This course surveys literary texts that illustrate main currents of European cultural and intellectual history in the modern period. Such a foundational course is central to study of European cultures and Western civilization more generally. The class introduces students to a set of ideas and arguments that have played a formative role in European cultural history, and it acquaints then with some exemplars of critical thought. Topics to be considered in the survey of the Western Tradition may include the critique of religion; the promise of independence; the advance of individualism and capitalism; the encounter with Marxism; the origins of totalitarianism; the promise, solace, and failure of art that seeks to change the world; and the promises, delusions, and prospects of rationalism. In addition to literary texts, we will also discuss the visual arts, music, and film. Offered every 2-3 years.