Core 102
History and the Modern World
Roger Williams University
T-F 2:00-3:30, T-F 3:30-5:00
CAS 227
Spring, 2002
|
|
Michael R. H. Swanson, Ph. D.
Office: Feinstein College 110 Hours: M, T, Th, F. 9:00?10:00 or by appointment Phone (401) 254-3230 E-mail: mswanson@rwu.edu |
Sherman,
Dennis and Joyce Salisbury.The
West in the World
New
York:McGraw- Hill, 2001.
Swanson,
Stein, Speakman, Moskowitz, & Greco, The Democratic Idea
Dubuque,
Iowa: Kendall/Hunt Publishing Co., 2001.
A Few Introductory
Remarks
I
can start by introducing myself, I guess. I'm Mike Swanson of the American
Studies and History programs in the Feinstein College of Arts and Sciences.
My background is cultural history. I took my Master of Arts and Doctor
of Philosophy degrees from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland
Ohio, majoring in American Studies. I began here in the American Studies
program in 1972 (wow, that's a long time).. I've always had an interest
in material culture (the study of things people make) as well as intellectual
history, and that interest took me into the historic preservation field
about twenty years ago. I proposed the first Historic Preservation major
here, and I expect to continue teaching in it from time to time, though
I returned to my roots
here in the College of Arts and Sciences in the
fall of 2000.
The
Core Program at Roger Williams College centers on three recurring questions
in Western thought: "Who am I?” "What can I know? , and
"Based on what I know, how should I act?". No single academic
experience can provide satisfactory answers to these questions: five of
them, working in concert, at least introduce the perspectives, which traditionally
have provided tentative answers to these questions. Core 102 uses the disciplines
of History and Political Science to look at socio/political answers to
the question "Who am I?", the methodology of history and political
science to explore "what can I know?", and at the results of behavior
based on former answers to these questions to suggest avenues of responsible
action in today's society.
The
course description gives an insight into the content of Core 102.
It is more opaque concerning the rationale for a Core Curriculum in the
first place. There was a time when the idea of a Core Curriculum would
have made no sense: not because the idea seemed ridiculous, but because
there was within the western world, at least, a universal agreement concerning
what constituted a fit education. Throughout most of the periods we're
studying, this was the case. Though the content varied across time, the
categories of content proved remarkably stable. It wasn't until
a little over a century ago that the idea of "electives" was put forth
in academic circles. The culprit was a President of Harvard University.
...A
decade or two before, the idea of specialties began not as an undergraduate
mode of investigation, but as what one did in graduate school. Here, the
first American venture was based on a German model, and Johns Hopkins University
in Baltimore was the grand innovator. Now, of course, specialty education
is shattering the cohesion of what Thomas Jefferson called the "Academical
Village".Perhaps that's a bit too
strong: "threatening to shatter" might be a more appropriate turn
of phrase. Core Curricula such as the one at Roger Williams University
are responses to this sense of fragmentation. We are participating in an
attempt to forge a universal educational experience for all members of
the Roger Williams student community, regardless of major, regardless of
age, regardless of the majors they take or the schools in which those majors
are located. This might be a brilliant exercise: it might also be a noble
folly. I have the kind of mind that can hold both of these views simultaneously.
It is worth the effort, in my judgment, to bring this diverse group into
a common enterprise.
Attendance
Policy
I
don't take attendance as a regular course of events. I will read the roll
over often the first few sessions so that I can begin to put faces with
names. I reserve the right to change course in mid?stream, assigning new
material or revising the sequence of things on the spur of the moment.
If you miss a class, you may miss the turn. See me or look on the Internet
for the latest information.
Evaluation
and Grades
I
don’t like to do it but it comes with the territory.One
of my goals for this course is to help you become more articulate and persuasive
in presenting your ideas at the same time you are learning to frame questions,
access information and form judgments and solutions.Consequently
I’m going to have you do as much writing for me as I can find time to evaluate.I
am going to encourage you to submit writing to me in electronic form whenever
possible, though I will accept hard copies as well.Your
Mid-term Examination will be take-home, and parts of your final examination
will be take-home, as well.In terms
of proportions of your grade, I expect to use the following:
Midterm
(date to be announced) 20%
Final
Exam (date to be announced) 25"%
Papers
(3) 30%.I will weight the last paper
more heavily than the first.
Class
Participation Including Preparation for Class, 25%
Here’s
what I want you to do: Purchase a pack of 4" x 6" note cards.As
you read in preparation for each class, write down THREE
questions
(points about which you are unclear), observations (reactions to
the ideas in the readings assigned), or assertions of your own (statements
of agreement or disagreement with those ideas).Keep
these short, but make them grammatical (full sentences for each).Sign
them (legibly), date them, and turn them in at the beginning of
each class.At least 30 minutes per
period will be devoted to discussing selections from these cards.
Our
primary focus will be the documents in The Democratic Idea.These
are primary source materials, written by Western thinkers
spanning 2,500 years.Primary materials
are the bricks out of which narrative history is constructed.The
readings I have chosen are designed to focus on several crucial themes,
among them:
1.What
is "The Democratic Idea," as first espoused by the
Greeks and then modified by the Romans in Classical Times?
2.Civic
Theory: What is "society" and how can "Reason" be applied to creating rational
government?What is the appropriate
relationship between "Authority" (government) and the civil state (the
governed)?
3.Who
should participate in a democratic society, and what does participation
mean?How has that meaning changed
across time?
4.Is
"Democracy" appropriate for all societies and cultures?Is
it appropriate for any?
5.Does
Democracy have a future?
I
spend a lot of time in "close reading" of texts; probing
for implications in the structure of the argument. Your books will be open
and used during class, but only if you have them along. So...
ALWAYS BRING YOUR THE DEMOCRATIC IDEA WITH YOU
Generally
my classes are pretty informal.I
talk, you talk, and out of the conversation comes knowledge of a sort.We
are not going to construct a linear narrative this semester.I
am aiming to provide you with a richer, more complex, and more sophisticated
understanding of The Democratic Idea.Much
of your final understanding will result from what you piece together yourself.Some
of you will be much more comfortable with this approach than others will
be, at least initially.If you are
a person who requires a lot of structure you’re going to have to switch
gears and trust the system I’m using.If
this is difficult or impossible for you, there are other sections of Core
102 that are organized differently.The
syllabus for each section is (or shortly will be) posted on the class website.Enrolments
are very full, but you may be able to find someone who would trade sections
with you.