Undergraduate course Worldviews by Pieter Meurs
In this course, students are invited to think about the concept of worldview and analyse their own worldviews. A worldview is like a pair of glasses: it influences the way we see, the way we grasp and understand the world. This course is an invitation to question the pair of glasses itself. The goal is a better understanding of our own way of thinking, our own rationale, the way we make sense of things. The course starts from the following questions:
- what is a worldview?- is it possible to speak about ‘our’ worldview?
- is it possible to identify a contemporary worldview?
- is it possible to grasp the world without a worldview?
- how to critically engage with worldviews?
Students have to write an individual paper, containing:
A first chapter: starting from a text, documentary or film that has changed your perspective of reality. Students describe the synopsis of the text/documentary/film and argue why it played an important rol in their worldview. Students describe the insights the text/documentary/film generated.
A second chapter: students critically analyse the concept of worldview. They should make use existing academic literature (list will be provided). The questions above will serve as a guide.
A third chapter is a synthesis of the first and second chapter. It allows students to critically engage with their own worldviews and arguments.