VII. Sample Syllabi II The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences Studies of Modern Society: 1789 to the Present Section HSS3J, Thursday 9 – 11, Rm 515 E Professor: Dr. Claudia Leeb Email: Leebc01@newschool.edu Description: This course introduces students to major political thinkers from the French Revolution to the present, who have contributed to shaping the Western imagination: Kant, Rousseau, Wollstonecraft, Hegel, De Tocqueville, Le Bon, Freud, Weber, Arendt, De Beauvoir, Fanon and Adorno. We critically assess the theoretical positions of these thinkers and place them in the historical, social and political contexts in which their thoughts emerged. Goals: This course has three specific goals: 1) to introduce students to major modern and contemporary political thinkers 2) to allow students to place these thinkers in specific historical, social and political contexts, 3) to encourage the development of analytical skills, which enables students to grasp and critically evaluate the central arguments of the discussed thinkers. Requirements: Students are expected to actively participate in classroom discussions, deliver a presentation on a thinker and turn in three 7-page papers on time. Grade breakdown: First paper due on Thursday, October 10 by 1 pm: 30% Second paper due on Thursday, November 14 by 1 pm: 30% Third paper due on December 19 by 1 pm: 30% presentation, attendance and participation: 10% Course Texts (ordered at Shakespeare & Company) Marvin Perry & al ., Western Civilization. Ideas, Politics and Society. Volume II: From the 1600s (sixth edition), (2000, Boston/New York: Houghton Mifflin Company). Mary Wollstonecraft, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (second edition) (1988, New York/London: W.W. Norton & Company). Sigmund Freud, Group Psychology and the Analysis of the Ego (1959, New York/London: W.W. Norton & Company). Max Weber, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism (1930, London/New York: Rutledge Classics). Hannah Arendt, Eichmann in Jerusalem. A Report on the Banality of Evil (1994, New York: Penguin Twentieth Century Classics). Course Schedule Week One: September 5 Introduction and presentation assignments Week Two: Sept.12 ENLIGHTENMENT Perry, 428 - 460 Kant, I. “What is Enlightenment?” (on reserve) Rousseau, J.-J. “Discourse on the Origin of Inequality,” “On the Social Contract (Book I)” (on reserve) Week Three: Sept.19 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION Perry, 464 - 508 Wollstonecraft, M. A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (entire) Week Four: Sept. 26 GERMAN IDEALISM Perry, 532-555 G.F. Hegel. Phenomenology of Spirit (selections, on reserve) Week Five: October 3 THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION Perry, 510 –530, also Perry 587 - 609 Marx, K. early Marx: Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844, later Marx: Manifesto of the Communist Party (on reserve) Week Six: October10 NATIONALISM First paper due Perry, 555-560 Anderson, B. Imagined Communities. Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism (selections, on reserve) Week Seven: Oct. 17 1848 AND ITS CONSEQUENCES Perry, 562-583 De Tocqueville, A. Democracy in America (selections, on reserve) Week Eight: Oct. 24 THE NEW NATIONS Perry, 612-636 Deleuze, G. Coldness and Cruelty (selections) Von Sacher-Masoch, L. Venus in Furs (entire) Week Nine: October 31 GLOBAL WESTERN DOMINANCE Perry, 668 - 694 Fanon, F. Black Skin White Masks (selected chapters, on reserve) Week Ten: November 7 FREUD Perry, 696-725 Freud, S. Group Psychology and the Analysis of the Ego Le Bon, G. The Crowd. A Study of the Popular Mind (selections, on reserve) Week Eleven: Nov. 14 APPROACHING WORLD WAR I Second paper due Perry, 726-764 Weber, M. The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism Week Twelve: Nov. 21 MASS SOCIETY Perry, 766-806 Arendt, H. The Origins of Totalitarianism (chapters 10, 11 and 12, on reserve). Week Thirteen: Nov. 28 THE RISE OF FASCISM Perry, 809-834 Adorno, Th.W. Dialectics of Enlightenment :”Elements of Antisemitism;” Soziologische Schriften: “Freudian Theory and the Pattern of Fascist Propaganda” (on reserve) Week Fourteen: Dec. 5 THE HOLOCAUST Perry, 836-863 Arendt, H. Eichmann in Jerusalem (entire) Week Fifteen: Dec. 12 POST WAR DEVELOPMENTS Perry, 867-886 De Beauvoir, S. The Second Sex (selected chapters, on reserve) Week Sixteen: Dec. 19 FINAL EXAM Third paper due BACK HOMEmailto:Leebc01@newschool.eduTeaching.htmlHome.htmlshapeimage_2_link_0shapeimage_2_link_1shapeimage_2_link_2