AP/POLS 4035 6 - York University

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AP/POLS 4035 6.0B/ AP/SOSC 4500 6.0A: EMERGENCE OF MODERNITY
DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE
YORK UNIVERSITY, 2014-2015
MEETING TIME:
MEETING PLACE:
COURSE DIRECTOR:
OFFICE:
OFFICE HOURS:
EMAIL:
Mondays 7:00-10:00 pm
BC 214
Dr. Michelle Mawhinney
S612 Ross
Mondays 4-5 pm or by appointment
[email protected]
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This course examines the emergence of modernity as a response to Enlightenment crisis. The
“crisis” refers to the ethical, ontological and epistemological dilemmas that seemed to have been
left in the wake of the “Age of Reason.” In light of the Renaissance, the Reformation, and
especially the new scientific method of the early modern period, philosophers of the 17th century
can be understood as reconciling human freedom, spirituality and reason with a new conception
of reality as neutral, predictable “fact.” The resulting optimism, that progress, based on reason’s
grasp of reality, is inevitable, characterizes the Radical Enlightenment philosophies of the 18th
century. But this optimism was not borne out, either in terms of the social and political realities of
the latter part of the century, or in terms of the philosophic certainty of the earlier period. To
many it appeared that a moral and ontological void was left by the empirical and scientific
approach to the human condition. The response to this perceived void ranged from Kant’s
radically “disengaged” idea of reason, freedom and morality, to the Romantic emphasis on
feeling, intuition and unity, to the Hegelian “synthesis.” The movements coming out of these
responses still resonate today, in our ideas of the self, beauty, morality, progress and reason.
In the course we will trace the trajectories of these ideas by exploring some of the primary texts
of the major thinkers of the Enlightenment period and its critics. In the first term we will explore
the themes of the “Radical Enlightenment,” and then consider the responses by such thinkers as
Rousseau, Kant, Fichte and Herder. In the second term will consider the streams of thought
coming out of the “counter-enlightenment,” beginning with the Romantic movement and then
looking at the solutions provided by Schiller, Hegel and Schopenhauer. In this term we will also
explore more recent In the second term we willThroughout the course we will also attend to the
social context of the Enlightenment, specifically on the implications and use of its categories for
relations of race, gender and class.
REQUIRED TEXTS:*
Rousseau, Basic Political Writings 2nd Ed (Hackett)
Wollstonecraft, A Vindication of the Rights of Women (abridged with related texts) (Hackett,
2013)
J. G. Herder, Another Philosophy of History and Selected Political Writings. (Hackett, 2004)
Kant, Perpetual Peace and Other Essays (Hackett 1983)
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Kant, Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals (Hackett)
Fichte Addresses to the German Nation (Hackett, 2013)
Schiller On the Aesthetic Education of Man (Dover Publications)
G. W. F. Hegel, “Preface” to Phenomenology of Spirit (will be made available for copying)
G. W. F. Hegel, Introduction to the Philosophy of History. Translated by Leo Rauch (Hackett,
1988).
Schopenhauer On the Basis of Morality (Hackett 1996)
Schopenhauer On Human Nature (Dover Publications)
Nietzsche Genealogy of Morality (Hackett 1998)
Horkheimer and Adorno, Dialectic of Enlightenment (Stanford)
Michelle Mawhinney. AP/POLS 4035 6.0C/AP/SOSC 4500 6.0A Fall/Winter 2014-2015
COURSE KIT (KIT)
Recommended: Dorinda Outram. The Enlightenment. 3rd Edition. (Cambridge, 2013)
(Enlightenment) (on reserve as e-book resource)
With the exception of the “Preface” to Hegel’s Phenomenology of Spirit, all materials are
available for purchase at the York Bookstore. Copies of the course KIT from 2009-2010 and
2012-2013, which contain all of the current KIT readings, can also be found on reserve.
Selections from the writings of the major authors covered in the course can be found in the
library or purchased second-hand, if you feel like tracking them down.
