What does it mean to be human? Who are we? Where are we? How are we? Why are we? When are we? Human beings have, of course, been asking and answering these questions in a variety of ways for as long as we’ve had the technologies to create and preserve our ideas.
In HUM 124, the first course in UNC Asheville’s Humanities sequence, we will explore the ways that several ancient civilizations framed, investigated, and recorded their answers to these questions, primarily by investigating primary sources — both texts and artifacts — that have survived. We’ll also consider to what degree these ancient ideas have influenced, or continue to resonate with, our contemporary world.
Fall 2022 details:
- Prof. Brian Graves: bgraves@unca.edu | https://lang124.slack.com/ | drop-in student support (office hours) MW 1:45-3:45, in KAR 214
- Moodle announcements | questions forum | attendance record | class slides
- Syllabus | Calendar | Assignments | Learning Goals
Required Materials (Fall 2022):
**Note that you need only acquire (from the bookstore or elsewhere) three of the following — Kovacs, Bazzett, and Patton — as the others are all available digitally through our campus library, using the links provided below.**
- Hook et al., Global Humanities Reader, vol. 1: Engaging Ancient Worlds and Perspectives (digital | print)
- Kovacs, Epic of Gilgamesh (print)
- Bazzett, Popol Vuh (print)
- Greenstein, Job: A New Translation (digital | print)
- Patton, Bhagavad Gita (print)
- Mullinax, Tao Te Ching: Power for the Peaceful (digital | print)