History and the modern world (Honors Section)
M,W,F 11:00-12:00
Instructor: Joshua B. Stein
Office: CAS 117
Phone: (254) 3223
E-Mail: jstein@rwu.edu
Hours: Monday, Wednesday, Friday 2:00-3:00
Tuesday and Thursday 11:00-12:30
(In fact, I am in the office many more hours a week than indicated above. If you
need to see me but are not available during the posted hours, make an
appointment. I also should let you know that things take me away from the
office even when I’m scheduled to be there. So, better call before you come to
make sure I am actually in, and if I am that I can see you (that I’m not busy with
another student, etc.)
Texts:
The Democratic Idea, (edited by Swanson, et al.)
Summary:
The overall theme of the Core 102 course concerns democracy. In this Honors section we will be concentrating on the US Constitution, studying whether (or how much of) it is democratic, how it emerged from the immediate and long-tem past, how it has shaped the lives of Americans ever since and how, specifically, it impacts on your life in 2001-2002. The process will be to start with the three documents which define the early American experience—the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, and the Constitution as it was written in 1787, ratified in 1789, amended almost immediately by addition of the Bill of Rights, and subsequently amended since. After thoroughly familiarizing ourselves with the document and its immediate antecedents, we will read Catherine Drinker Bowen’s day-by-day history of the debates that went into the writing of the Constitution and then we shall start debating ourselves. You will notice that on page 27 of Ketcham’s Anti-Federalist Papers there is a list of subjects and the Federalist (pro-ratification) and Anti-Federalists (anti-ratification) papers that deal with each. We will divide into groups and re-enact the debates of the late 1790s using the words and (an advantage not shared by the participants) the subsequent experience of the United States. It is hoped in this way to allow you to put your feet into the buckled shoes of America’s founders. (In addition to the topics Ketcham gives, let’s add “Slavery”.
My guess is that this unit will occupy roughly half the semester, at the end of which each group will give me a report detailing their arguments and demolishing the opponents. (I will also ask for a statement from each member of the group describing the contribution of yourself and of each other member to the final result.) This paper will count as ¼ of your grade
The second half of the semester will be divided roughly into halves again. The first will be spent looking at materials in the Democratic Idea book with an eye towards seeing what of the past was absorbed into the thinking of the Constitution’s writers, what was rejected, and discussing the relative virtue of the decision. Interspersed with these discussion of the documents, I will lecture from time to time on material that we do not have covered in texts, specifically the governmental structure of Athens, Sparta and Rome; the struggle for power between crown and parliament in England; the enlightenment and the scientific revolution that preceded it. (We will then have an exam, which will count as ¼ of your grade.)
The last quarter of the semester will be spent looking at how well the Constitution has worked out, principally as a unifying agent, and how it has failed (specifically in the cases of women and African-Americans). (At the end of this quarter we will have a final exam based on this quarter’s work and the work that has preceded it which will count as ¼ of your grade.)
GRADING:
If you have been keeping score you will have noted that ¼ of your grade is based on the paper, ¼ on the first exam, ¼ on the second exam. The rest of your grade (¼) will be based on class participation. This will be measured as follows: Each day there is a reading assignment, I will ask that you write and answer a good, solid question based on the material you’ve read. I will arbitrarily call on two or three of you each day to ask your question. I will then see who can answer it in class. If no one can to your satisfaction or to mine, I’ll give it a try. These questions should not be designed to trick the other students, but to stimulate discussion. The other method of determining class participation grades is by the questions you ask in class, the answers you give to my questions, the eagerness with which you participate and your general demeanor (yes, posture, eye contact, alertness, do count).
I look forward to challenging your intellects and to have you challenge mine. I will, from time to time adopt unpopular stances, whether I believe them or not, in order to stimulate discussion/debate. Do not expect that long cherished ideas you have had since infancy will go unchallenged by me or by other members of the class. Things may get rough and ready in this class, but there are rules which will be our guiding principles:
“civility over all,” “facts count more than opinions,” “we are all (I include myself) deserving of respect,” “we are to have fun with this.”
Goals: By semester’s end students should:
Have an appreciation of what the Constitution’s strengths, weaknesses and
sources are
Have an understanding of the historical elements that went into the making of
the Constitution
Be able to express themselves in writing and verbally better than you did when
first arrived
Be a more thoughtful citizen of the world in the first half of the twenty-first
century.
How to get an “A” in this course:
1- Form a study group; meet at least weekly with this group. Go over your notes with your colleagues to make sure they are correct.
2- Before each class read the assigned material, but don’t just read it, read, mark, learn and inwardly digest it so that you know before I get there where the class is going.
3- Each day (or at least five days a week) read your class notes, from the beginning. If you do you will be memorizing without the effort of memorizing; you will see patterns emerge from one class to another across the weeks.
4- Live (mentally) the era we are discussing. Ask yourself, how would an ancient Spartan or a 17th century Englishman or a founding father would cope with the problems of the world (yours and society’s) today.
Reading will be assigned on a week to week basis.
Topics for Debate:
Was there (is there) a need for a stronger central government?
Should a Bill of rights have been included in the original Constitution?
What are/should be the nature and powers of the union?
What is the responsibility and checks in self-government?
What and how should taxes be levied?
What should be the nature of the armed forces?
What is/should be the function of the judiciary?
Is government dependent on the people’s will?
What is/should be the executive power?
How should elections be run?
What is/what should be the power of the House of Representatives?
What is/what should be the power of the Senate?
How should representation be determined for the House and Senate?
Should there be slavery?