Curriculum Transformation

General Education/Institutional Models

Common Core Requirements

Syllabus--The American Experience

Fairleigh Dickinson University

UNIVERSITY CORE II
THE AMERICAN EXPERIENCE: THE QUEST FOR FREEDOM
Faculty Syllabus
Fall, 1996

Required Texts:
Selected Readings for UC102 The American Experience: The Quest for Freedom.
Benjamin Franklin. The Autobiography and Other Writings. Kenneth Silverman, ed. Viking/Penguin.
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave, Written by Himself. Signet/NAL
Black Elk Speaks: Being the Life Story of a Holy Man of the Oglala Sioux.
Willa Cather. My Antonia.
Style Manual for Papers:
Diana Hacker. A Pocket Style Manual. Boston: Bedford Books/ St. Martin's Press, 1993.

Readings:
The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin (Parts I and II)
The Declaration of Independence; "The Seneca Falls Declaration of Sentiments"
The Constitution of the United States, Thurgood Marshall's remarks on the bicentennial celebration of the Constitution of the United States.
The United States Bill of Rights plus other amendments.
Selections from DeTocqueville.
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
Frederick Douglass, "What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?" and Abraham Lincoln, "The Gettysburg Address."
Black Elk Speaks: Being the Life Story of a Holy Man of the Oglala Sioux.
Willa Cather, My Antonia.
Eugene Debs, selection.
William Graham Sumner, Introduction and Chapters I-III from What Do the Classes Owe Each Other.
Henry David Thoreau, "Civil Disobedience"
Selections from From Camelot to Kent State: "The War at Home" (Coffin, Miller, Berrigan, McAlister)
Martin Luther King, "I Have a Dream" and, from Camelot, "Hand in Hand."
Brown v. Board of Education (Supreme court decision)
Roe v. Wade (Supreme court decision)

ASSIGNMENTS AND GRADES

25%	Daily grade: includes classroom participation and journals. Class participation requires not only that students be present and prepared, but that they bring text(s) to class as well. Journal topics may or may not be assigned. If no topic is assigned, students are required to engage the subject matter of the course (readings, videos, and class discussions) in their journal writings.
40%	Two papers of five pages each (20% each): Both papers are to be drafted and revised. At the instructor's option, there may be one grade for the final draft or separate grades for the draft and revision.
15%	Midterm exam.
20%	Final exam

Please note the university's policy on cheating, plagiarism, and other violations of integrity. First offense, F in the course; second offense, suspension from the university. (Complete statement in the FDU Undergraduate Studies Bulletin.)

PART I: THE PROMISE OF FREEDOM

1. Class Lecture and Orientation: (1) General objectives of the Core; (2) nature of interdisciplinary study; (3) course structure: taped general lectures and class lectures and discussions; (4) campus media room for taped lectures and media assignments; (5) the emphasis on writing; (6) the journal and/or weekly one-page writing assignments; (7) two five-page papers; (8) tests and grading; (9) resources available: instructor, general lectures, library, media room, campus learning center. ASSIGNMENT: Read The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin.

2. Class Lecture and Discussion: Introduction to Franklin.
Focusing Questions: Is Franklin the embodiment of the values conveyed in the texts just studied? In what way does Franklin represent a new American type? Is Franklin a genuine revolutionary? What does Franklin teach about self-realization in America? How free is Franklin to experiment with his life? Is it fair to compare Franklin's opportunities for this sort of experimentation with those of Malcolm X?

3. Class Lecture and Discussion: Franklin.
ASSIGNMENT: FIRST DRAFT OF PAPER #1 DUE AT SESSION 8.

4. Class Lecture and Discussion: Franklin.
ASSIGNMENT: Read Declaration of Independence, Seneca Falls, Sojourner Truth.

5. Class Lecture and Discussion of The Declaration of Independence.
Focusing Questions: Who are "all men"? Can this question be answered in the same way for each of these documents? What is the basis of individual rights? Are we a religious people? What is the American dream? Why do Americans tend to emphasize freedom over equality? What are the consequences for democracy and capitalism of our emphasis on freedom?

New Focusing Questions (September 1, 1995): How does the Constitution attempt to fulfill the principles of the Declaration of Independence? How do the preambles to the Declaration and the Constitution differ in broad principles? How well does the Constitution fulfill its own stated purposes as stated in the Preamble? What were the intentions of the Framers in enumerating the powers of Congress (Art 1, sec. 8) and leaving the powers of the President somewhat vague? What does the Preamble to the Constitution imply by the phrases "promote the General Welfare"; "form a more perfect union"? What relationship does the Constitution specify between the national and state governments? What is the reason for the method of presidential election outlined in Article II, section 1? Where does the Supreme Court's power of judicial review come from? Why are different terms of office established for Representatives, Senators, and the President? What is the term of office for a Supreme Court judge? What does the phrase "Republican Form of Government" (Art. IV, Sec. 4) mean? ASSIGNMENT: Read Preamble and selected sections of The Constitution of the United States.

