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New York University Liberal Studies Social Foundations III, section 26 (UF103.026) Professor Phil Washburn Office: 726 Broadway, Room 649 Office Hours: Mon, 2-3, Tues, 5-6, Wed, 11-12, and by appointment

Fall, 2018 T/T, 3:30 – 4:45 Email: [email protected]

Course Description Every person has to make sense of the world in some way. We must all understand why things happen, why people do what they do, and what to expect next, so that we can interact with the world and survive. This means every person has an “ideology,” a set of basic beliefs about the physical world, people, society, and oneself. Ideologies also include beliefs about what is valuable or harmful, good or evil. For example, liberalism, conservatism, romanticism, and Marxism are all ideologies. In this course we want to examine the principal ideologies that people have adopted since 1700. (Religions such as Christianity are ideologies, too, but we will focus on social and political ideologies.) Major changes in society cause people to step back and reassess their ideology, to try to adjust to the new reality. The Scientific Revolution of the 1600s was one such change, and it led to an ideological movement called the Enlightenment. People came to believe that we can use reason to discover the laws of nature, and therefore make continuous progress. The French Revolution (1790s) was another radical change, but people disagreed on how to interpret it. Conservatives, romantics, and nationalists all reacted with different ideologies to make sense of the new reality. The Industrial Revolution (1770-1850) was another challenge: it led capitalists, Marxists, libertarians, and feminists to see people and society in new, and different, ways. In the late nineteenth century, Darwin’s theory of evolution (1859) seemed to explain Europe’s imperialistic dominance of the globe, and that dominance inspired yet other ideologies. Seeing how ideologies work should help us figure out how to interpret today’s world.

Objectives    

to understand the nature of ideologies in general, and the basic principles of such influential ideologies as liberalism, conservatism, feminism, and so on to be able to take the point of view of other ideologies (nationalist, romantic, Marxist, etc.) and apply their ideas to specific issues, as if you were a nationalist, romantic, or Marxist to practice critical skills, such as evaluating evidence, recognizing facts and values, defining terms, testing generalizations, finding causes and consequences, uncovering assumptions, and constructing arguments to exchange ideas with your classmates, in order to see how different people understand the same texts and theories

Texts J. W. Goethe, Faust: Part 1, trans. Peter Salm, Bantam Franz Fanon, The Wretched of the Earth, trans. Richard Philcox, Grove Press

Requirements Exams. There will be a mid-term exam on Oct 23 and a comprehensive final exam on Dec 20. Each will consist of short-answer questions, argument analysis, and one essay. You have a sample exam on NYU Classes. The exams are your opportunities to demonstrate your close reading of the assignments, your understanding of the theories, and your mastery of critical thinking skills. Papers. You should write two analytical essays, each about 6 pp long, due on Oct 16 and Dec 4. You have possible topics and guidelines on NYU Classes. (If you want to develop your own topic, you may, but you should discuss it with me first.) The guidelines include a checklist, which states the standards I use to evaluate your essay. In addition, we will have some short writing exercises throughout the semester, in which you practice the kind of writing you should do in your essays. We will discuss those exercises in class. Needless to say, plagiarism is unacceptable. If you plagiarize, you will jeopardize your college career. If you aren't sure what plagiarism is, look at the Liberal Studies web site under “Academics”, or talk to me. The following is the LSP policy on academic integrity set by the administration: “Plagiarism is the word-for-word reproduction of another writer’s work or ideas; paraphrasing without proper attribution also constitutes plagiarism. Neither will be tolerated in this class. Please see the discussion of plagiarism in the Academic Integrity Guide (http://liberalstudies.nyu.edu/page/academicintegrity) for more detailed information. Penalties for plagiarism range from a failing grade for a paper or a course to dismissal from the University. Plagiarism is not, however, the only form of academic dishonesty. Any violation of or attempt to circumvent a course, program, or university academic policy is considered a breach of academic integrity. Examples include, but are not limited to, cheating on an examination; attempting to gain an unfair advantage over other students on graded work; or facilitating any of these acts on the part of other students. In addition, course materials such as syllabi, assignments, and test questions belong to the instructor and may not be reproduced or shared in any fashion without the instructor’s explicit written permission; failure to do so without written permission constitutes a punishable breach of academic integrity.” Class discussion. Being in class with twenty other students, all thinking about two or three main questions, is a wonderful opportunity to expand your horizons. Your classmates are bright, articulate, and different from you in some ways. You can learn a lot from them about political ideas, beliefs about human nature, and your own point of view. To take advantage of this opportunity, you should listen carefully to their comments, and be willing to share your own thoughts. At least once in every class meeting you should try to answer a question, respond to a classmate's comment, or ask your own question. Attendance. You should try to attend every class. If you miss a class (for whatever reason) you are not learning as much as your classmates who attend. Of course some absences may be unavoidable, but more than three absences will adversely affect your final grade. If you miss

