TA:  Elizabeth Kesling;  e-mail: kesliel@earlham.edu  Office Hours: Tuesday, Thursday 8:00-9:00 pm;  Phone: x-2905.

Course Description: The identity of the modern individual has mainly been defined by the emergence of the Enlightenment in the 18th Century.  The historical rupture with the Medieval period and the political break with the Ancien Régime have defined modern society and its self-interpretation.  This course will aim to address how modern European or more generally Western identity has been constituted through the idea of revolution.  Revolution as a radical break with the past is one of the most interesting themes that has defined modern existence.  We will investigate this issue at intellectual, historical, political and social levels.  We will raise and try to answer several questions around this topic:  How does modernity understand itself?  What does Enlightenment mean?  How does intellectual transformation relate to political and social revolution?  How is a historical break with the past possible?  How does this discourse of constant self-transformation manifest itself in contemporary society and finally how does modernity define and shape human existence?  We will read a wide range of literary, historical, anthropological and philosophical texts around questions concerning human existence in modernity and the impact of the phenomenon of revolution on this question.   Issues that we will address in this course are how we define revolution, its relation to conceptions of time and of the human subject.  Our guiding question is how the idea of revolution defines, transforms, and interrupts human existence in modernity.
The aims of this course are to provide you with the skills of being a thoughtful reader of complicated texts, of being able to discuss difficult ideas with others and of being able to write good papers that sustain a dialogue with the texts and connect the ideas discussed in class with the texts.

Required Texts: Available at the Earlham bookstore:
Milan Kundera, The Unbearable Lightness of Being
François Furet,  Interpreting the French Revolution
Karl Marx, The Portable Marx (The Communist Manifesto and The German Ideology)
Virgina Woolf,  Mrs. Dalloway
Photocopy: Available at the Lilly library reserve
Immanuel Kant, What is Enlightenment?
Michel Foucault, What is Enlightenment?
Visweswaran, "Refusing the Subject" from Fictions of Feminist Ethnography
Kundera, "The Depreciated Legacy of Cervantes" from The Art of the Novel
Comaroff & Comaroff, "The Madman and the Migrant" from Ethnography and the Historical Imagination
Malcolm X,  “The Black Revolution”
Julie Stephens, "The language of an anti-disciplinary politics" from Anti-Disciplinary Protest
Films: Danton, Malcolm X, The Hours

Course Requirements and Evaluations:
You are expected to write six papers (one 2 page, four 4-6 page, one 5-7 page).  Your papers must be double-spaced and typed in 12 point font (There should be approximately 250-300 words per page).
Papers must always be turned in at the beginning of the class on the day they are due, or by 4 pm the same day (to Ferit’s office). If you skip a class in order to finish your paper (or for any other reason) your paper will be regarded as late. In order to be fair to students who pass in their papers on time, late papers will be graded down one notch (e.g. B to B-) for each day late (including weekends). You are responsible for making copies of your essays.

Since you will be writing your papers on the texts we read in this course, there is no need to do additional research beyond these texts, that is, you do not need to use secondary sources.  Plagiarism, [i.e., copying or paraphrasing the ideas and language of others (without acknowledging the source) from a book, from an article, from the Internet, etc., and thus implicitly presenting them as one's own] will not be tolerated. You will receive an F for that assignment, and may be subject to academic disciplinary action. For further clarifications on plagiarism, read The Student Handbook under "Procedures and Penalties for Academic Violations." Plagiarism can be deliberate or accidental. It is your responsibility to know what plagiarism is and avoid it. If you are not clear about plagiarism you should discuss it with us.

Your grade will be calculated according to the following distribution: 1st Paper: 5%; 2nd Paper: 15%; 3rd Paper: 15%; 4th Paper: 15%; 5th Paper: 20%; 6th Paper: 15%
Class Participation, Attendance, and Quizzes: 15%

There will be no final exam.  However, we will meet during the finals week.  There will be no exams in this course.  However, there may be quizzes in order to make sure that all students complete their reading on time.  There will be no make-up for these quizzes.

