Course Calendar 2011-2012 - Champlain College Saint-Lambert

Humanities
345-IB1-01 (in-house course number)
345-101-LA (official ministerial course number)
Theory of Knowledge I
(Humanities for International Baccalaureate students
only)
This is the first course of a two course sequence in the
Theory of Knowledge. The principal objective of these
courses is to develop student awareness of and sensitivity
to similarities and differences in the forms of knowledge.
Two general questions are at the heart of these courses:
How do I know that something is the case (i.e., true)? and
how are knowledge claims within a particular discipline
justified? In this first course, the role of language in
conditioning thinking and feeling, the various forms of
logical inquiry, and the nature of science will be explored.
The main objective of this course is to develop student
ability to communicate effectively, and to think clearly and
logically. To achieve these objectives, the course will begin
by considering the nature of language, the role it plays in
shaping and transmitting ideas and information, and its
connection with knowledge and values. Attention will also
be devoted to the study of logic. Deductive logic, as well as
inductive logic, will be explored together with an
examination of some of the more common informal
fallacies. The course will conclude with an examination of
natural science and the pattern of inquiry peculiar to it.
3 hours/week Units: 2.00
345-IB2-02 (in-house course number)
345-102-LA (official ministerial course number
Theory of Knowledge II
(Humanities for IB students only)
This course is the second and final course in the Theory of
Knowledge sequence. Building on the ideas studied in ToK
I, students, in this course, will consider questions and
issues connected with “knowledge” and “knowing” in the
social sciences, history, ethics and aesthetics. In particular
students will explore the relationship between objects of
knowledge and the socio-cultural context of the "patterns
of inquiry" connected with their construction. The
following are among some of the more specific questions
to be considered: Are "facts" objective, or are they theory
laden? Are there historical facts which all historians must
acknowledge? Is the fact value dichotomy tenable, or is it
a vestige of a discredited epistemology? Is the scientific
method the only reliable method available to human
agents seeking knowledge? Are there “objective”
standards in ethics or are all moral judgements
“subjective”? Throughout the course students will be
encouraged to engage in a review of their own
assumptions regarding the nature of knowledge and the
methods of knowing whereby it is acquired. The course
will conclude with an examination of the nature of “truth”.
3 hours/week Units: 2.00
Absolute Prerequisite: Theory of Knowledge I
345-101-MQ
The Vision of Art
(Humanities – Knowledge)
This course looks at the visual art as a form of
knowledge. Students will study a wide variety of artwork
and will place each piece in its cultural and historical
context. A variety of artwork and topics, for example
gender and beauty, war and destruction, culture and
religion, social change and consumerism will be
examined in order to highlight how culture, time, place
and social context can affect the interpretation and
representation of ideas. Students will think critically
about what the artists and their societies ‘knew’ to be
true and compare this with their own knowledge base
and value system.
4 hours/week Units: 2.33
345-101-MQ
Religion and Knowledge
(Humanities – Knowledge)
Since their inception, religions have offered various truth
claims about the world, the fundamental mysteries of the
universe and existence. This course will compare scientific,
philosophical and other types of knowledge with religion in
order to determine whether indeed there is such a things as
religious knowledge.
4 hours/week Units: 2.33
345-101-MQ
Science and History
(Humanities – Knowledge)
In this course we examine how we come to know in
Science and how such knowing has revolutionized the
way in which we see the world and ourselves. In our
analysis we also explore the possible limits to such
knowledge, for example, the limits to self-understanding.
We also examine knowing in History and compare it with
knowing in Science. Is the process of knowing the same
or different? And how do we come to know about
History? We shall see how our way of viewing historical
events influences our lives.
4 hours/week Units: 2.33