Portrait of Martin Luther from Luther's On the Babylonian Captivity of the Church, 1520. (Image courtesy of the Library of Congress.)
Instructor(s)
Prof. Thomas Nolden
MIT Course Number
21G.059
As Taught In
Spring 2008
Level
Undergraduate
Course Description
Course Highlights
This course features links to many downloadable readings.
Course Description
This subject surveys main currents of European cultural and intellectual history in the modern period. Such a foundation course is central to the humanities in Europe. The curriculum introduces a set of ideas and arguments that have played a formative role in European cultural history, and acquaints them with some exemplars of critical thought. Among the topics to be considered: the critique of religion, the promise of independence, the advance of capitalism, the temptations of Marxism, the origins of totalitarianism, and the dialects of enlightenment. In addition to texts, we will also discuss pieces of art, incl. paintings and film.
