Ideas of the Twentieth Century - University of Texas at Austin

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The last century ushered in significant progress. Philosophers, scientists, artists, and poets overthrew our understanding of the physical world, of human behavior, of thought and its limits, and of art, creativity, and beauty. Scientific progress improved the way we lived across the world. Yet the last century also brought increased levels of war, tyranny, and genocide. Man pushed boundaries of good and evil, right and wrong, justice and injustice – and people lost faith in values. Now, thinkers and leaders are reconstructing theories of value and creating institutions to embody them. Join this thought-provoking, broad-sweeping course as it draws intriguing connections between philosophy, art, literature, and history, illuminating our world and our place in it. Before your course starts, try the new edX Demo where you can explore the fun, interactive learning environment and virtual labs. Learn more.

• To understand key philosophical issues, works and movements of the twentieth century
• To analyze works of art and literature, recognizing philosophical themes and relating the works to their historical context
• To understand key historical developments of the twentieth century, identifying important casual factors and grasping their implications for politics and culture
• To conduct research and write a research paper demonstrating the above capabilities