Admission requirements
There are no prerequisites for this course. It gives entry to 200-level courses in the Human Interactions major.
Description
How we view the world is one of the factors that determines how we live in it. Our sense of the structure of the world around us and our place in it has implications for cosmological and metaphysical issues as well as ethical and political ones. The ways and extents to which our worldviews and those of others coincide or conflict have serious implications for how we interact with others. To a certain degree, and in a particular way of speaking, a worldview can be an entirely personal standpoint. However, worldviews can also be associated with systems of thought, with religions, with nations, cultures, and “civilizations.” Hence, the study of worldviews and their comparison has relevance at all levels of analysis, ranging from the psychological through the societal and into the global.
But how are worldviews to be deciphered? Is it possible to understand, truly, the worldview of another? Is it possible to understand even our own? Methodologically speaking, how are these understandings to be garnered? And what kinds of risks or challenges inhere in such a task? Finally, if mutual understanding is possible, should we take this as cause for optimism? Or does familiarity breed contempt?
In this course, we will ponder answers to all of these questions, exploring the meaning of “worldview”—rendered variously as “Weltanschauung,” “ideology,” “conceptual scheme,” “viewpoint,” and even “culture”—in a range of scholarly disciplines, from history and anthropology to philosophy and cognitive science. Our primary preoccupation will be methodological, asking how different scholars approach the challenge of understanding the mindset of unfamiliar groups. Students will then apply this knowledge through independent research projects on topics of their own choosing. Thus our seminar will function as a research and writing workshop, and students will report back regularly as they make progress in their research.
Course objectives
This course invites students to think critically about the history of the concept of the “worldview,” as well as its usefulness as a category of analysis; to recognize the challenges inherent in describing and explaining the worldviews of others (as well as our own); to contemplate the results when disparate worldviews collide; to consider avenues for mediating among varied worldviews in local, national, and international contexts; and, finally, to conduct their own individual research.
Timetable
Please see the LUC website: www.lucthehague.nl
Mode of instruction
This course is taught through two-hour seminars. Students are expected to read and reflect upon the assigned readings; to contribute web postings before each class; to participate actively in large- and small-group discussion; and to conduct individual research projects on a topic related to the course theme.
By successfully completing this course, students will be able to:
describe the evolution of the concept of the worldview;
explain its operation in a variety of historical and cultural contexts;
explain how the notion of worldview is applied in a number of disciplines;
identify and discuss some of the main conceptual problems with the notion of worldview;
plan and execute an independent research project that makes use of both primary and secondary sources.
Assessment method
- Interactive engagement with course material and peers in seminar discussion, in both small groups and large: assessed through Active participation in weekly discussions, based on prior reading of literature (20% of final grade):Weekly.
- Defining a viable research question: assessed through a statement of research intent (300-400 words;10% of final grade):Week 3
- Identifying and locating appropriate scholarly material; designing academic analysis.:assessed through a mid-term plan of the final essay, including overview (800-1000 words), outline, and annotated bibliography (25% of final grade): Week 5
- Offering constructive scholarly feedback: assessed through a single page of peer-review feedback, delivered to your partner, with a copy for the instructor. (5% of final grade): Week 6
- Formal written presentation of analysis and argument: assessed through a final essay of approximately 2500-3000 words (40% of final grade): Week 8
Blackboard
a link to the blackboard page may be entered here
Reading list
All course readings will be available through Blackboard.
Registration
This course is only open for LUC The Hague students.
Contact information
Dr. Ann Marie Wilson
a.m.wilson@luc.leidenuniv.nl
Weekly Overview
Week 1: What are Worldviews, Anyway?
Week 2: Worldviews and Power
Week 3: Approaches: Anthropology
Week 4: Approaches: History
Week 5: Approaches: Cognitive Science and Sociology
Week 6: Approaches: Philosophy
Week 7: What is the Air We Breathe Now?
Preparation for first session
None.