Any student with a documented disability (e.g., physical, learning, psychiatric, vision, hearing etc.) who needs to arrange reasonable accommodations must contact the instructor and Disability Services Office (Academic Support Services) at the beginning of the semester. Accommodation arrangements must be made during the first-two weeks of the semester.

Class Participation:
This is primarily a discussion/seminar course.  The success of the course depends on your contribution.  Participation is not equal to “just speaking” in class.  Your remarks have to contribute to our understanding of the meaning, or of the implications, or of the importance of the text.
In order to be an effective participant you need do the following:
In preparing for class: Complete the reading assignments for the day; Mark important passages in the text so that you can refer to them; Bring questions to class.
In discussion: Listen to what classmates say carefully so that you can rephrase their ideas; Challenge ideas that you think are incorrect; Demonstrate a thoughtful engagement with the texts; Take notes.
In speaking: Respond to the question under consideration; Connect your remarks to what others have said; Support what you say through textual evidence; Vary your style of participation, sometimes lead, sometimes hold back, sometimes push your ideas, sometimes help others to develop their ideas.

There are few official rules in this course.  These are:
If you miss more than three classes you will lose 15% of your grade (i.e., your entire participation grade).
If you miss more than six classes you will fail this course regardless of your grade.
You must bring your book to every class.
Our sessions will start at 11:00 am. Students are expected to come on time. Walking into (and out of) the classroom while the session is in progress is very disruptive for everybody. We ask you not to do this.

Calendar: There may be some modifications to this calendar. It is your responsibility to be aware of these changes. These changes will be announced in class. If you miss a class you should make sure that you are informed about the assignments for the next session.

Week 1:
January 14: Introduction
January 16: Kant, “What is Enlightenment?”

Week 2:
January 19: Kant, “What is Enlightenment?” 1st paper on Kant
January 21: Furet, Interpreting French Revolution
January 23: Furet, Interpreting French Revolution

Week 3:
January 26: Furet, Interpreting French Revolution
January 28: Furet, Interpreting French Revolution
January 30: Furet, Interpreting French Revolution

Week 4:
February 2: Marx, The Communist Manifesto, 2nd paper on Furet
February 4: Marx, The Communist Manifesto
February 6: Marx, The Communist Manifesto

Week 5:
February 9: Marx, The German Ideology
February 11: Marx, The German Ideology
February 13: Marx, The German Ideology

Week 6:
February 16: Marx, The German Ideology
February 18: Marx, The German Ideology
February 20: Mid-Semester Break

Week 7:
February 23: Foucault, “What is Enlightenment?” 3rd paper on Marx
February 25: Foucault, “What is Enlightenment?”
February 27: Visweswaran, "Refusing the Subject"

Week 8:
March 1: Visweswaran, "Refusing the Subject"
March 3: Kundera, The Art of the Novel
March 5: Kundera, The Art of the Novel

Week 9:
March 8: Woolf, Mrs. Dalloway
March 10: Woolf, Mrs. Dalloway
March 12: Woolf, Mrs. Dalloway
March 15-March 19: Spring Break
Week 10:
March 22: Woolf, Mrs. Dalloway
March 24: Woolf, Mrs. Dalloway
March 26: Woolf, Mrs. Dalloway

Week 11:
March 29: Comaroff & Comaroff, "The Madman and the Migrant" 4th paper on Woolf
March 31: Comaroff & Comaroff, "The Madman and the Migrant"
April 2: Malcolm X, "Black Revolution"

Week 12:
April 5: Malcolm X, "Black Revolution"
April 7: Stephens, "The language of an anti-disciplinary politics"
April 9: Stephens, "The language of an anti-disciplinary politics"

Week 13:
April 12: Kundera, The Unbearable Lightness of Being 5th (long) paper due
April 14: Kundera, The Unbearable Lightness of Being
April 16: Kundera, The Unbearable Lightness of Being

Week 14:
April 19: Kundera, The Unbearable Lightness of Being
April 21: Kundera, The Unbearable Lightness of Being
April 23: Kundera, The Unbearable Lightness of Being

Week 15:
April 26: Review
April 28: Evaluation
April 30: 6th paper on Kundera
Back to Homepage.