Nova PhDs http://novaphds.powerblogs.com/ en-us 2008-10-14T16:10+00:00 Re: Tim's question http://novaphds.powerblogs.com/posts/1224002498.shtml Tim,... Gregory Hoskins 2008-10-14T16:10+00:00
In case it is not too late to offer a few suggestions re: the election, identity, etc. . .

In "intro" and in my freshman humanities seminars I have used the introduction to Herbert Croly's "The Promise of American Life" to raise issues about our self-understanding of what it means to be an "American," and to provide a rough map of the contemporary political scene. Although the book was written in the early 20th century, Croly is concerned with the ideas of freedom, opportunity, of the success (and limits) of individualism and of what he refers to -- in a non-Marxist gesture - as a new "social ethic" needed to correct for the apparent excesses of liberal individualism and industrial capitalism. -- The relevance of the issues to our contemporary scene are easy to discern, I think.

You might take a look at the first half of chapter titled "The Necessary Engagement with Youth Culture" in Cornel West's "Democracy Matters" (2004). The question to ask your students is if they recognize themselves in West's account of them.

Another approach you might consider: there are several short selections in an anthology I am presently working with, "Political Thought in America," edited by Michael B. Levy, that might be worthwhile to read in conjunction with each other. Read, say, the excerpt from the Port Huron Statement (1962) and then the excerpt from Irving Kristol's "When Virtue Loses All Her Loveliness, Some Reflections on Capitalism and the Free Society" (1978). The questions to ask, I would imagine, are: to what extent, if any, do you recognize yourself in, say, what this group of college student thought of themselves and their task? How are college students and the world different now, or not?

A final thought: you might also have your students investigate the 26th Amendment. Why was it passed? Who worked to have it passed? Some scholars have suggested that the lowering of the voting age was not so much a quest for inclusion by young people as an attempt by elders to short circuit a critique of military service and/or cultural unrest . . . this hypothesis of the passing of the amendment might explain why youth vote in such low percentages. The work of investigating the amendment could provide opportunities to reflect on who the students understand themselves to be in relation to the nation.]]> History of Conservative Thought in America? http://novaphds.powerblogs.com/posts/1164406910.shtml I could use some help.... Gregory Hoskins 2006-11-24T22:11+00:00
I would like to do a long unit on American political development in the 20th Century. As a model for what I am looking for, think Richard Rorty's "Achieving our Country." He offers a narrative, analysis, and prognosis of liberal/left thought from roughly the New Deal to the late 1990's. Does anyone know of a similar sort of work -- or, say, an essay or chapter of a book - that would do something similar but from a conservative perspective? I have looked at D'Souza's "Letters to a Young Conservative," but it isn't the quality of Rorty's work (and it offers an inordinate amount of time to various "stunts" he and his friends pulled at Dartmouth). -- Any suggestions are welcome.]]> More Syllabus Advice http://novaphds.powerblogs.com/posts/1143048674.shtml So, I think I have changed my mind a bit on the 19th Century class. I don't think I am going to order the Pinkard book for the class. It is... J.C. Berendzen 2006-03-22T17:03+00:00
I am also now strongly considering reading some pre-Hegel primary sources. Continuum has a book called Philosophy of German Idealism that has selections from Fichte, Jacobi, and Schelling (including perhaps the most kick-assedly titled philosophy essay ever, Fichte's "A Crystal Clear Report to the General Public Concerning the Actual Essence of the Newest Philosophy: An Attempt to Force the Reader to Understand").

What do you all think of reading selections from Fichte, Jacobi, and/or Schelling in an undergrad class?

I also could use a bit of advice on one of my other classes. Next fall I am also teaching a lower-level class called "European Worldviews," in which we will basically read a few philosophy texts, divided up into the categories(/"worldviews") "Enlightenment," "Romanticism," and "Existentialism." For each of the categories, we will also look at how the philosophy influenced/meshed with arts and literature.

In terms of determining what to teach in the class, I have a good handle on the following things:

  1. the Enlightenment philosophy texts
  2. the Romantic art/literature
  3. the Existentialist philosophy and art/lit


Can any of you suggest something for the following?:

  1. Works of art (including music) and/or literature to pair with the
    Enlightenment?
  2. a philosophical work to pair with Romanticism that might be readily
    accessible to non-majors?

Any and all help is greatly appreciated...]]> Syllabus Advice: 19th Century http://novaphds.powerblogs.com/posts/1142272061.shtml Next fall semester, I am going to be teaching an upper-division undergraduate course on 19th Century Philosophy. I have a general idea of what areas I want to cover, and some... J.C. Berendzen 2006-03-13T17:03+00:00
First, here are the four general areas I intend to cover, in the order that I will do them in class:


1) A background-setting section where we discuss Kant and the development of German Idealism after Kant. I intend this to be a relatively brief introductory portion of the class.

2) A fairly in-depth discussion of Hegel. I imagine this taking up roughly half of the semester.

3) A discussion of Marx. I want this to rest on a sort of "Marx after Marxism" reading, where we focus on Marx as a philosopher in the German Idealist tradition.

4) A discussion of Kierkegaard and Nietzsche. I would like to read each of them as being "post-Hegelian," or critics of German Idealism.


I am pretty tied to this structure, but am certainly willing to hear arguments that I am overemphasising things or leaving things out. What I am really more interested in, though, is advice on what texts to use. So here is what I am thinking of for each of the four sections:


1) I think I will use a secondary source for this part of the class, and am leaning toward Terry Pinkard's German Philosophy 1760-1860. I am curious to see if anyone thinks I should A) read some pre-Hegelian primary sources (Fichte's Vocation of Man, possibly?) or B) use some other secondary source.

2) For Hegel, I think I will use the Hegel Reader edited by Houlgate. This is largely because I want to do some of the Phenomenology and some of the Philosophy of Right (and there might be other things to use in this reader as well). Any arguments for doing Hegel differently (for example, possibly using just the Phenomenology)?

3) I am pretty set, I think, for the Marx section, and will probably use parts of the German Ideology and Grundrisse.

4) Here is where I really need help. What Kierkegaard and Nietzsche texts do you think would work best? If I pick the ones I know the best, it would be Fear and Trembling and The Genealogy of Morality. I have the feeling, though, that there are other texts that would work better with the Post-Hegelian theme. Any advice?



So there it is. Any and all advice or criticism is welcome.]]>