Prof. Bruce A. Harvey
harveyb@fiu.edu

HUM 3306
History of Ideas:
From the Age of Enlightenment
to the Age of Anxiety

 
Tuesday/Thursday: 12:30-1:45  Library 175

FIU WebCT intro. & log-in site: www.webct.fiu.edu
Homepage: www.fiu.edu/~harveyb
Humanities Program webpage: www.fiu.edu/~harveyb/hum
Office: AC1 346, (305) 919-5254
Home phone: (954) 920-8938
Office hours: T/TH 10:00-12:30 & 1:45-3:00; & W 10:00-3:00 & by appointment

 

COURSE OVERVIEW AND GOALS

Welcome to HUM 3306! 

I have high ambitions for what you will obtain from enrolling in HUM 3306.  Many of you will have signed up with the notion that you're just completing an FIU requirement, but I hope that by the time you conclude the class you will have opened your minds and hearts to fascinating realms of human inquiry as expressed in the works we'll be reading.  Ideally, how you see the world, and your identity within that world, will be richly and complexly transformed.

We'll be tracking a set of key issues and ideas: the confident emergent in the 17th & 18th century (called the "Age of Reason" or the "Age of Enlightenment") of a skeptical, rational approach to social problems and the realms of nature; the 19th-century's struggle to maximize individuality and interiority (the "Romantic Era") in the face of widespread economic alienation (the "Industrial Age") and discoveries (Darwinian evolution; the vastness and age of the cosmos) that seemed to diminish human significance; and finally, in the 20th century, a persuasive sense of unease--whether from global conflict, the loss of local community, or philosophical angst.

Our readings will span political philosophy, economic theory, biology and psychology, as well as fiction and poetry.  We'll discuss and debate how the authors speak to contemporary issues: What is the relationship between how we conceive human nature and how we evaluate different types of government? How can oppressed groups overcome their oppressors? Can we act freely, or are we shaped by forces or categories beyond our control, such as the unconscious or our class position or our DNA blueprint?

This course primarily studies European intellectual history, but there remains an entire globe of cultures extending beyond that which has developed in the West.  And so I encourage you, once you have taken this course, to take others in the Humanities Program or elsewhere at FIU that will round out your interests in and understanding of other, diverse cultural traditions. 

You do not need to bring to the class vast previously-gained historical or literary or philosophic knowledge, but it will demand strong intellectual commitment.   I take the Gordon Rule “Humanities with Writing” aspect seriously: you will be assisted in developing your analytical/critical writing skills, but as the course is a 3000-level one, it also assumes mastery of skills learned in ENC 1101 and 1102 or their equivalent. 

The course has four major goals: 

--To increase your knowledge about key thinkers of the post-Renaissance European world and their historical contexts.
--To help you understand their significance to our contemporary moment.
--To improve your ability to analyze sophisticated, complex texts.
--To develop your skill and pleasure in communicating ideas, both in class and on paper.

After our first meeting, email me via the WebCT email component and say "I've read the policies, etc." (assuming you have!).  Feel free, at that point, too, to express any initial concerns or ask questions that you might have about the course.

If the WebCT system fails, you may always find the online syllabus at the top of my homepage: www.fiu.edu/~harveyb.    

TEXTS

--Peter Watson, Ideas: From Fire to Freud (Harper Collins)
--John Locke, The Second Treatise of Government (Dover Publications)
--Olaudah Equiano, The Life of Olaudah Equiano (Dover Publications)
--Mary Shelley, Frankenstein (Pocket)
--Karl Marx, The Communist Manifesto (Penguin)
--Charles Darwin, The Origin of Species (Norton Abridged)

The total cost will be around $60.00.  The Watson book may be ordered thru Amazon.com for $20.00 or so ($10 less than what you’ll pay in the bookstore), and likely you can get cheaper used editions there, too.  If you have different editions of the other texts that’s fine, except for Darwin’s—because the edition I’ve ordered is a much abridged one.

