Critical Cultural Concepts was originally designed by Professor J. Douglas Canfield as an alternative to sequential humanities courses used to fulfill the old requirement in "Western Civilization." It remains an option for the old "List 2" General Education requirement, and is now an option for the new General Education First Tier requirement. It is taught with the understanding that it will be accepted as a wild card (that is, it can be coupled with anything else on List 2) by all colleges for the old General Education requirements in humanities/traditions and cultures.

This course operates under the following guidelines: Fundamental to the aims of Traditions and Cultures, List 2, is the awareness that we are historical beings, shaped by the experience and acts of our predecessors, and that in turn we shape the lives of those who follow us. The courses in this area examine Western Civilization as a collective heritage of ideas, values, and literary and artistic expressions, but also as a continuous process that adapts that heritage to social, political, scientific, and economic changes and experiences.

Courses in Tier One must engage in a rigorous exploration of fundamental knowledge that emphasizes interdisciplinary and cross-cultural analysis and should teach critical thinking, emphasizing the assessment, evaluation, and critique of culture.

One of the great contributions of Western Civilization is the ideology of human rights. The course will examine major cultural texts that contributed to that ideology, and it will look at attempts to expand it after the English, American, and French Revolutions up to the current UN declarations and covenants.

Texts:

Sophocles, Three Theban Plays (Penguin).
Thucydides, On Justice, Power, and Human Nature. (Hackett)
Magna Carta: Text and Commentary, ed. A. Dick Howard (Virginia).
Milton, packet of political writings (photocopy)
Locke, Second Treatise on Government (Hackett).
Rousseau, The Social Contract (Prometheus)
Declaration of Independence and the Constitution (Georgetown UP).
John Stuart Mill, On Liberty (Hackett)
Marx, Communist Manifesto (International Publishers).
Mary Wollstonecraft Vindication of the Rights of Women (Dover)
John Stuart Mill, The Subjection of Women (Hackett).
Frederick Douglass, My Bondage and My Freedom (Dover).
Chinua Achebe, Anthills of the Savannah (Anchor)
UN Universal Declaration of the Rights of Man; UN International Covenants on Human Rights (photocopy)

Syllabus:

W Intro: Tribute to Martin Luther King, Jr.

M MARTIN LUTHER KING HOLIDAY.
W Sophocles, Antigone (in Three Theban Plays).*

M Thucydides, "The Melian Dialogue"; "The Mytilenian Debate" (you may want to read all of chs. 4 & 6)
W Spartacus.*

M Robin Hood.
W Magna Carta.*

M Cromwell.
W Milton, packet*

M Locke, Second Treatise.
W Declaration of Independence.*

M Rousseau, The Social Contract
W Bill of Rights.*

MWF SPRING BREAK

MW Mill, On Liberty*

MW Marx, Communist Manifesto.*

M Wollstonecraft, Vindication of the Rights of Women*

MW Douglass, My Bondage and My Freedom.*

M Geronimo*
W Achebe, Anthills of the Savannah.

W Universal Declaration of Human Rights, The International Covenants on Human Rights (photocopy). In the light of these documents, open discussion of current issues concerning (a) gender rights (ERA; glass ceiling; reproductive rights; genital mutilation), (b) rights to sexual orientation (gays in the military; marriage act), (c) rights for ethnic minorities (skinheads and furriners; the revival of anti-semitism; Kurds; Bosnia-Herzogovina; indigenous peoples throughout the Americas; Tibetans; Sikhs; Tamils; Chinese in Vietnam etc.), (d) economic rights (to a job; to a home; to a bank loan; to a living wage).**

*Take-home essays: For all take-home essays, I will give you a question or a topic that you will answer or discuss. DO NOT introduce your answer with grand generalizations (the "funnel-down" approach) but state your thesis as quickly and concisely as you can, then proceed to argue it logically, presenting evidence from the texts and films (citing pages, where appropriate). You will be judged on the QUALITY of your answer--of your argumentation and interpretation. Essays increase in value as the course proceeds.

**FINAL EXAMINATION: will cover the last work on which you have not written, plus a general question. Again, a take-home essay, due the scheduled time of the final, same room, when I will be present to discuss your answers with you if you want. Approximately 2000 words (500 on the first question, 1500 on the second). Again, avoid vague generalizations and get right down to answering the question(s). The first question on the final is worth 5%. The second question is worth 15%.

Plagiarism on papers is, of course, strictly forbidden. We are trying to teach you how to interpret cultural texts on your own. So we discourage you from going to the library (or the Web) to get help analyzing the texts (though you may want to get help with historical and biographical contextualizing). While you are encouraged to discuss the course with friends, your quiz answers must be your own.

Final 10% of course grade is on quality of classroom discussion, including in lecture.

Quizzes are due by Friday (1) so you will have thought about the texts thoroughly and will therefore be ready to discuss them in detail and (2) so you will be free to get your reading done for Monday's lecture. We cannot stress enough how important that reading is. Because the lecture, however large, will still follow a Socratic format, that is, with questions and answers, we simply cannot succeed in our collective endeavor if you do not do the reading before class. Unlike other courses where you are perhaps invited only to listen and regurgitate, this course is predicated on your being involved in working out interpretations. Your progressive ability to do so is a sine qua non for your successful participation in a democracy.