Introduction to Humanities

This Resource Book has been developed for instructors of Introduction to Humanities to help them to explore texts effectively and imaginatively with students. It is not a manual on “how to teach” Introduction to Humanities; nor is it a theoretical volume on teaching methodology.

In keeping with the pedagogical ethos of the Aga Khan Humanities Project, the aim is not to provide a “ready-made” course that is to be implemented in uniform fashion across all participating universities. It is intended, rather, as a resource which teachers can access at various stages of course development, from initial syllabus planning to course teaching and end-of-course assessment by providing questions for self-reflection, contextual information on many of the Introduction to Humanities texts, suggestions of linkages between materials, discussion of ways to overcome common classroom challenges, and pointers to other web-based resources that can enable students and instructors to deepen their understanding of particular themes.

It seeks to recognise the diversity of institutional settings in which Introduction to Humanities is taught; the range of students who might be taking the course; the variety of languages in which course materials will be read and discussions conducted, and the “real world” constraints upon library and internet access within which many Introduction to Humanities instructors work. The “imagined interlocutor” whom the author has had in mind as she has compiled this volume is a University teacher working in a provincial Central Asian University, whose first port of call for seeking further information about any of the texts is likely to be the internet rather than a major research library.