literary, Visual, and Performing Arts