This unit introduces concepts and themes that are central to an understanding not only of European culture, but also of modern society or modernity. It surveys the evolution, during the Enlightenment, of European ways of understanding and explaining the world and the human person, giving attention to such concepts as reason, freedom, imagination, nature, and beauty. It reflects on changing ideas of the arts, human creativity and power, and shows the accompanying variation of artistic style and lifestyle. It introduces such key thinkers as the French philosophers, Herder and Kant, as well as representative works of literature and the other arts. -- Course Website
Instructor: Dr. Eva Polonska-Kimunguyi