GRADES

25%     8 one-page reading responses
50%     2 essays: 4 pages and 7 pages
25%     Final exam: in-class short answers and a 5-page take-home

The course is a large one, and so a Ph.D. graduate student will be helping me grade papers and exams.  I will, however, be reading and assessing the response papers.

COURSE POLICIES

Prerequisites: As this is a 3000-level course with matched writing expectations, you will not be able to do well in it if you have not successfully passed ENC 1101 and 1102 or their equivalent. 

Attendance: Regular, and on time, attendance is required.  You get two absences penalty free.  I won't ask, and you don't need to explain.  For the next two absences, your grade will be docked a notch--e.g. B+ to B--except in the case of true emergencies or religious holy day absences.  If you miss more than five classes, you cannot pass the course.  If you show up late for class, you likely will be counted as absent.

Participation and Preparedness: I will give formal lectures occasionally, but even with a large class size, there should be ample time for class dialogue and you should feel free to voice your ideas.  Don't be shy--you can be sure that if you feel nervous about speaking up many sitting next to you do, too, but after the first time it gets easier, and the flow of good class discussions will make the course more satisfying for everyone. Class participation and preparedness (which may be tested via short quizzes) can help pull your grade up a notch and make the crucial difference between a “C” and a “C-“ (non-passing) grade.

Obviously, the larger the class the more difficult it will be for me to get to know you individually: so, please talk to me after class, or see me in conference, or even send a photo image via email so I can start to connect names to faces.

Incompletes: These can only be granted if you have a health or family emergency.

Plagiarism: Don't do it.  It is very easy to detect, and the consequences of being found guilty can be devastating for your FIU career, besides being ethically nasty.  If you do not know university policies on plagiarism, learn them: go to this link: http://w3.fiu.edu/enc/Plagiarism.htm.  Most students plagiarize because of desperation; if you feel desperate, talk to me! 

Conferences:  I am always happy to meet with you during office hours to talk more about the readings, assignments, or other course matters.  You do not need to set up an appointment time to see me during my office hours, and you are welcome to drop by just to chat.  For personal/urgent concerns, you may call me at my home number, leave a message on my office phone, or email me at my FIU address: harveyb@fiu.edu.  I check my email regularly, so if you don't get a reply within a day, you should assume what you sent did not arrive and needs to be sent again (the FIU junk-mail filter sometimes screens out messages with subject lines such as “question” or “paper”; so give a specific subject line, e.g., “Locke paper question from Chris”).  

Class WebCT Email:  To turn in response paper assignments, use the email component within the WebCT system. 

WebCT Syllabus:  I will post review materials and, occasionally, primary texts or illustrations for you to download, print out, and bring to class (if indicated) for discussion.  You should check the online syllabus once or twice a week to make sure you are up-to-date.

WebCT Instructions:  Go to www.webct.fiu.edu for instructions.  If you have problems, consult the help/instructions on the WebCT website first, and then contact me if the problem is not solved.


WRITTEN WORK & EXAMS

Eight Reading Responses:  These will be submitted via the WebCT email component.

I will post a question or topic on the syllabus (below), and you will have usually up to one week to respond.  The due date is given in the left column of the syllabus.  The responses--around 200-300 words long--should be decent in terms of grammar, spelling/punctuation, and sentence style.  They should be focused and analytical or interpretive--don't ramble and don't just summarize the readings.  The responses are a chance for you to explore your intellectual reactions to the texts; write what you think, not what you believe I may want to hear.  Sometimes I will ask how a specific passage reflects issues about the larger text from which it is taken, sometimes I'll ask you to respond to class lecture or discussion, sometimes you'll be asked to do a bit of web-research and report your findings, and sometimes the topic will be open-ended.

For each--indicated by my WebCT email reply--you will receive either a "2" (thoughtful and competently written) or a "1" (not very thoughtful or poorly written) or "0" (not submitted).  Two "1"s may be revised, but the revision must be extra thoughtful and polished in terms of grammar and style.  The revisions may be submitted at any point before the last day of class. 

