"Histories of the Future" | Hist 204S | 10:05AM-11:20AM
Prof. John Martin
This class explores the ways in which people have imagined the future from Antiquity to the present. We begin with a study of the prophetic traditions in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam and the spread of apocalyptic ideas in medieval and Renaissance Europe. Then, we turn to the emergence of the Idea of Progress in the Enlightenment and beyond before tracing the interplay of apocalypticism and progressivism down to the contemporary period. Historically these visions of the future – one religious and one predominantly secular – have played a major role in shaping the human capacity for hope. But what can we do at present? Neither narrative exercises the hold it once did. Where – in a moment of global crises – do we turn for hope?
"Democracy: Ancient and Modern" | Polsci 211 | 11:45AM-1PM
Dr. Gabe Whitbread
Examines democracy in its ancient and modern forms, with special attention to Athenian and American democracy. Does modern democracy fulfill the promise of ancient democracy, or betray its fundamental tenets? Topics may include freedom, equality, and rights; democratic institutions; citizenship; rhetoric; democratic knowledge and decision-making; foreign policy; corruption; religion; and hope.
"The Self" | Phil 151| Tu/Th 3:05PM-4:20PM
Prof. Shanna Slank
Who are you? Who might you be one day? How much do you have control over the answers to these questions? And do the answers really even matter? In this course, we will consider some recent work in analytic philosophy that contends that aspiration and transformation are central to how we understand ourselves and our lives. We will also consider the views of philosophers who argue for the importance of transcendence of self to living well and with meaning, as well as writings from the Buddhist tradition, which famously advises the elimination of the self.
