课程包含文学及哲学文本的概论，自十七世纪到二十世纪早期，上溯现代世界的发展。在当时不再以地球为宇宙中心的观念下，个人主义的成长为其发展的要素。挑选的文本举证新人本主义的来临，立即对旧思潮产生质疑与冲击。课程环绕在古代与现代世界差异的议题，主要就行为与角色、表述与体裁来探讨，并有利于修习过西方文明基础I的同学。
This course comprises a broad survey of texts, literary and philosophical, which trace the development of the modern world from the seventeenth to the early twentieth century. Intrinsic to this development is the growth of individualism in a world no longer understood to be at the center of the universe. The texts chosen for study exemplify the emergence of a new humanism, at once troubled and dynamic in comparison to the old. The leading theme of this course is thus the question of the difference between the ancient and the modern world. Students who have taken Foundations of Western Culture I will obviously have an advantage in dealing with this question. Classroom discussion approaches this question mainly through consideration of action and characters, voice and form.
