Course Description
The belief that the world is nearing a violent end recurs throughout history, and often with immense historical consequence, even if the end doesn’t come. This course seeks to understand apocalyptic thought, from its ancient forms all the way through its modern and secular ones, with a focus on the broadly-defined West.
Athena Title
End of the World
Pre or Corequisite
One course in SOCI or HIST or INTL or RELI or ENGL or ANTH or GLOB or CLAS or ARHI or PHYS
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Student Learning Outcomes
- By the end of this course, students will be able to arrive at conclusions about the history of apocalyptical thought through gathering and weighing evidence, logical argument, and listening to counter argument.
- By the end of this course, students will be able to write stylistically appropriate papers and essays. Students will be able to analyze ideas and evidence, organize their thoughts, and revise and edit their finished essays.
- By the end of this course, students will be able to identify how the history of apocalyptic thought shaped diverse social and cultural attitudes toward a wide variety of topics, including religion and mortality, secularism and science, and ethics and morality, encouraging them to understand diverse worldviews and experiences.
- By the end of this course, students will be able to apply appropriate methodological approaches to their analysis of primary sources and to organize their evidence to show historical continuities and discontinuities.
Topical Outline
- “Axial Age” and the shape of time
- Ancient roots of apocalyptic faith
- Greek stoicism
- Jewish apocalyptic tradition
- New Testament and the Book of Revelations
- Apocalypse in early Christianity
- Apocalypse in early Islam
- Millenarian movements in medieval Europe
- Medieval origins of dissent
- Protestant Reformation
- Apocalyptic thought in early America
- Comparative (non-Western) apocalypse
- Secularization
- Marxism and religion
- Modern revolutions
- Radical politics in twentieth-century Europe
- New Age and modern religious apocalypse
- Modern American millenarianism
- Climate change and apocalyptic thought
Institutional Competencies
Analytical Thinking
The ability to reason, interpret, analyze, and solve problems from a wide array of authentic contexts.
Communication
The ability to effectively develop, express, and exchange ideas in written, oral, interpersonal, or visual form.
Critical Thinking
The ability to pursue and comprehensively evaluate information before accepting or establishing a conclusion, decision, or action.
