Module 15

Module 15

It’s our last week. No exploration of “modern” times would be complete without a discussion of the so-called “Anthropocene” – the age of man. You may remember this term from your World History textbook… Strayer has a segment on the Anthropocene in the final chapters of Ways of the World. More than just an age of man, this term evokes the notion that humans, in the Modern era, have come to control and even change certain aspects of the natural world. We affect climate, weather, habitat, the flow of rivers, the development of soil, the toxicity of food sources… the list goes on. The question is, can we become a collaborator with the natural world rather than one of its most dangerous antagonists?

 

The Anthropocene describes humans as we are in the world today. This final week of class, please find and discuss in a blog post an article that explores an aspect of the Anthropocene that is of particular interest to you. You can use one of the articles in this BBC series, or you can find one of your own.

 

https://www.bbc.com/future/columns/anthropo-scene

 

In addition to that, please look at your classmates’ blogs to find, view and comment on each presentation that is posted by midnight tonight (December 9).

 

I look forward to your presentations, papers and final blog posts.

Module 14

 

Module 14

 

I hope you all had a safe and uneventful Thanksgiving. As I write, I am hearing whisperings that there may be another lockdown on the way here in California due to the post-Thanksgiving surge. Knowing how anxiety-producing this can be, I’m going to keep this week’s activities light. 

 

Some fear that democracy is in danger. Are they right? Please write a blog post exploring one of the following two statements:

 

1) In order to keep democracy flourishing for future generations, we need to revise our educational system so that all students learn the history of the European and American Enlightenments. To be effective, voters must be informed, and informed voters must understand the historical context within which American-style democracy arose. 

 

Or 2) American-style democracy is a relic of the early Modern era. It no longer satisfies the needs and desires of its citizens. As a result, voters and leaders increasingly undermine its foundations rather than bolster them. By the time we are firmly established in a “post-Modern” world, democracy will have been shown to be fatally flawed, and will have given way to new forms of government in the USA and throughout the world.

 

I know you are all behind, but my hope is that having your responses to these statements on the blog will spark some participatory dialogue, now or in the future. You will receive extra credit for responding to another student’s statement.

 

Aside from that blog post, please continue to work on your Term Project as outlined last week. We only have one more week of classes (next week) before finals. 

Module 13

Module 13

 

This week, as America pauses to contemplate gratitude, we also pause in this class to provide an opportunity to catch up and to drill down on your Term Project. The specifics of that assignment are outlined below. Please let me know if you have questions about the assignment or would like help developing your ideas.

 

* Major Components: Written Paper & Recorded Presentation

* Length of Paper: 8-12 pages

 

* Paper Due: December 6, 11pm

* Presentation Due: December 9, 11pm

 

* Paper Format: email PDF or Word doc to pandrews@ndnu.edu

* Presentation Format: any recorded format that can be displayed in or linked to your blog

 

* Required Evidence of Research: Your paper must show evidence of research in the form of quotes and in-text citations. Broadly speaking, if your paper has fewer than 10 instances of quoted material, you are probably relying too heavily on your personal opinions. 

* Required Sections: your paper must include the following named sections… this is to ensure you stay on track with the assignment:

   -- Introduction

   -- Evolution of [freedom, equality, progress, democracy, science] from the 1700s until today

   -- Historical examples demonstrating how [freedom, equality, progress, democracy, science] has played a role in defining the vision and values of “America”

   -- [Freedom, Equality, Progress, Democracy, Science] is / is not as compelling to people today as it was in the 1700s

   -- [Freedom, Equality, Progress, Democracy, Science] is / is not experiencing a “paradigm shift” in the 21^stcentury

   -- Areas for future study and research relating to [freedom, equality, progress, democracy, science]

   -- Conclusion

   -- Bibliography

Module 12

Week 12

 

If you have not already gotten started on your Term Project, please re-read the segment of last week’s Module describing how to get started with that Project. Be sure to answer the three questions from last week first. Then, begin to flesh out your ideas by writing at least 2 paragraphs in response to each question in the prompt. That prompt is copied below for your convenience, and the questions to respond to are underlined:

 

For your Term Project in this class, you’ll be choosing one of the hallmarks of Modernity noted last week: freedom, equality, progress, democracy, science… elements of the founding world view that defined the American Experiment at its very beginning. How has your chosen element of America’s founding world view evolved from the 1700s until today? What are some historical examples that demonstrate just how strong a thread this element is in defining the vision and values of “America” – i.e. the USA? Is the element as compelling to people today as it was in the 1700s? Is there evidence it is going through a paradigm shift? 

 

After fleshing out your ideas, do your research. Find concrete details and examples from the historical and contemporary records. Do the examples you find confirm or contradict your initial ideas? Keep track of all your sources and keep clear notes about where (by source reference and page number) you find your information.

 

Combine all your materials into one document by the end of the week, and email that to me. 

