Nationalism and Imperialism
In this unit of the course, we examine late 19th century nationalism and imperialism. To be begin our discussion, we’re reading Ernest Renan’s classic statement on nationalism in his essay, “What is a Nation?” What are the problems he sees with late 19th century nationalism and what are the foundations of his ideal concept of the nation?
Industrial Revolution — Proponents and Critics
In this section of the course, we explore the Industrial Revolution through the eyes of its 19th century proponents and critics like Samuel Smiles, the Economist magazine, Charles Fourier, Flora Tristan, and Ludwig Feuerbach. In what ways did our authors expect industrialization to transform society in positive ways? What were some of the social and labor problems that they attributed to industrialization? How did they seek to resolve these problems?
French Revolution
To begin our examination of the French Revolution, we will start with the conflicts pitting the monarchy against the nobility in the final decades of the ancien regime.
The Scientific Revolution and the Enlightenment
We now turn to the revolutions in intellectual thought that preceded the French Revolution in the 18th century. Starting with the Encyclopédie and Diderot’s definition, we examine a central text that embodied the spirit of Enlightenment thought, but also threatened features of monarchical authority. We then turn to Adam Smith and the intellectual foundations of a new economic system known as capitalism that also revolutionized the socio-economic order of the ancien regime and fueled industrialization and urbanization.
Religion and Revolution: The English Civil War
In this section of the course, we examine the English Civil War of the 17th century and one of its central questions: the relationship between church and state. Our two primary source readings on these topics are Thomas Hobbes’s Behemoth (1668) and John Locke’s A Letter Concerning Toleration (1685). Each political thinker presents a very different analysis of this question and how it contributed to the civil war, as well as very different views on its solution.
We’ll begin our discussion with Hobbes, especially since he actually provides us with an analysis of events during the civil war. Please post your comments on one or the other, or both…
Pillars of the Ancien Régime
In this first section of the course, we examine the social structure and political ideals of the Ancien Régime, specifically in France, through the lens of two texts: excerpts from Charles Loyseau’s A Treatise on Orders (1610) and Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet’s Politics Derived from the Words of Holy Scripture (1709, published after his death).