The collective grade for the responses will be calculated as follows: A(15-16), A-(13-14), B+(11-12), B(9-10), B-(7-8), C+(6), C(5), C-(4), D+(3), D (2), D-(1). 

The responses should be pasted directly--single-spaced--into your email message, and should have the title Response1, Response2, etc., along with your name, last name first: e.g.,Response1HarveyBruce. 
 

Please also cut-and-paste your postings into a personal, at-home file for safekeeping (in case of a WebCT meltdown).

Papers:  I will give instruction handouts for both papers. 

If you have strong writing skills and familiarity with a particular field or subject matter, you may (after convincing me of your competence) write in lieu of the two papers and take-home portion of the final exam, a longer, 15-page paper, which would be expected to include serious secondary research.  If you are interested, chat with me early in the semester about possibilities. There are many: for instance, if you are a Psychology major, you could investigate to what extent Freud’s theories are still held useful; if you are in Nursing or Biology, you could investigate birth-labor practices in the early 19^th-century in respect to Shelley’s Frankenstein; if you are a Business or Political Science major, you could focus on contemporary consumerism as thwarting Marxian revolutionary fervor.  And so on.  This option will have rigorous standards for a good grade, and is intended for those who can work independently.  If you are writing the longer paper, individual schedules for completion will be developed in consultation with me.

Revisions: You may revise your essays, but the standards-bar for a revision goes up, with real revision/rethinking being required.  A revision--as it gives you the opportunity to develop your ideas--should also typically be somewhat longer than the original (assuming wordiness was not a problem).  Before you revise an essay, you must consult with me (not my graduate assistant who initially graded the essay). Revisions must be turned in on or before the last class meeting.        

Midterm Exam:  There is no graded exam, although I likely will give a brief diagnostic one to help you gauge your absorption of the course materials.

Final Exam: This will be comprehensive, consisting of short one or two sentence answers to more or less objective questions.  There also will likely be a take-home synthesis portion, about 5 pages long, in which you respond to a take-home question/questions and provide a mini-essay or essays.   Instructions will be handed out later in the semester.

AT THE END OF THE SEMESTER, COPIES TO E-TEXT LINKS, MY REVIEW NOTES, ETC. WILL BE IN THE GRID BELOW
 

RESPONSE#1 TOPIC: 

Option 1: Respond to Locke’s argument in sections 37 & 40-44: These are key sections for Locke's thesis that the right to keep the fruits of one's labor (property) is for the common benefit, and is not merely one person getting wealthy at the expense of others. 

Option 2:  Respond to how in sections 46-50 Locke comes to the conclusion that we "agreed to a disproportionate and unequal possession of the earth" (#50).  You might also want to consider, in section 37, whether Locke seems to think that the invention of money allows us to satisfy an innate acquisitive urge, or that it creates greed in the first place.

Option 3:  Locke, thru his theory of labor value, provides (or seems to) ethical legitimacy to capitalism (the acquisition of wealth).  Evaluate his argument.

RESPONSE#2 TOPIC: 

Choose any significant passage in Equiano's narrative that seems to be symptomatic or paradigmatic--that is, a scene/passage that particularly encapsulates something important about Equiano's personality, his relationship to the world about him, and so on.  Quote the first several lines of the passage (and give the page number) in your response, and then give your response.  Be very careful not to just paraphrase/summarize the passage; the goal is to show how the passage reflects important issues, etc., in the surrounding narrative.  Here are some leading questions that might help you: does Equiano's attitude towards his white captives (and their culture) change in the progress of his narrative? what makes Equiano most happy? would you say that Equiano's capitalist urges sometimes are suspect?