GRADE BREAKDOWN:
Seminar Participation:
Presentations (6 x 5%) (3 per term):
Fall term paper (due Dec 5/14):
Winter term paper (due at end of term)
20%
30%
20%
30%
COURSE REQUIREMENTS:
PARTICIPATION (20%):
This is a seminar course, and your active participation is important. Students are expected to
come to class having read and thought about the assigned material. A good participation grade
requires consistent attendance and serious engagement with the material and with others in the
class. While I will begin each class with a general overview or exposition of the week's topic, it is
important that students consider the material on their own and through in-class discussions with
their peers.
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PRESENTATIONS/READING RESPONSES (6 x 5%):
In addition to general participation, students are responsible for three short oral presentations and
analyses of assigned readings per term (six in total). The oral presentation should be no more
than 10 minutes in length. In the presentation, you should present the author’s main argument
and highlight what you think are the most important or problematic points made, in the context of
the themes raised in the course. Explain why you have chosen these points, present your
critique/analysis, and then raise a question for class discussion. Please note that you do not need
to summarize the whole article/chapter/section, but to explain its importance, and to present your
interpretation and critique of the work. To do so, you can focus on a particular concept, a selected
passage, or a theme that you find significant. Essentially you are responding to the work and
raising your own points for discussion. Each presentation/analysis is worth 5%.
On the day(s) you are presenting, a short (1-page) position paper must be handed in to me. This
is not a formal essay, but an outline of your presentation – including the main argument(s), your
critique/analysis, and the question(s) you wish to raise for discussion.
Students choose which readings they wish to present on, and must sign up for presentations in
advance. Three presentations must be completed for each term. I will bring a sign-up sheet to the
second class. Please note that first term presentation topics must be chosen no later than
September 29, 2014. Winter presentations may be chosen anytime throughout the first term, but
no later than the final class on December 1, 2014.
FALL TERM PAPER (20%)
A shorter (5-7 page) paper based on the course material from the first term is due any time up to
December 5, 2014. I will hold office hours to collect completed papers on the final due date.
WINTER TERM PAPER (30%)
A longer paper, 8-10 pages in length, is due at the end of the second term, any time up to and
including April 6, 2015.
Both papers will be based on course material; no outside research will be required. However, a
bibliography (or works cited page) and proper referencing of all sources used is mandatory.
Please see the guidelines attached to this syllabus to review proper rules of citation and
referencing
Please note that papers are due any time up to the final due dates indicated. As due dates fall on
the final day set by the RO to submit term work, extensions will be granted only under
extraordinary circumstances, pending appropriate documentation.
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SEMINAR AND READING SCHEDULE:
FALL TERM
1.
September 8: No class
2.
September 15: Introduction to the Course
Recommended readings (background):
Jones, “Science and Scientific Method” in KIT.
West, “Modernity, Enlightenment and their Continental Critics”
in KIT.
3.
September 22: Radical Enlightenment I: themes and context
Readings:
Charles Taylor, “Radical Enlightenment” (KIT)
Outram, “Coffee Houses and Consumers” in Enlightenment (ch. 2), p.
10-25 (eBook resource on reserve)
Outram, “Science and Enlightenment,” in Enlightenment (ch. 8), 99-113
(eBook resource on reserve)
Last day to enroll without permission of instructor is September 22/14
4.
September 29: Radical Enlightenment II:
Readings:
Rousseau, Discourse on the Origin of Inequality” in Rousseau, Selected
Political Writings
Recommended: Rousseau, “Discourse on the Sciences and the Arts” in Rousseau,
Selected Political Writings
Please note: Fall term presentations must be selected by September 29, 2014.
5.
6.
October 6:
Rousseau and the Birth of Moral Freedom
Readings:
Rousseau, “On the Social Contract” in Rousseau, Selected Political
Writings
Selections from Burke, Wollstonecraft, Pain, et. al., from “Revolution
Debates,” in Wollstonecraft, A Vindication of the Rights of Women (s. I
“Related Texts”)
October 13:
Thanksgiving – no class
Last day to enroll with permission of the course director is October 14/14
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7.
8.
9.
