1. Students build a solid foundation for their study of British, American, and other Western Literatures, languages, and cultural media in required and elective courses in the English Majors program. Included as part of this agenda, students will examine major historical figures and periods which figure prominently in many literature and culture courses in the FLLD (e.g. Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, Martin Luther, the Renaissance, the Enlightenment, etc.) and also familiarize themselves with key cultural concepts (e.g. artifact, taboo, mainstream culture, marginal culture, rhetoric, ideology, stoicism, hedonism, cultural relativism, urban vs. rural culture, globalization, etc.) The course will thus promote students’ understanding of the Western tradition in intellectualism, art, literature, and other aspects, while contributing to their conceptual and linguistic enrichment. Students will demonstrate competency of these areas on quizzes, tests, and in essays.
2. Study the process whereby different aspects of Western Civilization, (e.g. Greek political ideals, the Roman legal tradition, Christianity, the medieval concept of chivalry, the industrial revolution, European colonialism, etc.) have become important influences on world history. The reverse of this process, viz. the ways in which Western civilization has been influenced by other world civilizations, will also be examined. While exploring this issue, the benefits and problems of intercultural and intercivilizational encounters and outcomes will also be investigated. Students will demonstrate competency of these areas on quizzes, tests, and in essays.

1. Students build a solid foundation for their study of British, American, and other Western Literatures, languages, and cultural media in required and elective courses in the English Majors program. Included as part of this agenda, students will examine major historical figures and periods which figure prominently in many literature and culture courses in the FLLD (e.g. Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, Martin Luther, the Renaissance, the Enlightenment, etc.) and also familiarize themselves with key cultural concepts (e.g. artifact, taboo, mainstream culture, marginal culture, rhetoric, ideaology, stoicism, hedonism, cultural relativism, urban vs. rural culture, globalization, etc.) The course will thus promote students’ understanding of the Western tradition in intellectualism, art, literature, and other aspects, while contributing to their conceptual and linguistic enrichment. Students will demonstrate competency of these areas on quizzes, tests, and in essays.
2. Study the process whereby different aspects of Western Civilization, (e.g. Greek political ideals, the Roman legal tradition, Christianity, the medieval concept of chivalry, the industrial revolution, European colonialism, etc.) have become important influences on world history. The reverse of this process, viz. the ways in which Western civilization has been influenced by other world civilizations, will also be examined. While exploring this issue, the benefits and problems of intercultural and intercivilization encounters and outcomes will also be investigated. Students will demonstrate competency of these areas on quizzes, tests, and in essays.

History of Western Civilization is an elective course. Its aim is to introduce students to the history of Western civilization from its beginnings in the ancient Near East and the Greek-Roman world to approximately WWI (1914-18). Much attention is devoted throughout the course of the year to those aspects of Western civilization which are most relevant to Chinese students of Western languages and literatures: the Greek-Roman legacy; Christianity; the history of major European languages such as English, French, and Spanish; European contacts with the East; Western concepts of self, other, home, identity, family, nation, state, justice, divinity, etc.

History of Western Civilization is an elective course. Its aim is to introduce students to the history of Western civilization from its beginnings in the ancient Near East and the Greek-Roman world to approximately WWI (1914-18). Much attention is devoted throughout the course of the year to those aspects of Western civilization which are most relevant to Chinese students of Western languages ​​and literatures: the Greek-Roman legacy; Christianity; the history of major European languages ​​such as English, French, and Spanish; European contacts with the East; Western concepts of self, other, home, identity, family, nation, state, justice, divinity, etc.

Western CivilizationsTheir History & Their Culture
Vol 1. Joshua Cole, Carol Symes New York: WW Norton & Company, 2013

Western CivilizationsTheir History & Their Culture
Vol 1. Joshua Cole, Carol Symes New York: WW Norton & Company, 2013