*As an additional Essay#1 paper option: if you end up being really curious/excited by Equiano's narrative, and feel your response could be a good "seed" to grow a longer paper, you may write on Equiano for Essay#1--but you must discuss this option one-on-one with me, and you must incorporate somewhere in your paper an historical/ideological context that would include our much-loved Mr. John Locke!

**Many responses seem to have been composed directly in WebCT email.  If you have problems with spelling or sentence construction, it would be much better if you composed using "Word" etc., printed out your response, edited/proofread it, and then pasted it to WebCT email.  A "1" is roughly equivalent to a "C" or lower; if you get two "1s" in a row, you definitely should go to the Learning Center or visit me in conference.  Those who consistently get response-paper "1"s will not likely do well on the main essays!

*** Click on this link for the sample response papers I handed out in class.  They are longer than need be and have some glitches; but overall, they represent a high standard you should be aspiring to! Notice varied sentence length/patterns; notice they sound academic but not too stodgy; notice that they do much more than paraphrase.  When I read these, I know their authors understand Locke.

**** SAMPLE RESPONSE#2:  Again, the response below is longer than it need be and it has glitches, but when I read it I know the student a) has read Equiano thoughtfully, b) has understood the goal, which was to focus on a particular passage as it radiates meaning from the larger narrative/text from which it is taken (I used the the words "symptomatic" and "paradigmatic"), and thereby learned that focus illuminates, and c) has made efforts to use mature, interesting prose.

I not only felt myself quite easy with these new countrymen, but relished their societies
and manners. I no longer looked upon [whites] as spirits, but as men superior to us; and
therefore I had the stronger desire to resemble them, to imbibe their spirit, and imitate
their manners.” – The Life of Olaudah Equiano, page 51

     This passage is from a chapter of the book which marks the end of Gustavus’ life as a
kidnapped and confused boy, who wished mostly to find a way to escape his masters and
return home, to a young man who at least somewhat accepts his current role as a slave,
and wishes to rise above it and become free, so that he might live his life as a part of
what he now believes to be the better world of the Englishmen. Later in the book
Gustavus learns of and converts to Christianity, and becomes subject to many inner
torments and ecstasies as a result of doing so. I often wondered what it was that made
people, and even whole countries, accept so whole-heartedly religions or doctrines of
their oppressors, which they have never known of before. I think now that I see the
reason in this autobiography, especially in the above quoted passage.
     I believe it comes mainly from the opinion that the enslavers or conquerors are so
much better, with their wondrous technology and refined customs which give them such
power and luxuries, that the ignorant or underdeveloped conclude that any belief system
and dogma of theirs must also be superior to their own. Gustavus seems to me a perfect
example of one who, in order to find acceptance with those around him, allows his
individuality to be absorbed, so much so that even the practice of slavery and
kidnapping, which he once viewed as proof to these peoples’ barbarism, no longer
phases him so much. Indeed, although every so often while under the rule of a cruel
master, or in seeing those under them, he reflects on the horrors of slavery, when he
himself finally becomes a free man, he becomes yet another cog in the machine of it,
participating once in awhile in the shipment of slaves from one continent to another. The
guilt and self-loathing that Gustavus feels time and again as a result of his adopted belief
system, sometimes so strong that he wishes himself dead, are, it’s true, balanced by
times when he feels blessed and virtuous, and views himself as one of the saved,
destined for heaven. In doing so however, he also adopts the, in my personal beliefs,
unfortunate view that those who do not live as he does, think as he does, or believe what
he does, are damned, and are vile and loathsome to behold in their customs or be next
to. In short, I see Gustavus Vassa a perfect case of the alteration from one living in the
nearly “state of nature” society, to one in the more modern, “civilized” life-style, with
almost all of its beliefs and customs included.
 

RESPONSE#3 TOPIC:    See above for a sample Response#2 from a student in the class

I'll keep this question brief as I know you all have a lot going on midterm/etc-wise:  Why does Victor hate the monster and (only if you wish to add) why does the monster seek vengeance against Victor?

