Module One
Welcome to fall and to this exploration we will call “Modern Times.” A couple of general tips and guidelines for success in this online class:
* Please be sure to check your NDNU email frequently so you don’t miss important communications.
* All assignments and course activities will be contained in weekly Modules, beginning with this one, and these will be sent to you via email and also posted on the class website, located at:
https://ndnuMT.blogspot.com
* We will not be using Moodle.
* Unless otherwise stated, all Modules will be posted on or before Mondays, and assignments will be due on the following Sunday at 11pm. For this first week, for example, Module 1 is being posted on or by Monday, August 31, and Module 1 assignments are due by 11pm on Sunday, September 6. Please plan your study time accordingly so you don’t get behind.
1) Your first assignment for this week is to create your own blog,which is where you will post your assignments and where we will all have opportunities to interact together. Instructions for creating your own blog site are below. Yes, you must create a new blog for this class even if you already have one from a different class.
How to Set Up Your Online Reading Journal – aka Your Blog!
1) Go to www.blogger.com.
2) If you already have a Google account, use it to log in. If you do not, follow the on-screen instructions to create one. Make sure you write down your Google account name and password for later use.
3) Once you’ve logged in to blogger.com, follow the on-screen instructions to create a “new blog.”
The title of your blog can be anything you want
The unique part of your address should be something simple like gregsworldhistoryblog
Your full blog address will be:
http://__________.blogspot.com
example: http://gregsworldhistoryblog.blogspot.com
If you are asked whether you want to register or monetize your blog, etc., just say no.
4) Now that your blog exists, open up your email account and email the blog’s address to me. Remember, your address begins with http:// and ends with .blogspot.com, just like the blog address of the class website. My email address is pandrews@ndnu.edu.
5) Log out of your blog and log back in again to make sure it all works OK. Then click on the icon to make your first post as described later in this Module.
6) You’re done!
2) Your second assignment for this week is to introduce yourself to each other and to me.This introduction will be your first post in your new blog. You’ll do a lot of sharing of ideas this semester as we examine the Modern world from multiple points of view. Let’s begin, then, by reflecting on yourself as an individual (a rather Modern concept)… how do you think? how do you learn? who are you?Reflect on yourself as person situated in space and time… what is the context of your life? how has your adjustment to pandemic life been? how has the person you are been conditioned by the place and time in which you experience existence? Reflect on your personal journey (also a rather Modern concept)… where is there movement in your life? where is there stasis? what are your aspirations, and do you see them playing out in a world you would describe as “modern”? You don’ have to answer all of these questions… they are just a way to get you thinking about how you might introduce yourself in the context of a class on modern times.
I’ll post my own introduction to the class website. I look forward to reading yours on your own blogs.
3)Finally, let’s begin to define our subject. The “modernity” we will be looking at this semester is the historical phenomenon of the modern period. You learned about this in your World History classes. The Modern period is traditionally seen as beginning with the European Renaissance. But by its very nature, that renaissance had deep roots in Europe’s Classical Greek past… we can’t understand the modern world without taking a look at its roots.
With that in mind, please read this chapter from Plato’s Republic, in which a dialogue unfolds about the various kinds of governments, including democracy. (Democracy is yet another very Modern concept, and one with deep Classical roots.)
http://classics.mit.edu/Plato/republic.9.viii.html
Also read this short article about Aristotle’s thoughts on democracy.
https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/philosophy/aristotles-thinking-on-democracy-has-more-relevance-than-ever
After doing these readings,write a blog post reflecting on “modernity.” What is it? Does it make sense to mark the beginning of the modern period with the European Renaissance? How would you summarize the positions of Plato and Aristotle on democracy? Why do you suppose these kinds of writings resonated for some Europeans who lived during the late Medieval period and early years of the Renaissance? Do some research online and see if you can learn which classes of Renaissance Europeans were the ones who read Classical philosophy like Plato and Aristotle… how did Europeans at the time obtain translations of these Classical Greek texts?
That’s it for this week. I wish you a good start to the semester. And please don’t hesitate to shoot me an email if you have questions about this class.
Patti Andrews
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