Download The Captive Mind syllabus

The Captive Mind: Accommodation, Guilt, and Resistance in Postwar Europe
Fall 2007. Tuesday-Thursday, 10:00-11:20. Library 102
Instructor: Laura Stevenson
Office: D29A E-mail: [email protected]
During World War II and The Cold War, a great number of Europeans lived under the
shadow of totalitarian states in which dissent, either against government ideology or
against the elimination of ethnic minorities, was punished by torture, imprisonment, or
death. This course studies the states of mind that are engendered by such a situation. On
the one hand, there is Resistance and Solidarity -- both glorified by literature and movies
in a stereotype with which thousands of postwar Europeans have identified themselves.
On the other hand, there is the much more common phenomenon: the captive mind,
which accommodates both propaganda and the presence of evil, and thus experiences
chilling moral erosion in the name of survival. The extent of the damage done by the
captive mind has only recently been admitted by Europeans, who would understandably
prefer to see themselves as victims of oppression, not as oppressors. But as archives
open and a new generation examines them, it becomes increasingly clear that in the last
half of the 20th century, thousands of respectable, ordinary Europeans committed
extraordinary crimes. Discussions and papers will be focused on understanding (rather
than condemning or applauding) accommodation and resistance.
Texts:
Tadeusz Borowski, This Way for the Gas, Ladies and Gentlemen (Borowski)
Jacques Ellul, Propaganda (Xeroxed excerpt)
Albert Camus, The Plague (Camus)
Czeslaw Milosz, The Captive Mind
Vaclav Havel, "The Power of the Powerless" (Xerox)
Timothy Garton Ash, "The Uses of Adversity," "Reform or Revolution?" "Bad
Memories,""Trials, Purges, and History Lessons" (Xerox)
James Lasdun, Seven Lies
Movies:
Leni Reiferstahl, The Triumph of the Will
Stanley Kramer, Judgment at Nuremberg
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-Course PoliciesCredits: this is a four-credit course. Students who sign up for it are expected to write all
papers and all in-class assignments, unless other arrangements are specifically made
during the first two weeks of term. Barring family emergency or serious health problems,
no credits may be dropped after the first week of classes.
Paper grades: the base grade concerns the level of discourse -- the sophistication of the
ideas put forward and the clarity with which those ideas are expressed. This grade can be
obtained only by consulting with me in person. From the base, I subtract 1 point (out of
100) for each error in grammar, punctuation or spelling, and I record the total number of
errors at the end of the paper. Subtracted points on papers 1-3 are re-added to the base
grade if the errors are corrected with a tutor within a week of the paper's return. A paper
that is going irredeemably wrong should be submitted as is on the day it is due, with a
cover page that says HELP! This procedure assures the paper a 68 (D+) and a speedy
reading, so the student can meet with me and resubmit it without penalty within three or
four days
Papers 1-3 may be revised and resubmitted (once only). Revisions must be submitted on
or before the revision due-date to be considered for higher grades. A revised paper will
not be accepted unless the student has had a conference with me on the first draft.
Late papers: papers are always due at noon on the day for which they are assigned. A
paper is not late if it gets to me before I have left campus. Timely submission of all
papers and revisions raises the final grade 1.5 points out of 100. Late papers are penalized
2 points per day up to 24 points (twelve days). Thereafter, they receive an automatic 60,
minus points reduced for errors; they may be revised, but not for a higher grade. One
paper extension is granted per semester per student; no extensions on final paper.
Attendance: Perfect, prepared attendance raises the final grade by 1.5 points out of 100.
Two (excused) absences are forgiven; a third excused absence lowers the final grade 1
point out of 100. Each absence after that lowers the final grade by 5 points out of 100. In
general, I ask students who are chronically unprepared, or who miss more than five
classes, to withdraw from the course. The only acceptable excuse for cutting a workshop
or coming to one without a paper is a doctor-signed certification of bubonic plague.
Conferences: each student must sign up in class for one conference on each paper. The
schedule of conferences will be posted on the door of D29A after everybody has signed
up. Cutting a conference (as opposed to trading times with somebody else or changing
times with prior – i.e., 24-hour – notice) is the equivalent of cutting a class.
Office hours are posted weekly (usually on Thursday afternoons) on the door of D29A;
students should sign for appointments. If nobody has signed up, drop in at open hours.
--Class Calendar –
September 11 - 27. WWII: collaboration and resistance
September 11. Black Angels, Collaboration, and the Punishment of Memory.