Module 11

Week 11

 

I hope you’re enjoying reading the Kuhn text so far. If you don’t have your book yet, you’ll need to expedite obtaining your copy so you don’t get behind. I found this full-text version online and you could get started with this in a pinch, but I’m not familiar with the website it’s housed on, nor can I vouch for whether or not it is a full and complete copy:

 

https://www.lri.fr/~mbl/Stanford/CS477/papers/Kuhn-SSR-2ndEd.pdf

 

This week, please finish reading Kuhn. As you read, keep in mind the state of our world today. Are there aspects of our present world that seem to be undergoing “revolutionary” changes of world view? Paradigm shifts? Take notes as you read.

 

For your Term Project in this class, you’ll be choosing one of the hallmarks of Modernity noted last week: freedom, equality, progress, democracy, science… elements of the founding world view that defined the American Experiment at its very beginning. How has your chosen element of America’s founding world view evolved from the 1700s until today? What are some historical examples that demonstrate just how strong a thread this element is in defining the vision and values of “America” – i.e. the USA? Is the element as compelling to people today as it was in the 1700s? Is there evidence it is going through a paradigm shift? 

 

As you read the second half of Kuhn, keep these kinds of questions in mind. Then, in addition to sharing your thoughts on Kuhn in a blog post, please choose one of the 5 elements of America’s founding world view as your focus for you Term Project and answer these questions:

 

1) Which element will be your focus: freedom, equality, progress, democracy, or science?

 

2) Identify three specific historical examples that demonstrate the importance of this element in the context of the Modern American world view. For example, historical events from the American civil rights movement would demonstrate the importance of equality as a component of the Modern American world view. 

 

3) Identify at least one way in which this element of the Modern American world view is being challenged in the 21^stcentury. For example, current events involving climate denialism would demonstrate a challenge to science as a component of the Modern American world view.

 

Reflecting on Kuhn’s description of how change happens, and answering these three questions about key elements of the Modern world view, will help prepare you to get started on your Term Project next week.

Module 10

Week 10

 

This week, the “American experiment” goes through the periodic ritual we call an election. “America” has long strived to achieve or exemplify several important Enlightenment ideals – freedom, equality, democracy, infinite progress, a belief that science is a valid way to understand the world. These are big topics. Has the American experiment changed its vision? Are we still committed to these quintessentially Modern ideals… freedom, equality, democracy, progress and science? Or are we moving toward a “post-modern” world in which those ideals are seen as over-rated? As not worth the sacrifices they demand? Freedom demands responsibility. Equality demands humility. Democracy demands educated participation. Progress demands intellectual engagement with the future. Science… what does science demand?

 

This week, we begin to read Thomas Kuhn’s The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. Abbas Milani assigned this book when he taught this very class almost 30 years ago. I wondered at the time why we were reading a book about scientific revolutions… in the intervening 30 years I’ve had so many occasions to be grateful that we did. This is a book about how knowledge evolves within human societies – at least within Modern Western scientific human societies. It’s about how change happens in those societies. This is the book that brought the notion of “paradigms” and “paradigm shifts” into relatively common usage… it introduced the idea that science (and by extension the social changes it facilitates or demands) evolves through stages of “punctuated equilibrium.” 

 

As humanity grapples with the overwhelming challenges of climate change, the question of how we relate to “science” is front and center in our national, indeed global, dialogue. Can science explain climate change? Can it come up with solutions? Should we trust it? The question of how we relate to science is front and center as we grapple with pandemic, too. Can science explain the virus? Can it come up with a solution? Should we wear masks? Should we physically distance ourselves from one another? Can we trust scientific solutions or aren’t they maybe too hard? Too demanding?

 

How we collectively answer these questions may provide indications about where we are going in general. Is the West still driven by Enlightenment values, or are we moving toward a post-enlightened, post-modern world view?

 

Thinking about where science is in relation to climate change and other challenges, and where humanity is in relation to science, it seems fitting to delve deeply into this classic text, to better understand how the Modern Western world has experienced change, and try to discern what kinds of changes, in which directions, the Modern Western world might be heading for.

 

This week, please read the first 9 chapters of Kuhn, from the Preface to The Nature and Necessity of Scientific Revolutions. As you read, take notes on how the insights are valuable in understanding science, and also how they are valuable in understanding Modern society.

 

If you do not yet have your book, please let me know ASAP.

Module 9

Week 9

 

It is the final week before a major election. This week, while I read midterms, please “read” the world around you – articles, videos, conversations… all relating to the upcoming presidential election. In what ways do you see any of the themes we have covered so far in this class playing themselves out in the context of the election? Write a blog entry describing your observations, your thoughts, and what you learned about “modernity” over the course of this final week of the presidential campaign.

 

Next week, to give you a heads-up, we will be starting to read Kuhn’s Structure of Scientific Revolutions. If you haven’t already, please obtain your copy of this classic text.