Spring Term, 2003

Questions for Second Essay

Due Tuesday, April 1st in Lecture

Requirements:

Length: A typed paper of 1250 words (4-5 typed pages).

Source Material: Course material studied this semester as contained on the course syllabus and web page (http://www.tc.umn.edu/~jbshank/WestCiv.html). You may consult other sources as well if you desire, but consultation of sources not on the syllabus is not required. If you do use outside sources be sure to document them in footnotes and a bibliography.

Due: Tuesday, April 1 in Lecture.

This essay assignment is designed to trigger your own critical response to the course material so far. Consequently it should be entirely your own work and should not seek to merely regurgitate ideas you have heard in lecture or in class discussions. Some time in seminar may be devoted to helping you frame an insightful and original essay, but if you have any further questions or concerns feel free to consult with your seminar instructor or with the professor.

Remember: there are no right or wrong answers to these questions, only well-defended and poorly defended arguments. To make sure that you write a well-defended essay, first be certain that you assert a clear argumentative thesis (i.e. a position with which someone might disagree, but which you can prove to be correct). Second, make sure you offer lots of corroborating evidence. Imagine a reader who is deeply suspicious of your point of view, and then try to build an argument that will persuade even this skeptic. The most persuasive evidence is detailed historical examples and direct textual/visual evidence, thus the best papers will also discuss precise historical developments and reproduce direct quotes drawn from texts and images in support of its thesis.

Questions:

1.) One of the central concepts of the "Enlightenment" was/is the rise of science and the shift to a more secular worldview. Yet many of the documents we have read continue to re-inscribe religion in one form or another. This is particularly true with the rise of nationalism, as the ideas of the "nation" become intertwined with religious sentiment. It is also true of the idea (and critique) of progress, including the notion of a progressive revolution, since progress owes much to the religious notion of providence and to the belief in a divine plan Choose two documents and explain how their use of the concepts "nation" and/or "progress" are influenced by religion. Why the combination? To what effect? Does this conflict with the ideas of "Enlightenment"?

2.) In the second half of the twentieth century, and particularly in the United States, the writings of Karl Marx were often thought of as “anti-Western.” Indeed, in the twentieth century, one of the central divisions marking of the East/West divide was the idea of a separation and opposition between "Western Capitalism" and "Eastern Communism." Yet this opposition is ironic since in many respects Marx is a fundamentally “Western” thinker and Marxism is a thoroughly “Western” philosophy. Write an essay where you scrutinize Marx's thought in terms of the "Western mental map" as you have come to understand it. What key tenets of “Western thinking” does Marx accept? How is Marx's thought compatible and incompatible with the “Western mental map” as it had developed by the nineteenth century? Why did some twentieth-century critics mark Marx as “non-Western,” and what is achieved by situating him this way?

3.) Revolutionary outcomes are rarely consistent with the revolutionary ideals that attempt to guide them. Write an essay that explores this tension by choosing two documents from either the French or American Revolution and comparing them in terms of the relationship between goals and outcomes in the revolution that produced the texts. To be successful, your essay should choose one text that articulates a revolutionary possibility (i.e. Paine, Sièyes, Jefferson, de Gouges) and another that expresses the reality of a revolutionary outcome (The U.S. Constitution, Robespierre, The Declaration of the Rights of Man). What are the goals of the revolution as reflected in the first text? Does the second text show that these goals were met? What does the relationship between the two texts say about the "success" of the revolution? The best essays will make reference to the historical context of the texts as given in lecture, as well as reference key textual citations in these and other relevant texts. Successful essays will also offer a thesis that accounts for the consequences and significance of this particular ideal vs. outcome relationship.

4.) The idea of a transformation from one position/identity to another (literal, temporal, or figurative) is a powerful theme in the documents that we have been investigating. How do the individual transformations in the narratives of Equiano and/or Rousseau or in the philosophy of Kant compare to the collective transformations presented in the works of Paine and/or Sièyes or in documents like The Declaration of Independence? Is there a distinctive difference between the internal development of a self and the external development of a nation? If all transformations connote progress (i.e. from uncivilized to civilized, or from primitive to advanced), then how do the ideas of slavery and freedom factor into this transformation? The best essays will consider the ideas of progress, language, and audience as important elements in comparing two distinct passages toward selfhood, nationhood, and/or freedom.

5.) Have you been thinking a lot about something else that is not captured by one of these questions? Would you rather write an essay that explores your own idea? If so, then develop a thesis of your own and write an essay where you compare two texts in order to articulate and defend your point of view. To be acceptable, your essay must explicitly compare two of the texts we have read this semester. But the question and thesis that anchors your comparison can be of your own creation. If you choose this option, be sure to discuss your thesis in advance with your seminar instructor to make sure it is appropriate.