Chabot College
November 1993
Removed Fall 2006
Course Outline for Humanities 1
PHILOSOPHY—THE SCIENCES—EPIC POETRY
Catalog Description:
1 – Philosophy—The Sciences—Epic Poetry
3 units
Epic literature, the novel, moral-social philosophy including writings in science, religion and mythology.
Emphasis on analysis and philosophical inquiry. 3 hours
Expected Outcomes for Students:
Upon completion of the course, the student should:
1. understand the value of direct first-hand inquiry through instructional emphasis on textual analysis in
the fields of philosophy and literature;
2. develop a single method of inquiry that can be used for continuing study as a basis for demonstrating
the inter-disciplinary nature of knowledge;
3. develop an appreciation for the integrity of great works and thus learn to value the documents and
monuments of our heritage;
4. know how to read, to look, to hear!
Course Content:
1. Philosophical Statements in the Humanities:
HOW to analyze philosophical works--a search for "principles"—method of inquiry used in specific
philosophical documents. The analysis proceeds from exemplary shorter and "simpler" works such as
Plato's Apology and Crito, to longer and more complex works such as Plato's Republic or Aristotle's
Ethics.
2. Imaginative and Scientific Literature:
How to read in the epic and the novel forms of literature. The study of great writings of our scientific
development--works drawn from the physical, social and biological sciences. A structural analysis of
works of literature with an emphasis on the discovery of the integrity as a function of their forms.
3. Mythological and Religious Literature: How to read in works of mythology, books of The Bible, The
Koran, etc., the integrity of each work as a whole statement in order to recover the meaning as a
function of the forms of the works.
Methods of Presentation:
1. Lecture-discussion-analysis
Methods of Evaluating Student Progress:
1. Short reading quizzes
2. Short analytic essays
3. A midterm and final examination
Textbook(s) Typical:
Republic and Other Works, Plato, Doubleday
Special Student Materials:
None
CM:kh Hum1 Revised: 11/8/93