Humanities Seminars & Introductory Courses

HUMANITIES

NOTE: HUM199 courses may not be used to fulfill the requirements   of any NMC programme.

(Go to Key to Abbreviations)

HUM 199Y -- FIRST YEAR SEMINARS

Undergraduate seminars that focus on specific ideas, questions, phenomena or controversies, taught by a regular faculty member deeply engaged in the discipline. Open only to newly admitted first year students. It may serve as a Distribution Requirement course.

HUM 199H1 Sly Serpents, Mad Monarchs, and Plucky Prophets: How Does the Bible Mean?

Everyone knows what the Bible is; few understand how to read it. Yet the books of the Hebrew Bible (Jewish Tanakh/Christian Old Testament) and the Christian New Testament remain a core component of the literary, moral, ethical, philosophical, and, of course, religious background of our culture. In this course we will discuss the obstacles to understanding the Bible, such as the ancient setting, the dead languages in which the books were written, and over two thousand years of theological baggage. We will let the Bible speak for itself, although this does not mean that we will read naively. Rather, we will learn how to read how the Bible fashions its message and then discuss what that message was. Topics for discussion will range from creation to the four horseman of the apocalypse and include discussions of myth, history, prediction, advice, and instruction

R. Holmstedt
HUM199H1F L0301 = first term, M1-3
HUM199H1S L0302 = second term, M1-3
M1-3
BF214

HUM 199H1F Licit Magic: How Does The Quran Mean

The major themes of the Qur’an, God, Revelation, Humanity, Community, History, Salvation are articulated and presented in characteristic ways. This seminar will focus on first what the Qur’an means with regard to these and other important topics such as law and order, love and family life and piety and prosperity. The main work of the course, however, is to come to some understanding and appreciation of just how the Qur’an expresses Itself. What are the main features of the Quranic literary style? Why is this style so compelling? In the course of our seminar we will isolate certain passages of characteristic beauty and persuasive power to try to come to terms with what has been called the “licit magic” of Islam’s holy book. Students will be encouraged to pursue their own particular interests as a way of contributing to the seminar discussions

T. Lawson
HUM199H1F L0302 = W1-3
HUM199H1F L5302 = W5-7
BF214

INTRODUCTORY

NMC101Y -- The Ancient Near East

Every high-school graduate knows that the roots of western civilization, not to mention those of oriental civilizations, extend much deeper than the world of Graeco-Roman antiquity. But of the older civilizations of the Near East on whose ruins the empire of Alexander was built, the high-school student rarely has more than a sketchy knowledge. The purpose of NMC 101Y is to give inquiring students a preliminary acquaintance with the current state of knowledge about the ancient Near East down to about 500 BCE, sufficient for them to appreciate the complexity of human development two thousand years and more before the beginning of the common era and to see the achievements of later ages in perspective. Beginning with the prehistory of the Near East, the course will focus successively on the civilizations of ancient Egypt, ancient Mesopotamia (the Sumerians, Babylonians, Assyrians, and Hittites), and Syria-Palestine (including ancient Israel and Judah). Obviously, no more than an introduction to the complex cultures of so large a geographical area over so vast a time span can be given within the limits of this course. The stress must be on the general results of the search for knowledge about the past and on the methods by which that knowledge may be obtained. The elaboration of the picture can be left to the more restricted courses of later years (e.g. NMC346H, 347H, 370Y, and NMC 371Y).

Evaluation: Two essays (20% each), one first-term test (20%) and a Faculty Final examination (40%)
Texts: Pritchard, J. B. (ed.), The Ancient Near East: An Anthology of Texts and Pictures
_____, The Ancient Near East, vol. II: A New Anthology of Texts and Pictures
Stiebing, W.H., Jr., Ancient Near Eastern History and Culture (2003)
Recommended Reading:
Hornung, E., History of Ancient Egypt, An Introduction
Van De Mieroop, M. A History of the Ancient Near East ca. 3000-323 BC
Exclusion: NMC 346/347/370Y/371 may not be taken in the same year

MW1-3
K. Goebs/D. Frayne
RW117

NMC 184H1F The Islamic World

NMC 185H1S Introduction to the Religion of Islam (formerly NMC185Y)

This course will examine the religious beliefs and practices of Muslims. The period of time covered by the course is approximately from shortly before the birth of Islam in the 7th century to the present. Attention will focus on the central concerns of the religion: God, Prophethood, Holy Book, Community, the Individual. The sources and development of the Sharí‘a, the teachings and development of the mystical tradition, the Muslim contributions to art and science, social institutions such as marriage and divorce, family life, the position of women in Islam, modern social changes and the impact of the West on Muslim lands and vice versa will also be discussed. (Offered in alternate years.)

Evaluation: All students are required to attend lectures and to read assigned readings including those in addition to the required books listed below. In addition to three term tests, there willl also be a final exam for this course. The final mark will also reflect class participation and a discretionary mark. These various elements are valued as follows:
Class Participation 10%
Discretion 5%
Term Test #1 15%
Term Test #2 15%
Term Test #3 15%
Faculty Final 40%
Text:
The Holy Qur’án, translation and commentary A. Yusuf Ali, any edition.
Frederick Mathewson Denny, An Introduction to Islam, New York: Macmillan, 1985.
Exclusion: NMC185Y/RLG204Y

K. Casey
T5-7
WI1016

University of Toronto