Download Honors 200: The Shaping of the Modern Mind

Honors 200: The Shaping of the Modern Mind
The Idea of Progress in Modern European History
Spring Semester, 2015
Sem 010 TR 9:30-10:45, Honors House 195
Voltaire
Dr. Alan Singer
Office: Honors House 138
Phone: 229-4658
Diderot’s Encyclopedie
Marx
Office Hours:
Monday- Wednesday: 1:30-3:00
Thursday: 1:00-2:30
and by appointment
Email: [email protected]
Course Description
The idea of progress, the notion that human society will continually advance in a positive
direction, is largely a recent, modern concept. Although pre-modern societies did have
some concept of progress, it was not until the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries when
it became an integral part of thought, culture and politics. The period of the Scientific
Revolution and Enlightenment and the French Revolution demonstrated that men and
women, individually and collectively, were themselves, agents of change. This course
will examine from a historical perspective how the idea of progress was applied to
scientific and technological advancement, politics, society, religion, and philosophy in
the modern era. The following crucial questions will be raised: Who advocated progress?
Was it meant for everybody? Who really benefited? Do we still think of progress in the
same terms?
Course Objectives
The main goal of this course is for you to firstly become fully acquainted with the idea of
progress. In order to achieve this, you will be reading works, largely excerpts, of the main
thinkers on this subject. This course is also designed to help you develop the necessary
skills that will help you throughout your college career and beyond. Serious participation
in this course will help you become a more active reader, listener, speaker, and a more
effective writer.
Required Readings
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Be sure to get the most recent paperback editions listed here unless indicated otherwise
below.
Mary Shelley, Frankenstein ISBN 9780141439471
Voltaire, Candide ISBN 9780312148546
Letters Concerning the English Nation ISBN 9780199555321
J.S. Mill, On Liberty, On the Subjection of Women, and Utilitarianism ISBN
9780375759185
Sigmund Freud, Civilization and its Discontents ISBN 9781891396250
*A required course packet is available at Clark Graphics (2915 N. Oakland Ave.) The
packet will contain excerpts from Edmund Burke, Thomas Paine, Karl Marx, and Francis
Fukuyama.
Course Requirements
Your final grade will be based on the work you do in three areas. First, there will be
three, five page to seven page essays. In these assignments you will be asked to write on
important issues relating to the readings from the schedule below. In the second type of
assignment, you will write three, one-to-two page essays that answer specific questions
regarding the readings or discussions. The questions will be designed to help you focus
on the material as the semester progresses. The third area of evaluation regards class
participation. Since this course is in a seminar format, it is absolutely essential that there
is positive discussion throughout the semester. To ensure this, you are required to take
part.
*A note on “positive discussion”: Ideally, in a seminar, the students do most of the
talking. My main job is to direct discussion in a manner so we stay on topic. Because
the course is essentially a semester-long conversation, sometimes concerning
controversial issues, we all have to make sure that we respect each other. We all come
into the seminar room with a variety of life experiences and backgrounds, opinions,
political and religious beliefs, etc. The seminar itself and consequentially, your grades
will greatly suffer if courtesy and sensitivity towards your fellow classmates are not
observed.
Grade Breakdown
Paper One: 20%
Paper Two: 20%
Paper Three: 25%
One-to-two page assignments: 15%
Participation (attendance, punctuality, positive discussion, etc.) 20%
A note on attendance and punctuality:
Because this course is in seminar format, where you are expected to play an active part,
you are required to attend classes and be on time. I will be taking attendance and noting
tardiness. If you know ahead of time that you will be absent or late, be sure to email me
and let me know. As you will see in the schedule below, on two occasions we will be
cancelling class to hold private or individual meetings to discuss the first two longer
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paper assignments. I will be holding extra office hours if you want to come in and discuss
the third paper but this will not be required.
Evaluation Scale
You will receive a percentage grade for all of your assignments. I will be using a basic
plus/minus scale:
A 93-100
A- 90-92
B+ 88-89
B 83-87
B- 80-82
C+ 78-79
C 73-77
C- 70-72
D 60-70
Email
Students must check their UWM email often. We will use email as the primary means of
communication outside of class.
Policies
Attendance: Missing class more than two times because of unexcused absences will result
in losing 5 points from one’s final grade for each additional absence.
