HI 215 History of American Thought

Journal Prompt #9 – due Wed 5/7 For your final journal entry, consider what you’ve learned in this class and also *how* you’ve learned in this class. Look back over the syllabus. How has your understanding of American intellectual traditions and core national concepts grown over this semester? What readings did you feel you learned from the most, and the least? Which unit(s), projects, or conversations most engaged your interest? I’d also be curious to know what you wanted to learn but didn’t – what didn’t we cover, or get to, that you hope to explore further once this class is over? What advice would you have for students taking this class in the future?

Our last three class sessions will be conversation panels based on your research and “big idea” papers. These are something between presentations and discussions… each person will have the chance to talk in which you need to BRIEFLY convey the main points or innovative structure of your paper. Make sure your audience (who of course have not read your paper) clearly understands what your “big idea” was and how you connected your 4 thinkers. Do not just read from your paper, and do not prepare any slides or other visuals.

I have divided our class papers into themed panel sessions (similar to an academic conference). Each panel will have 30 minutes, and will feature 4-5 students. This means you have about 6-7 minutes MAX for each person, but I would recommend planning on more like 2-3 minutes, with time for discussion among the panel to tie the big ideas together. Since there is no final exam, this represents our opportunity to synthesize and tie up the themes of the course as a group. I am very proud of the work you have done as a seminar together and hope this feels like an appropriate crowning event of all your hard work.

The order listed here is simply alphabetical within each session – this may not be the exact order you’ll speak in

Tuesday April 29: Rights of Man (and Woman)

Session 1 10:05 – 10:35
Inalienable American Rights
T. Egginson “The Evolution of Freedom of Speech: The Question of Unpopular Ideas”
E. Fee “Innate Equality”
M. Froio “The Role of Government and the Natural Rights of People”
J. Troccolo “The Impact of Immigration Throughout the Years”

Break 10:35 – 10:45

Session 2 10:45 – 11:15
Women’s Rights
M. Balich “Women’s Rights”
E. Boutilette “Women’s Rights: What Women Thought Needed to be Done”
K. Bunker “The Dynamic Nature of the Gender Equality Movement”
J. Paradis “Anti-Feminism and its Hindrance on Women’s Suffrage”
K. Paré “Role of Women in America: Injustices in Treatment as Seen by Four Women”

Thursday May 1: Liberty and Justice for All

Session 1 10:05 – 10:35
Grassroots Movements, Civil Rights and Social Change
J. Hardy-Lavoie “American Socialism”
J. Kelley “The Evolution of African American Civil Rights”
A. Morrissey “Inequality in Three Forms”
R. Shea “Impact of Leadership”

Break 10:35 – 10:45

Session 2 10:45 – 11:15
Racial Equality
S. Perreault “How Racial Equality Has Changed in the United States”
R. Reynolds “Racial Equality Through Eight Eyes”
R. McWeeney “Racism and Equality in the United States”
T. Schroeder “The Struggle for Racial Equality”

Tuesday May 6: War and Peace

Session 1 10:05 – 10:35
Conflict and Balance
O. Hammerle “The Trouble with Hydrovite or Liberty’s Balancing Act: Individualism versus Collectivism on the Moon”
R. Kelley “‘Striking at the Root’: American Philanthropy and Altruism as a Means for Personal Growth”
B. Klaes “War and Diplomacy: Views of Four American Presidents”
A. Rezk “Church State Separation”

Break 10:35 – 10:45

Session 2 10:45 – 11:15
Peace Out (Transcendentalism and Nature)
T. Kanan “Transcendentalism: A Comparative Perspective”
L. Moon “Individual Freedom and Spirituality”
W. Whearty “Transcendentalism Throughout Time”
C. Wilson “Naturalism in American Literature”

Today, instead of meeting in our regular classroom, head across May Street to the back end of the Temple Emanuel building for a special lecture at 10:00 am by James McBride, titled “The American Dream Reimagined: Race, Ethnicity and Education.” I will take attendance, so be sure to check in with me either before or after he speaks.

Speaker Bio: James McBride is a renaissance man and a born storyteller. He is the author of Color of Water: A Black Man’s Tribute to His White Mother, a moving narrative about his mother, a white Jewish woman from Poland who married a black man, founded a Baptist church, and put 12 children through college. The Color of Water is an American classic, read in colleges and high schools nationwide. It has sold more than two million copies and spent two years on the New York Time Bestseller List. His new book, The Good Lord Bird, a 417-page novel that is rooted in the true story of slavery, won this year’s National Book Award. A graduate of Oberlin College and the Columbia School of Journalism, McBride has written for The Boston Globe, People, and The Washington Post.

After the lecture, please post a comment (using the box below) giving some feedback and perhaps a discussion question/your impressions on the event. If you don’t see a comment box, click on the title of this post to bring it up at the foot of the post and to see others’ comments. How did McBride’s lecture connect to what we’ve read in this unit? Did it resolve and synthesize what we’ve focused on in this unit, or did it bring up more questions for you? Do you think, given what he had to say, that the civil rights movement as Malcolm X and Martin Luther King participated in it has been realized (and according to whose vision?), or that its achievements have been subsequently dismantled in the U.S.? What do you wish we could talk about as a class after hearing him speak?

For our discussion of Guelzo, “Is There An American Mind?” National Review May 25, 2009

Prezi/ Course Intro

(Last post of Spring 2010 semester)

By mutual agreement, here is how the last unit will go.

(27) Tues 4/27 – Discussion day on Gender

(28) Thurs 4/29 – Discussion day on the American Dream

(29) Tues 5/4 – Papers due
Food, festivity, and final thoughts on “the American idea”

As you wind down your learning journal ePortfolios, consider what you’ve learned in this class and also *how* you’ve learned in this class. I’d also be curious to know what you wanted to learn but didn’t – what didn’t we cover, or get to, that you hope to explore further? What ideas, themes, or readings have been essential to your learning, or most meaningful for you personally?