HUMANITIES | HUMA 1301 | Wintermester 2026-27
as taught at Tyler Junior College
A survey of the art, architecture, literature, music, religion, and philosophy of the ancient and medieval world, from the first cities of Mesopotamia (ca. 3500 BCE) to Renaissance Florence (ca. 1500 CE). This edition is taught as a tour: every lesson points to objects we will stand in front of in London and Paris (Jan 2027).
MODULE I – The Ancient Galleries | 14-18 Dec
Online Day 1 • Prehistory & Mesopotamia
Key Terms: Prehistory · Bronze Age · Stele · Epic of Gilgamesh
Online Day 2 • Ancient Egypt
Key Terms: Pharaoh · Hieroglyphs · Book of the Dead · Ma'at
Online Day 3 • India & China
Key Terms: Ashoka · Stupa · Ancestor Veneration · Bianzhong
Online Day 4 • Ancient Greece
Key Terms: Kouros · Parthenon · Classical Ideal · Hellenistic Period
Online Day 5 • Ancient Rome
Key Terms: Republic · Pax Romana · Imperial Cult · Mos Maiorum
MODULE II – Scripture, Faith, & Empire
Online Day 6 • Ancient Israel
Key Terms: Babylonian Exile · Tanakh · Torah · Exodus
Online Day 7 • Early Christendom
Key Terms: Chi-Rho · Edict of Milan · Gospels · Epistles
Online Day 8 • Early Islam
Key Terms: Qur'an · Calligraphy · Mosque · Arabesque · House of Wisdom
Online Day 9 • Holy Roman Empire
Key Terms: Beowulf · Heroic Code · Illum. Manuscript · HRE · Romanesque
MODULE III – Cathedrals & Masterpieces
Online Day 10 • High Middle Ages
Key Terms: Gothic · Flying Buttress · Stained Glass · Scholasticism · Notre Dame
Online Day 11 • Late Middle Ages
Key Terms: 100 Years' War · Naturalism · Cant. Tales · Frame Narrative · Black Death
Online Day 12 • The Renaissance
Key Terms: Sfumato · High Ren · Linear Pers. · Humanism · P. of Folly · Dignity of Man
Online Wrap-Up Day
Final Exam
Pre-Trip Planning
Gov & College Requirements
• U.S. Gov Info for International Travel
• TJC Info for International Travel
• Prof. & Buddy System Explained
Packing Essentials
• Packing for Europe in January
• Do Not Pack List
Study Abroad Info
Meet & Depart | 4 Jan | Mon
Arrival | 5 Jan | Tues
London | 6 Jan | Wed
• 6 Jan Briefing & Itinerary
• Course Artifacts Seen on Wednesday
• Westminster Abbey
• The British Museum
London | 7 Jan | Thurs
• 7 Jan Briefing & Itinerary
• Course Artifacts Seen on Thursday
• The British Library
• The National Gallery
Chunnel | 8 Jan | Fri
• 8 Jan Briefing & Itinerary
• Eurostar Train
• Paris Bus Tour
• Paris Transit Info
Paris | 9 Jan | Sat
• 9 Jan Briefing & Itinerary
• Course Artifacts Seen on Saturday
• Notre-Dame Cathedral
• The Louvre
Paris | 10 Jan | Sun
• 10 Jan Briefing & Itinerary
• Course Artifacts Seen on Sunday
• The Musée d'Orsay
• The Panthéon
Depart | 11 Jan| Mon
• 11 Jan Briefing & Itinerary
• Paris → DFW