October 20:
Enlightenment and Gender
Readings:
Wollstonecraft, A Vindication of the Rights of Women (abridged)
Selections from Rousseau, Macaulay, Talleyrand, et. al., from “Debates
on Women’s Education and Rights,” in Wollstonecraft, A Vindication of
the Rights of Women (s. II “Related Texts”)
Outram, “”Enlightenment Thinking About Gender” in Enlightenment
(Ch. 7), p. 84-98
October 27:
Kant: Freedom and Morality
Readings:
Kant, “Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals” (GMM)
November 3: Kant: Morality and Politics:
Readings:
10.
November 10: Fichte: Freedom and Nation
Readings:
11.
Kant, “Idea for a Universal History with a Cosmopolitan Intent” (PP)
Kant, “Perpetual Peace: A Philosophical Sketch” (PP)
Kant, “An Answer to the Question: What is Enlightenment” (in PP)
Fichte, “Addresses to the German Nation” (selections)
November 17: Herder I: Philosophy of History
Readings:
Herder, “Another Philosophy of History,” in Another Philosophy of
History and Selected Political Writings, p. 3-98
Recommended: Everigenis and Pellerin, “Introduction” to Another Philosophy of
History and Selected Political Writings
12.
November 24: Herder II: Politics and Nation
Readings:
Herder, “Political Writings” in Another Philosophy of History and
Selected Political Writings, p. 99-142
Recommended: Everigenis and Pellerin, “Introduction” to Another Philosophy of History
and Selected Political Writings
13.
December 1:
No scheduled readings – catch up and review
Please note: Winter term presentations must be selected by December 1, 2014.
Final due date for submission of first term papers is December 5, 2014
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WINTER TERM:
14.
15:
16:
January 5:
The “Expressivist Turn”
Readings:
Charles Taylor, “The Expressivist Turn” (KIT)
Frederick C. Beiser, “Early Romanticism and the Aufklarung” (KIT)
Frederick C. Beiser, “Religion and Politics in Fruhromantik,” (KIT)
January 12:
Schiller: Aesthetic Education
Readings:
Schiller, Letters Upon the Aesthetic Education of Man (selections)
January 19:
Hegel: Spirit
Readings:
Hegel, “Preface” to Phenomenology of Spirit (will be made available for
copying)
Strongly recommended:
Taylor, “Aims of a New Epoch” (KIT).
17.
18:
January 26:
Hegel: History and Spirit
Readings:
Hegel, “Introduction” to Philosophy of History (Rauch, ed)
Hegel, “Appendix: from Hegel’s Philosophy of Right” (Rauch, ed)
February 2:
Schopenhauer: Morality
Readings:
Schopenhauer, The Basis of Morality (selections)
Last day to drop the course without academic penalty is February 6, 2015
19.
February 9:
Schopenhauer: Human Nature and Politics
Readings:
Schopenhauer, On Human Nature: Essays on Ethics and Politics
(selections)
20.
February 16: No class – Winter Reading Week
21.
February 23: Nietzsche I: “the Slave Revolt in Morality”
Readings:
Nietzsche, Genealogy of Morality, “First Essay” (entire)
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22:
March 2:
Nietzsche II: Power, History and Conscience
Readings:
Nietzsche, Genealogy of Morality, “Second Essay” (entire)
Recommended: Nietzsche, Genealogy of Morality, “Third Essay” (entire)
23:
March 9:
Readings:
24:
25:
Enlightenment and Barbarism
Horkeimer and Adorno, “Elements of Anti-Semitism; the Limits of
Enlightenment” in DE (Ch. 5).
March 30:
Readings:
Antinomies of Enlightenment
Horkeimer and Adorno, “Juliette or Enlightenment and Morality” in DE (Ch. 3)
March 23:
Readings:
26:
Horkheimer and Adorno, “Introduction,” “The Concept of Enlightenment” and
“Odysseus or Myth and Enlightenment” in DE (Introduction, Ch. I-2)
March 16:
Readings:
The Dialectic of Enlightenment
Wrap-Up: What is Enlightenment?
Charles Taylor, “Visions of the Post-Romantic Age” in KIT
Kant, “What is Enlightenment” (review)
Outram, “The End of Enlightenment” in Enlightenment (ch. 10) (eBook
resource on reseve)
Major papers are due ONE WEEK after the final class, on or before April 6, 2015

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