class for a religious holiday, that is understandable, but you need to make up the missed class. Anyone can meet with me during office hours to make up an absence. The following is the LSP Attendance Policy set by the administration: “If you plan to miss any classes for religious observance this semester, please let me know their dates by the end of the first week of the term. You will not in any way be penalized for such absences, but I may require you to submit any work due for these classes in advance. In accordance with program policy: Please furnish me with a written explanation if you miss two consecutive classes. If you miss more than three classes for reasons besides religious observance, your class participation grade will fall. Be aware that I will contact the Advising Office to make further inquiries should you miss four consecutive classes. You cannot pass the course if you miss six consecutive classes for any reason (excluding religious observance). If you miss more than six (non-consecutive) classes for reasons besides religious observance, you cannot pass the course.” Grades. Your course grade depends on the two exams, two papers, and class participation. (The writing exercises are pass/fail, and are part of your grades on the two papers.) Each of these five elements counts for 20%. Students with disabilities who believe that they may need accommodations in this class are encouraged to contact the Moses Center for Students with Disabilities at (212) 998-4980 as soon as possible to better ensure that such accommodations are implemented in a timely fashion. For more information, see the CSD website at http://www.nyu.edu/osl/csd Feel free to talk to me at any time. LSP offices are at 726 Broadway, sixth floor. My office is Room 649. I will be in the office on Mondays from 2:00 to 3:00 (and probably later), Tuesdays from 5:00 to 6:00, and Wednesdays from 11:00 to 12:00. Or we can arrange a time that is convenient for you. My email address is [email protected].

Schedule Sept

4

Introduction

6 11 13 18 20

The Enlightenment and Two Liberalisms Brinton, The Enlightenment (NYU Classes, Resources) Voltaire, Tolerance, Condorcet, Progress (NYU Classes) Rousseau, Arts and Sciences, Origin of Inequality (NYU Classes) Rousseau, The Social Contract (NYU Classes) Holbach, Rousseau, on Religion (NYU Classes)

25

The French Revolution: Liberalism Applied Greer, The French Revolution, Robespierre (NYU Classes)

27

The Conservative Reaction: Liberalism Rejected Burke, Reflections on the Revolution in France (NYU Classes)

Oct

Nov

2

4 9 11

Romanticism: Emotional Liberty Goethe, Faust, Dedication to Auerbach's Cellar, pp. 3-151 Monday Schedule Goethe, Faust, Witch's Kitchen to Dungeon, pp. 151-319

16 18

Capitalism and Industrialization: Economic Liberty Smith, Wealth of Nations (NYU Classes) - Paper Due Stavrianos, Hobsbawm, The Industrial Revolution, (NYU Classes)

23

Mid-term Exam

25

Fairbank, China: A New History, Emperor Qian Long's Letter (NYU Classes)

30 1

Nationalism: Liberty for the Nation Grosby, Nationalism, Fichte (NYU Classes) Mosse, Nationalism, Mazzini (NYU Classes) - Optional Rewrite Due -

6 8

Dec

Latin American Revolutions: Liberal – Conservative compromise? Chasteen, Born in Blood and Fire, Bolivar (NYU Classes)

Marxism: Liberty for the Working Class Hobsbawm, ch 13, "Ideology: Secular," Marx on alienation (NYU Classes) Marx, The Communist Manifesto (NYU Classes)

13 15

Classical Liberalism: Individual Liberty (Libertarianism) Mill, On Liberty, chs 1 and 2 (NYU Classes) Mill, On Liberty, ch 5 (NYU Classes)

20 22 27

Feminism: Liberty for Women Freedman, No Turning Back: A History of Feminism, ch 3 (NYU Classes) Thanksgiving Break Virginia Woolf, selections (NYU Classes)

29 4 6

Social Darwinism and Imperialism: Liberty for the Strong Spencer, Social Darwinism (NYU Classes) Mazour, World History, ch 23, "Imperialism" (NYU Classes) – Paper Due – Waley, The Opium Wars Through Chinese Eyes (NYU Classes)

11

Anti-Colonialism: Liberty for the Colonized Fanon, The Wretched of the Earth, ch 1, "On Violence"

13

Postmodernism: Moral Liberty Nietzsche, Beyond Good and Evil, selections (NYU Classes)

20

Final Exam, 4:00-5:50 - Optional Rewrite Due -

Ideologies 1. Enlightenment liberal Reason, science, progress 2. Community liberal The common good 3. Conservative Trust proven solutions 4. Romantic Intense experiences of all kinds 5. Capitalist Free market solutions 6. Nationalist Something larger to believe in 7. Marxist Stop exploitation of workers 8. Libertarian Live free or die 9. Feminist Equality of men and women 10. Social Darwinist Survival of the fittest 11. Anti-Colonialist Rich nations dominate poor nations 12. Postmodernist Make your own truth...