6. Class Lecture and Discussion of Preamble and sections of the Constitution.
ASSIGNMENT: Read The Bill of Rights and Amendments to the Constitution, and Thurgood Marshall's remarks on the bicentennial celebration of the Constitution of the United States.

7. Class Lecture and Discussion Constitution.

8. Class Lecture and Discussion Bill of Rights, Amendments, and Marshall, or Video.
Focusing Questions (September 1, 1995): Why was a Bill of Rights added to the Constitution? What specific rights does the Bill of Rights stipulate? Why were these chosen? Under the first Amendment, can a state establish a religion? censor a newspaper? What do "equal protection of the laws" and "due process" mean? What did the other Amendments to the Constitution attempt to do? What is significant about Amendments 13-15 and Amendment 19? How does amendment 18 differ from the others? (Exercise: organize the amendments into broad categories: e.g., procedural issues, definitions of rights, etc.) (NB: There is now a 27th Amendment re: Congressional pay).

What impact have "implied" powers had on the development of the federal government? Do checks and balances lead to government gridlock? What makes people apathetic about government and politics? Is this attitude a result of the structure of government outlined in the Constitution? If the law is what the Supreme Court says it is, are any rights secure? Has the First Amendment right to free speech kept pace with changing social conditions? How do the "establishment clause" and "free exercise" clause of the first Amendment click? What redress do citizens have against laws they believe are unconstitutional? Is there a "right to know"? When does the right to a free press conflict with rights to due process?

9. Class lecture and Discussion Constitution and Bill of Rights continued.
ASSIGNMENT: Read selections from DeTocqueville.

10. Class Lecture and Discussion DeTocqueville.
Focusing Questions: How is it that the desire for freedom and the desire for equality must clash? Do you think DeTocqueville's prediction that the desire for equality has or will triumph? How do the values of freedom and equality clash in contemporary America? How does the protection of individual rights clash with democratic principles in contemporary America? How can it be, as DeTocqueville claims, that despite the existence of rich people in America, there is no class structure? What are the "middling standards" established in America. DeTocqueville's idea of the tyranny of the majority is somewhat different from what is generally understood by the term. What is his conception of this tyranny? Can you find contemporary examples of this? If DeTocqueville is correct, then equality is always an illusive goal and forever out of reach. Can the Promise never be fulfilled? If not, is our struggle worth it?
ASSIGNMENT: Read Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. SUBMISSION OF FIRST DRAFT OF PAPER #1 DUE

PART II: THE STRUGGLE FOR FREEDOM

11. Class Lecture and Discussion Douglass.
Focusing Questions: Given the texts we have studied, how could we have had a slave society? What is the legacy of slavery? In what way does Douglass embody the promise of freedom? In what sense is Douglass like or different from Socrates? Malcolm X? Compare the self-image of the slave to the self-image of Gregor Samsa in Kafka's "The Metamorphosis"?

12. Class Lecture and Discussion Douglass

ASSIGNMENT: Read "What to a Slave is the Fourth of July?" and Lincoln, "Gettysburg Address."

13. Class Lecture and Discussion Douglass and Lincoln
ASSIGNMENT: Read Black Elk Speaks. REVISION OF PAPER #1 DUE.

14. Class Lecture and Discussion Black Elk.

15. Class Lecture and Discussion Black Elk.

16. Class Lecture and Discussion Black Elk
ASSIGNMENT: Read My Antonia.
PAPER #1 RETURNED.

17. MIDTERM

18. Class Lecture and Discussion My Antonia.
Focusing Questions: Was pioneering heroic from the point of view of the women pioneers? Is it still heroic, from our perspective? What were the purposes of pioneering? What motivated the pioneers? Did men and women pioneers have the same responsibilities and share the same goals, or does the frontier experience show the truth of Freud's notion, in Civilization and Its Discontents, that women are focused on the home, men on the larger culture? What is the importance of old world culture to the pioneers, the loss of it, the attempt to preserve remnants of it? What is the impact of the immensity of the land on the American character? Did the American ideal change essentially when we ran out of free land? There is barely a mention of the Indians in this story. Was the wresting of the continent from the Indians morally justifiable? What kinds of modern remedies should be available for past breaches of morality?

ASSIGNMENT: BEGIN PAPER #2, DUE SESSION 21.

