Core
102 History
and the Modern World Roger
Williams University T‑F
2:00-3:30, T-F 3:30-5:00 CAS
207 Fall,
2001 |
|
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 |
Textbooks:
(Required Reading)
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.
I'm planning to have a good time doing it. I'm also
planning to continue to develop a class website for Core 102. At this stage of its development, the Internet
is perhaps the most democratic medium ever invented. It is certainly the most
potent educator since the invention of moveable type. I make that statement
fully recognizing we've a few other means of disseminating information which
have been invented since Gutenberg's day: movies, radio, television, to name
the big three. Yet none of these allows the level of public access that the
Internet does. You'll be required to drop by to check weekly: http://core102.homestead.com is the URL. There, I've
uploaded a version of the "cover sheet" which all the faculty
distribute, and copies of the statements on writing expectations and
plagiarism. The required readings are listed there as well, and each has a link
to an Internet resource. Notes on each week's reading and discussion activities
will also be found there. These will develop as the semester progresses. All required reading assignments will be
posted on the class website. In about
three weeks I will cease distributing a paper version of the syllabus. Those who want to have a paper copy can
print the Internet version themselves.
The work ahead.
Shortly I will distribute paper version of the
semester calendar with the principal readings for the semester. I have prepared
an original draft of it for the Internet, and you can reach it by clicking
here.
The common core readings are those which all of us agree are important enough
to merit being included in the final examination you'll take at the semester's
end. I will be supplementing those readings with others that reflect some of my
own personal interests. Some of these will be handouts, and some will be
Internet sources. Generally once a week, I'll prepare a week's mini‑syllabus
like this one, with notes concerning the ideas and issues under discussion in the
week coming. These will be posted on the Internet. If you want a hard copy, print it from there.
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.
Classroom Practices and Procedures
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
The other required text is a
standard survey of Western History, in other words, a college textbook. We are not going to read it cover-to-cover,
or even chapter-to-chapter. I will be
training you to use it mainly as a book of reference, to help you understand
the documents that we will be discussing.
In the beginning of our time together I will assign specific sections of
the book. Later, once you familiarize
yourself with the format of the book and the index to it, I'll leave it to you
to go searching for what you feel a need to know. What you can’t find you can ask about using
the questions on cards mentioned previously.
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.