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Literary, scientific, and political thought from 1650 to 1900 — the Enlightenment, the revolutions, and the moral theories that still shape today.
HUM 301 traces literary, scientific, and political thought from 1650 to 1900 — the long stretch when modern Western civilization took most of its shape. Students analyze the development and application of two influential moral theories, utilitarianism and moral subjectivism, and study the Federalist and Anti-Federalist Papers to engage the political ideas behind the American Founding.
The course also works through the American and French Revolutions side by side, identifying the motivations and ideas behind each. Paired with BIB 321 Dwelling in God's Presence in the degree pathway, HUM 301 carries forward the four-part humanities sequence into the modern era.
Offered 2025-2026: Summer 1 · 2026-2027: Fall 1 · 2026-2027: Fall Traditional · 2026-2027: Spring 1.
Arturo Gastelum
2026-2027: Fall 1
Kelly Burton
2026-2027: Fall 1
Kristen Rutter
2025-2026: Summer 1
Matthew Diaz
2026-2027: Fall Traditional
Richard Klaus
2026-2027: Fall Traditional
Analyze Modern Moral Theory
Engage utilitarianism and moral subjectivism as developed and applied across the period.
Read the Founding Documents
Study the Federalist and Anti-Federalist Papers to grasp the ideas behind the American Founding.
Compare Revolutions
Examine the American and French Revolutions side by side, tracing motivations and consequences.
Trace Scientific Thought
Follow major scientific advancements from 1650 through 1900.
Engage Literary Developments
Read across the literary movements that shaped modern Western thought.
Reading the modern period alongside Scripture is itself a Biblical Worldview move — it assumes the church's intellectual conversation continued past the Reformation and is worth engaging on its own terms. HUM 301 takes that posture all the way through, paired with BIB 321 to keep both threads visible.
HUM 301 carries ACU's humanities sequence into the modern era. Explore the programs that include it.