19. Class Lecture and Discussion My Antonia.

20. Class Lecture and Discussion My Antonia.

21. Class Lecture and Discussion My Antonia.
ASSIGNMENT: Read selection from Eugene Debs

22. Class Lecture and Discussion Eugene Debs.
Focusing Questions: What reasons does Debs give for the claim that by "supplanting the existing capitalist class government with Socialist administration," we will have succeeded in "changing a republic in name into a republic in fact"? Enumerate the strengths and weaknesses of capitalism as it is portrayed by Debs. Does Debs give a fair account of the strengths of capitalism? Enumerate the strengths and weaknesses of socialism as it is portrayed by Debs. Does Debs give a fair account of the weaknesses of socialism? We would all agree that some economic injustice prevails in the capitalist system as we know it. Is this the fault primarily of individuals within the system, or is it primarily the fault of the system itself? "The capitalist is a capitalist solely for profit--without profit he would not be in business an instant. . . the capitalist does no . . . useful or necessary work." How would Franklin respond to these claims? As Tocqueville has pointed out, a tension exists in American democracy between the competing claims of liberty and equality. How does this tension manifest itself in Debs's writings? Capitalism has often been identified with the emphasis in American society on the value of the individual. For Debs, is the individual in a capitalist system a true individual? Why or why not? Do you agree? Debs speaks of the "debauching effect of the capitalist system on womanhood." Explain what he means. Do you agree? Why or why not? "In the capitalist system the soul has no business." Some have criticized Franklin's writings and, in particular, the notion of "the American Dream" in the same terms. Is it true, as Debs claims, that moral and spiritual goals are, on principle, inconsistent with capitalism? Why or why not?
ASSIGNMENT: Read selections from Sumner

23. Class Lecture and Discussion Sumner
Focusing Questions: Does the author view human nature, history, and society as changeable or unchangeable phenomena? "For a man who can command another man's labor is a privileged person of the highest species conceivable" (15): Does this statement seem to applaud the capitalist, the ruler, the tyrant? Does the author believe that people have a right to obtain what they want, or only to pursue it? Is there any contradiction in the author's position between his assertion that God and nature "have ordained the chances and conditions of life. The case cannot be reopened..." and his assertion that society is caught between opposing social doctrines? Sumner states that our society still contains "old social theories which are totally inconsistent with current doctrines. What are these old doctrines? Are these old doctrines all that different? Does Sumner believe in the existence of freedom? Does Sumner clarify who influences or controls the institutions which restrain tyranny? If liberty is not a means to a social end, what is it? Is there any contradiction between "God and nature have ordained the chances of life" and "laissez-faire" --"mind your own business"-- and the doctrine of liberty? (104). How do Sumner's positions square with Benjamin Franklin's? With our idea of what it is to be an American?
ASSIGNMENT: Read Thoreau, "Civil Disobedience."
SUBMISSION OF FIRST DRAFT OF PAPER #2.

24. Class Lecture and Discussion Thoreau
Focusing Questions: From what principles of Thoreau's "Civil Disobedience" did the anti-war activists take their inspiration? In what ways did they depart from Thoreau's principles? What did the protestors risk in challenging the governments' policies? What did many of them sacrifice? Do they think the effort was worth it, in retrospect? What motivation, other than idealism, spurred their protest? Which of the activists seems the most committed? Why? Is there a difference in approach between the older activists, like Coffin and Berrigan, and the younger protestors?
ASSIGNMENT: Read Camelot selections from "The War at Home" (Coffin, Miller, Berrigan, McAlister)

25. Class Lecture and Discussion Thoreau and "The War at Home"
ASSIGNMENT: Read: "I Have a Dream" and Camelot, "Hand in Hand" in its entirety.
SECOND PAPER RETURNED FOR REVISION.

26. Class Lecture and Discussion "I Have a Dream" and Camelot, "Hand in Hand."
Focusing Questions: John Lewis (pp. 31-33) speaks of a white sheriff indiscriminately making deputies in order to stymie black protesters; he also speaks of the military being sent out by a President to protect marchers. Both groups were "authorized" to act. Can both kinds of authorization be justified? Bob Zeller (p. 51) says that ordinary people do heroic things. What is meant by this? John Lewis says that murder of the Kennedy brothers and of Martin Luther King created a sense of a loss of leadership in the nation. Is leadership dependent on the emergence of a few standout personalities? What was the controversy within SNCC concerning white membership? What is an "outside agitator"? How can the use of this term be turned to narrow political advantage?of Brown v. Board of Ed.
ASSIGNMENT: Read Brown v. Board of Ed.

27. Class Lecture and Discussion Brown v. Board of Ed.
ASSIGNMENT: Read Roe v. Wade
REVISION OF PAPER #2 DUE.

28. Class Lecture and Discussion Roe v. Wade
Focusing Questions: What are some of the key psychological, ethical, and legal issues raised by abortion? What areas of this question are addressed by Roe v. Wade? What areas are not addressed by this Supreme Court decision? Is the decision related to the promise of freedom for all Americans?

ASSIGNMENT: PAPER #2 RETURNED