1. The existence of the monster, it seems to me, stands as Victor Frankenstein’s ultimate loss. Accomplished, respected, proud, and truly a genius, his only real failure was not being able to help the monster learn. He was a scientist, not a father, and in his efforts to remain a scientist the monster turned from him, in a sense. However, I think it was Victor who turned on the monster first, and in frustration and anguish the monster did the same. I don’t believe Victor hated the monster as much as he hated himself. In the face of his constant failures which led him to the loss of all whom he held dear, he found a virtual scapegoat. Though he blamed it on the monster, he knew he had no one to blame but himself through and through, not because he was the one that created it, but because he was the one that couldn’t give it what it needed. Pride was Victor’s downfall, and it was that same pride that took him to the grave. I’m sure he wanted to ask forgiveness from his creation… but it was pride that couldn’t let him do that.


2.  Victor takes a dislike towards anyone with whom his eye does not find pleasure. From the very beginning of his young life, he possesses a favor for the gentle, soft exterior of the persons in his life; namely Elizabeth. The very first moment she is presented to young Victor, even at the age of four, he takes great notice of her attractive countenance; likening her to a "favorite animal" on whom he "loved to tend on". On his first initiation into the study of the natural philosophies, of which Victor has paid dearly in its pursuit, he is, initially, repelled by its representative, Krempe, who he describes as "a little squat man, with a gruff voice and repulsive countenance". As a result, Krempe fails in persuading Victor to study the modern sciences. However when its dealer changes his appearance to a more aesthetically agreeable Waldman, Victor lifts his "prejudices against modern chemists". Furthermore, Victor himself states, "it was, perhaps, the amiable character of this man that inclined me more to that branch of natural philosophy which he professed, than an intrinsic love of the science itself". Yet his definition of "character" is rather flawed and superficial. After two years "spent in painful labor, to arrive at once at the summit of my desires, was the most gratifying consummation of my toils" but it was not to be, since his first, and only, reaction to his creation is horror and disgust. His first impression of his glorious creation, of which he has sacrificed much for, is its grotesque form. He describes the creature's appearance in great detail and, without contemplation, abandons it without thought or remorse. Had this creature the "lively blue eyes" of William or the "attractive softness" of Elizabeth, it would not have been so neglected and hated by Victor.

 

RESPONSE#4 TOPIC:  See above for a sample Response#3 from a student in the class

Option 1: Explain in a paragraph your understanding of Darwin/evolutionary theory (from high-school, other college classes, whatever) BEFORE reading Darwin's actual book.  Then briefly explain how reading the actual book is modifying your understanding.  In other words, what are you learning by reading Origin of Species?

Option 2:  On page 43 of our edition, Darwin says that "We behold the face of nature bright with gladness..."  Respond to this passage.
 

RESPONSE#5 TOPIC:

Option 1:  Explain why Marx believes that capitalists/owners of factories (etc.) are not justly reaping the rewards of their entrepreneurial energy, but are, rather, exploiting laborers and in effect stealing the "surplus value of labor."  You will likely need to read my Marx review in addition to Marx's CM to answer this: the goal of this response is for you to put Marx's theory in your own words.

Option 2:  Provide an ethical justification for vast discrepancies in ownership or an ethical critique of such discrepancies.  Your response should demonstrate you understand Marx.

RESPONSE#6 TOPIC:

Cohesively summarize the main ideas in either the Nietzsche e-text essay or Freud e-text essay.  And then, briefly, assess/critique the ideas.

RESPONSE#7 TOPIC:

This response is cut; automatic "2"s put in the grade column for this response.

RESPONSE#8 TOPIC:

For this last response, I will be expecting polished, grammatically-impeccable prose!

Option 1: Respond, as you wish, to the WWI film, "Behind the Lines"

Option 2: Respond, as you wish, to the Eliot poem, "The Love Song of....Prufrock"

Option 3: Respond, as you wish, to the F. Fanon e-text speech.