OSHR 1120 - The Clash of Civilizations (Short Course)

This course is offered through the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at Colorado State University. You must be a member of Osher to enroll in this course.

In his book, The Clash of Civilizations, Harvard Political Science Professor Samuel P. Huntington suggests that Western Civilization is in a state of decline relative to the Chinese, Hindu and Islamic civilizations.

This course will not provide answers on whether our civilization might be surpassed by others, but it will create the context for analysis and debate on these questions. We will examine the proposition that Western Civilization has evolved to compensate for the excessive greed and abuse of power among humans - descriptive of particular "competing" civilizations. This is illustrative of the West being at its best. But at its worst, the West encompassed Nero's Rome, American slavery, Nazi Germany and other defining eras.

This class will provide a context for the ultimate question: "What does our Western legacy portend for the future?" Do the lessons learned from such issues as

• constraint of power;
• protection of women, minorities and the working class; and
• the building of a civil society based on the U.S. Constitution, the Bill of Rights and the Federalist papers

refute Huntington's gloomy perspective?

Noncredit courses do not produce academic credit nor appear on a Colorado State University academic transcript.

Home Contact Us Request a Catalog Registration Help - Credit Students Help - Noncredit Students Site Map