Humanities and Philosophy Courses with Daniel Kynaston

Philosophy 205: World Religion

There has been perhaps no greater force that has shaped human history and made claims on our future than religion. To understand religion is to understand our past, as well as our present and how our future may be. To chart the history of religion is to chart the history of humanity. This course examines the complex phenomenon known as religion through looking at the basic beliefs, practices, histories and cultural contributions of the religious traditions of Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Taoism. Each one of these traditions has profoundly affected the minds and lives of millions of people for thousands of years in vastly different cultures, and gaining a greater appreciation of the diversity of these religions, and particularly the encounters between them, is crucial for developing an understanding of the world today. While it is imperative to cover the historical development of each tradition, special emphasis is made to relate those histories to our own complex philosophical and theological situation in a critical and comprehensive manner.

Philosophy 205: Honors World Religion

This course examines the complex phenomenon known as religion through looking at the basic beliefs, practices, histories and cultural contributions of the religious traditions of Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Taoism. Each one of these traditions has profoundly affected the minds and lives of millions of people for thousands of years in vastly different cultures, and gaining a greater appreciation of the diversity of these religions, and particularly the encounters between them, is crucial for developing an understanding of the world today. While it is imperative to cover the historical development of each tradition, special emphasis will be placed studying the phenomenon of evil as it is expressed by these religious traditions. What is evil? How does the concept of evil shape the way we see the world? How does it shape the way we see ourselves? Does a concept of evil in fact color the way we see God, the gods, or no-god? Is evil manifest in our own day in current events? If so, do these religions offer solutions to the problem of evil that can help us navigate our way through life?

Humanities 122: Contemporary Culture and the Arts

This course examines the relationship between art and culture. The basic premise will be that culture is an artistic expression of reality. That is, culture is formed by the stories that we tell about ourselves and about the world through the various means of artistic expression. We will pay close attention to how art shapes reality by focusing on several points of comparison utilizing graphic art, literature, film, music, and television. Cultural topics will include evil, sexuality, memory, technology and apocalypse, hip hop, and reality tv. The thesis to be pursued is that the truth of any given reality is inherently tied to the form of art that expresses it such that if the mode of expression is changed, the truth of the situation will also change. In this way we will come to an appreciation of the role of culture in shaping our lives and indeed, the very notion of what constitutes reality.

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