Tardiness: It is essential that you come to class on time. Please let me know ahead of time
if you know you will be late. Excessive tardiness (more than two times) will result in
losing 3 points from one’s final grade for each additional day late.
Late assignments: Unexcused late assignments will lose 5 points for every 24 hours they
are late.
Schedule of Readings and Assignments
The following schedule lists when the readings and the five to seven page writing
assignments will be due. Please note that this is only a preliminary schedule. I may have
to move some due dates back if we need more time discussing a given topic. I will be
sure to give you fair notice if any dates change.
*One more note: Notice that on a number of days, I have listed “background
information” under “Read”. I have done this on days that new topics are being
addressed. You should look up these subjects (Scientific Revolution, Enlightenment, etc)
on your own, take notes and bring them into class. Just try to get a general idea of each
term. This will greatly help our discussions when we talk about more specific readings
and events. I suggest you use reputable encyclopedias and websites.
Wed. Jan. 23 Course Introduction
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Tues. Jan 27 Course Introduction continued: Reading and Writing History, The Scientific
Revolution and the Early Enlightenment
Read: background information on the Scientific Revolution (17th Century), Francis
Bacon, Isaac Newton, Thomas Hobbes, John Locke- Consider what their most important
achievements were.
Thurs. Jan 29 The Enlightenment
Read: Voltaire, Letters Concerning the English Nation, 1-41
Tues. Feb. 3 The Enlightenment
Read: Voltaire, Letters, 42-86
Thurs. Feb. 5 The Enlightenment
Read: Voltaire, Letters, 87-121
Tues. Feb. 10 The Enlightenment
Read: Voltaire, Candide, 1-33
Thurs. Feb. 12 The Enlightenment
Read: Voltaire, Candide, 41-75
Tues. Feb. 17 The Enlightenment
Read: Voltaire, Candide, 75-98
Thurs. Feb. 19 The Enlightenment
Read: Finish Candide
Tues. Feb. 24 The Idea of Progress in the Age of Revolution
Read: background information on the American and French Revolutions, excerpt from
Edmund Burke, Reflections on the Revolution in France in the Clark Graphics course
pack
Thurs. Feb. 26 No Class: Individual meetings for the first long essay on Wednesday and
Thursday
Tues. Mar. 3 The Idea of Progress in the Age of the American Revolution
Read: excerpt from Thomas Paine, The Rights of Man
Thurs. Mar. 5 Romanticism: A Reaction to Progress
Read: Background information on 19th century romanticism
First 5-7 Page Paper Due
Tues. Mar. 10 Romanticism
Read: Mary Shelley, Frankenstein introductory material
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Thurs. Mar. 12 Romanticism
Read: Shelley, 15-90
Spring Break***********************************************************
Tues. Mar. 24 Romanticism
Read: Shelley, 91-151
Thurs. Mar. 26 Romanticism
Read: Finish Shelley
Tues. Mar. 31 Classical Liberalism
Read: background information on classical liberalism, Mill, 3-56
Thurs. Apr. 2 No Class: Individual meetings for the second long essay on Wednesday and
Thursday
Tues. Apr. 7 Classical Liberalism
Read: Mill 57-119
Thurs. Apr. 9 Classical Liberalism
Read: Mill 123-153
Second 5-7 page paper due
Tues. Apr. 14 Classical Liberalism
Read: Mill 153-229
Thurs. Apr. 16 Marxism and Materialist Progress
Read: background information on Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels
Tues. Apr. 21 Marxism and Materialist Progress
Read: Clark Graphics course pack excerpts from the Contribution to the Critique of
Hegel’s Philosophy of Right: Introduction and the German Ideology
Thurs. Apr. 23 Marxism and Materialist Progress
Read: Clark Graphics course pack excerpt from the Communist Manifesto
Tues. Apr. 28 Into the Twentieth Century- A lost faith in progress?
Read: Sigmund Freud, Civilization and its Discontents, 10-52
Thurs. Apr. 30 A lost faith in progress?
Read: Freud, 53-96
Tues. May 5 A lost faith in progress?
Read: Francis Fukuyama, “The End of History” in Clark Graphics course pack.
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Thurs. May 7 Final Discussion
Your final paper will be due at noon on Thursday, May 14.
You may turn in your paper any time before your due date. If you turn it in on May 14, it
absolutely must be in by noon . If it is late, I will deduct half of a grade for every hour it
is late.
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