Tony Judt "Preface" to The Politics of Retribution in Europe (Xerox)
Propaganda Video 1: Leni Reiferstahl, The Triumph of the Will
September 13. Borowski, entire -- but especially 29-142
Paper 1 due Monday, September 17 at noon in D29A
September 18. Camus, Parts 1-2
September 20. Camus, Parts 3-5
September 25. Conferences on Paper 1
Wednesday, September 26. Explication exercise due at noon in D29A
September 27. Sentence structure boot camp.
Monday, October 1. Revised version of Paper 1 due at noon in D29A
October 2 -25. Writing and Judging during the Cold War
October 2. The Captive Mind, 3-53
October 4. The Captive Mind, 83-222
Thursday, October 4. Film: Judgment at Nuremberg 6:00 in Lib 102
October 9. Discussion of Judgment at Nuremberg and some historical context.
October 11. Ellul, Propaganda, 3-43.
October 16. Constructing an argument.
October 17. Paper 2 due at noon in D29A
October 18. Lecture:Eastern European politics during the Cold War.
October 23. Hendricks weekend.
October 25. Conferences on Paper 2.
October 30 -November 20. Glasnost, the Fall of the Wall and bad memories
October 30. Havel, "The Power of the Powerless" and its political context.
November 1. Timothy Garton Ash, "The Uses of Adversity," "Reform or Revolution?"
November 6. Lasdun, Seven Lies, Chapters 1-7.
Wednesday, November 7. Revised version of Paper 2 due at noon in D29A
November 8. Lasdun, Seven Lies, finish.
November 13. Lecture: European politics in the 1990s.
Wednesday, November 14. Paper 3 due at noon in D29A
November 15. Timothy Garton Ash "Bad Memories,""Trials, Purges, and History
Lessons" (Xerox)
November 20. Conferences on Paper 3.
November 22. Thanksgiving.
November 27 -December 11. Term Papers and Portfolios
November 27. Research strategies for papers.
Revised version of paper 3 due November 28 at noon in D29A
November 29. Claims and Drafts: what goes wrong with term papers.
December 4. Handling sources -- bring the booklet to class.
December 6. Conferences and Portfolio Preparation.
Term papers due December 7 at noon in D29A
December 11. Last Class: teaching evaluations, portfolio checks.
Portfolios due Thursday, December 13 at 8:30 in room D38.
Paper Topics
Paper 1. 5-7 page personal essay, due Monday, September 17 at noon in D29A.
Revised version due October 1.
Write a personal essay that portrays a situation in which you have been in some sense a
collaborator. It is not necessary to discuss a horrifying deed. It is enough to paint a candid
portrait of yourself doing something less than heroic in a difficult situation, or deciding to obey a
parent or other authority figure when you suspected what was being asked was not right. It is
important that you describe the situation and the moral choice in such a way that it becomes real
to the reader.
Paper 2. 5-7 page analytical essay, due Wednesday, October 17 at noon in D29A.
Revision due by November 7.
Write an essay that discusses the effect of propaganda on writing or on movie-making, using
either the artistic choices portrayed in The Captive Mind or those implied in Judgment at
Nuremberg -- or, more interestingly, in both. One of the points to consider, of course, is
censorship, but give some thought also to self-censorship, the problem of marketing, problems of
political survival and advancement, and the lure of success. What do authors need to believe in
so they can write, and how may their beliefs conflict with the possibilities of publication and
dissemination of their works? Are there ways of avoiding this dilemma?
Paper 3. 10-page political/philosophical consideration, due Wednesday, November
14 at noon in D29A.. Revised version due November 28.
Imagine yourself as the would-be dictator of the country of Ruritania, a small European country
with (for example)* a substantial army, a parliamentary tradition, a varied ethnic composition, a
varied religious history, a substantial bureaucracy, universal sixth grade education, a prestigious
collection of universities, a small but extremely wealthy industrial sector, a per capita income
substantially lowered by the number of rural and industrial poor people, a media with strong links
to government and business, and a cultural tradition that includes art, drama, film, music, and all
forms of creative writing. You were once an officer in the army; recently you have become an
important member of one of the political parties. How do you become the ruler of this country,
and what do you do to maintain your power? *(The political situation can be shaped according to
your desires; you will find you must do considerable research as you create a country about which
you can write the rest of the paper. You will also have to do considerable thinking about
Ruritania's recent 21st century history, its political allegiances, and its geographical location.)
Paper 4. Term paper. Due Friday, December 6 at noon: no extensions, no mercy.
Write a research paper on a topic of your choice. You may “double” this paper with a term paper
for another class, if you have the instructor’s written permission. There must be at least 4,
preferably 6 or 7, sources. The paper is due on the date above, regardless of the date it may be
due in other classes. No extensions. Late papers will receive an automatic 60.