I. Course Description
Otto Rank believes “what we really have in common with our remote
ancestors is a spiritual, not a primitive self” (Beyond Psychology, p. 63).
To tap into this spiritual self, it is best to study the traces our ancestors
left in their tracks. The contemporary Westerner has on his hand the
Mesopotamian, the Egyptian, and, of course, the Graeco-Roman and Judaeo-
Christian traditions. But the older civilizations of Babylon and Egypt were
all but lost to Medieval and Renaissance Europe. This section of
“Introduction to Western Literature (I)” features Professor Chiang Taifen’s
survey of The Old Testament of the Bible one hour each Tuesday (together with
Professor Ku Jia-yen’s class) and Adela Jeng’s sampling of the Homeric epics
two hours each Friday. We aim to facilitate students’ understanding of the
“two fountainheads of Western Civilization.” Students are encouraged to
compare these traditions as best they can and also to identify their imprints
on the contemporary Western culture.