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Trace human history from the beginning of civilization to the birth of Christ — origins, ideas, and the questions that shape every age.
HUM 201 covers human history from the beginning of civilization to the birth of Christ — read as one connected narrative rather than a string of disconnected eras. Students trace how thinkers across the ancient world wrestled with the questions every culture eventually has to face: where we came from, what we're for, and how we should live together.
The course works through the creation accounts of ancient religions, the writings of ancient philosophers, and the written account of the ancient Hebrews. Along the way, students examine ancient views on truth, justice, goodness, and beauty, the scientific advancements of the period, and the rise and fall of Greek democracy and other early political experiments.
Paired in the degree pathway with BIB 221 The Relational God, the course gives students a wide-angle view of the human story alongside its biblical narrative.
Offered 2026-2027: Fall 1 · 2026-2027: Fall Traditional · 2026-2027: Spring 1.
Arturo Gastelum
2026-2027: Fall 1
Christina Crenshaw
2026-2027: Fall 1
Kevin Deasy
2026-2027: Fall 1
Mark Balch
2026-2027: Fall Traditional
Matthew Diaz
2026-2027: Fall Traditional
Richard Klaus
2026-2027: Fall Traditional
Survey Ancient Civilizations
Trace the development of human societies from earliest history through the classical world.
Engage Ancient Ideas
Examine how ancient thinkers addressed truth, justice, goodness, and beauty.
Read the Ancient Hebrews in Context
Place the biblical narrative alongside the surrounding ancient Near Eastern world.
Examine Ancient Science
Trace the scientific and intellectual advancements of the ancient world.
Study Greek Democracy
Understand the rise and fall of Greek democracy and other early political forms.
Reading human history alongside Scripture is a worldview commitment in itself — it assumes that history matters, that God has been at work across all of it, and that the biblical narrative belongs in conversation with the rest of the human story. HUM 201 takes that posture all the way through, paired with BIB 221 to keep both threads visible at once.
HUM 201 opens ACU's four-part humanities sequence. Explore the programs that include it.
