Utrecht University – University College Utrecht

This course examines how the tragic worldview is expressed in the great dramas of Greek antiquity, such as Aeschylus’ Prometheus, Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex, and Antigone and Euripides’ Bacchae.  Attention is paid – through the study of the Old Testament book of Job and Marlowe’s Faust – to the continuing importance of the tragic worldview in the Judaeo-Christian tradition. Finally, after exploring the political and philosophical conditions that caused the ever-decreasing importance of tragic modes of thought in modern times, the course turns to the remarkable new meaning the tragic legacy of the Greeks took on at the end of the nineteenth century. Through Friedrich Nietzsche’s mightily influential The Birth of Tragedy from the Spirit of Music and a series of important works it inspired, it will be shown how the tragic worldview of the Greeks inspired artists to reject the dogmatism of reason and to find beauty, happiness, and truth in the irrational, subconscious and at times dark recesses of the human soul.

This beginning Dutch language course covers both Dutch language and culture. The language part of the course helps to develop the basic skills and strategies necessary to successfully handle uncomplicated oral and written communication skills. These may occur in a variety of social situations one could encounter in daily life in the Netherlands. The main purpose of the culture and society part of the classes is to provide a basic understanding of present-day Dutch society and culture. Attention is given to various issues pertaining to Dutch culture and society today. Through culture presentations covering the culture of the Netherlands and the Dutch given by the students themselves and group discussions, students learn to understand mainly the inside perspective, in other words the Dutch way of approaching and discussing cultural and society issues. After completing this course students are able to orally communicate and understand uncomplicated speech about various topics beyond the most immediate needs; engage in basic conversation about a variety of topics such as personal history, personal experiences, study, and university life; and participate in simple conversations. After completing this course students are able to communicate and read written communication in simple texts in various general domains; and write in an uncomplicated form on a variety of familiar topics, personal topics, general events, and concrete descriptions.

Politics is about power and action, which are generally deemed necessary to the edification of individual and collective good life. Political theory is broadly understood as an inquiry into the nature and major features of individual and collective good life. The nature and purpose of political theory are said to be best understood by an introductory examination of how political thinkers conceive of power relations and address the issue of the practical implications of the organization of power relations. This type of examination constitutes the core of the course. In particular, the course is primarily about several visions of politics, past and present, considered on their own merits. Some of these visions have had a significant impact on national and international politics, while others did not, or not directly. They are studied to critically understand how the Master of Political Theory formulated their arguments, what is really at stake in their statements, and possibly whether, and to what extent, what they thought is relevant to us.

This course discusses patterns and processes of social inequality, the main theories on their determinants, and forms of human action to increase equality. The course discusses modern and classic concepts of class and status, as well as the process of status attainment. The roles of family, gender, education, partner choice, and social mobility are scrutinized. Classic, as well as state-of-the-art articles, are read.

This course has as its subject Paul Kennedy’s stimulating thesis on the rise and fall of the great powers and the extensive criticism which arose. The focus is on the history of the great powers, their strengths and weaknesses, since 1500: the Habsburg Empire, the France of Louis XIV and of Napoleon, the British Empire, the German bid for mastery in the 20th century, the fate of Japan, the rise and demise of the Soviet Union, and the fall and subsequent rise of China in the 19th and 20th centuries. Special attention is paid to the United States, which played a crucial role in the history of the 20th century and was after 1991 the only remaining superpower. Since the publication of Kennedy’s study the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, the rise of China and the seeming decline of the United States have given the debate a sense of immediacy. In addition, the conflicts among the great powers, such as the Napoleonic wars, the world wars, and the Cold War, have fundamentally changed the course of history. The rivalry among great powers often also functioned as a powerful dynamo that spurred development and modernization.