Modern European Intellectual History:
The Role of Intellectuals in the Twentieth Century
HST 412b, Fall 2006
Prof. Susan Crane Office: Social Sciences 237A
Office Hours: TTH 12:30-1:30 and by appointment Email: scrane@u.arizona.edu
COURSE STATEMENT
This is an upper division lecture and discussion course on selected themes in modern European intellectual history. We will investigate changes and continuities within trends of thought and theory by reading selections from contemporary authors and discussing their historical context as well as interest in their ideas today. Intellectual history has been defined as "the history of ideas" but we will consider how ideas are produced and exchanged among individuals, historical contexts, texts and readers. Particular themes include: the role of the intellectual in modern society, political "engagement" and the role of students in society.
ASSIGNMENTS
There will be two 5-7 page papers and a 3-page debate paper , to be written on the assigned readings; reading responses; and a final exam.
Students are required to do the readings prior to the sessions in which they will be discussed and to participate regularly in class discussions.
Reading responses are limited to one page of typed comments, questions and reflections on the assigned reading for that day. DO NOT SUMMARIZE THE READING ; instead, describe a single issue which interests you. Your responses should be useful for class discussion. They will be accepted in class ONLY. A better response will provide examples from the texts, properly cited, to support points raised in the paper. You may use an abbreviated scientific citation format (author, page). Only students who have excused absences on reading response due dates may make up the assignment by writing a response for another day's reading, where no writing is assigned.
Failure to credit the source of any statement which is not the result of your own creative endeavor is plagiarism, which is a violation of academic integrity and personal honesty and will result in a failing grade for the course . If you have any concerns about what plagiarism is and how to avoid it, visit the Main Library website: http://www.library.arizona.edu/help/tutorials/plagiarism/plagiarism-resources.html
GRADES
Grades will be assessed on papers (debate paper + two 5-7 page papers = 50%), final exam (25%) and reading responses + class attendance and participation in discussion (25%).
Attendance: If you know you will have to miss a class for legitimate reasons, you are expected to inform the instructor in advance. Late work will be accepted only from students with excused absences on due dates.
READING ASSIGNMENTS
Assigned readings are available for purchase at the bookstore:
- James Winders, European Culture since 1848
- Edward Said, Representations of the Intellectual
- Hannah Arendt, Eichmann in Jerusalem
- Virginia Woolf, Three Guineas
Course Packet
Also, all course packet assigned readings are available on ERes through Sabio (see attached list of readings). You will need a password to access the ERes readings: intell.
Class Meetings
Aug. 22 Introduction: What is Intellectual History? Who are Intellectuals?
Aug. 24 Intellectuals and Cultural Critics
Read: Winders, ch. 6; selections from Julien Benda, "The Treason of the Intellectuals"
Aug. 29 Intellectuals and Cultural Critics
Read: Winders, 122-124; selections from Antonio Gramsci, "The Prison Notebooks" DUE in class: Reading Response #1
Aug. 31 The Question of Political Engagement
Read: Edward Said, Representations of the Intellectual, ch. 1-3
Sept. 5 Finish reading: Said, Representations of the Intellectual
Sept. 7 Debate: Should Intellectuals be Politically Engaged or Disengaged?
Debate paper due in class
Sept. 12 The Interwar Years: Crisis and Creativity. Read: Winders, ch. 7
Sept. 14 A Response to Fascism. Read: letter 1 in Woolf, Three Guineas
Sept. 19 Read: letter 2 in Woolf, Three Guineas
DUE in class: Reading Response #2
Paper #1: Topics handed out in class
Sept. 21 Read: letter 3 in Woolf, Three Guineas
Sept. 26 Guest lecture: Prof. David Ortiz, �The Spanish Civil War"
Read: Winders, 127-131
Sept. 28 Read: George Orwell, selections from Homage to Catalonia
DUE in class: Reading Response #3
Oct. 3 Film: �Simone de Beauvoir: Feminist Mandarin"
***Paper #1 due in class***
Oct. 5 Postwar Intellectual Movements: Existentialism
Read: Winders, 131-134, 165-170
Oct. 10 Read: Jean-Paul Sartre, "Extistentialism is a Humanism"
Oct. 12 Film: "French Intellectuals in the 20 th Century"
Oct. 17 Existentialism and Feminism
Read: de Beauvoir, "Introduction" and "Woman's Situation and Character" in The Second Sex ; DUE in class: Reading Response #5
Oct. 19 Lecture: Postwar Intellectuals: Coming to Terms with the Holocaust
Oct. 24 Read: Arendt, Eichmann in Jerusalem , ch. 1-3 and postscript
Oct. 26 Film: �The Exiles"
Oct. 31 Read: Arendt, Eichmann in Jerusalem , ch. 6-8
Nov. 2 Read: Arendt, Eichmann in Jerusalem , ch. 13-15
Nov. 7 Lecture: Intellectuals in Wartime Hollywood
Read: Winders, 117-120; � Frankfurt School " entry in The John Hopkins Guide to Literary Criticism ( http://litguide.press.jhu.edu/cgi-bin/view.cgi?eid=103 )
Nov. 9 ***Paper #2 due in class***
Nov. 14 Read: Horkheimer and Adorno, "The Culture Industry"
Nov. 16 Lecture: Intellectuals behind the Iron Curtain
Nov. 21 Read: Czeslaw Milosz, "Ketman" ( ERes only)
Nov. 23 NO CLASS **Thanksgiving Break**
Nov. 28 1968: Prague Spring and the Year of the Student
Read: Caute, The Year of the Barricades , pp. 185-207
Final Exam Review Questions handed out in class
Nov. 30 Read: Caute, The Year of the Barricades , pp. 86-89, 211-255; Daniel and Gabriel Cohn-Bendit, "The Battle of the Streets"
Dec. 5 Review for Final Exam
Dec. 12, 8:00 AM Final Exam