Course Description

The purpose of this course is to provide students with an overview of Western history in order to develop their own insight into the "What is the West?". The modern state system, the legal concepts such as fundamental human rights, the political ideas such as democracy, the diplomatic systems of today's nations, and even the university system, all of which we live in, were largely accidental in the historical context of the West. In this class, students learn what kind of historical background "a model of the West" has developed. (* Learning at university is called "study") Please use it as an opportunity to learn Western history as a culture from a slightly different angle than world history until high school. It will provide a useful perspective for both those interested in Japanese history and those interested in Oriental history. Western history is often divided for convenience into ancient, medieval, early modern, and modern periods, but this Western History Overview I covers the period from ancient times to the Renaissance in the end of the Middle Ages.