HISTORY 410/510

CITIZENSHIP IN THE U.S. AND EUROPE

Ian McNeely – University of Oregon – Fall 2000

[ Description  Requirements Reading list  Schedule ]


Meeting times: MW 1:00-2:20
Location:  475 Grayson
Email:    imcneely@darkwing.uoregon.edu
Phone:   346-6161
Office:   317 Grayson
Office hours:  W 2:30-3:30, F 11-12 and by appointment
 

Description

Today, despite the spread of democratic ideals across the globe, there remains a nagging sense that good citizenship is an art no longer being practiced: that active participation in one’s community, nation, and world now threatens to become a thing of the past. Historical inquiry into the roots of citizenship is therefore more important than ever. In this class, we will take up four distinct models of the good citizen: the liberal individualist, the virtuous republican, the joiner, and the public activist. For each model, we begin with readings in classic or contemporary political theory (Locke, Rousseau, de Tocqueville, Habermas). Then we turn to one or more case studies in modern European and American history, ranging from the Mayflower Compact to the Velvet Revolution of 1989. The aim in each unit is to bring political theory and historical practice into dialogue, using each to illuminate the other. The sequence of topics also builds cumulatively, offering students a set of analytical skills to assess citizenship practices, movements, cultures, and identities in a variety of contemporary and historical settings.

This seminar is intended not just for students in history but for those in related disciplines such as sociology and political science. It is aimed at advanced undergraduates and graduate students and assumes a basic knowledge of modern European history. The reading averages 90-120 pages a week.
 

Requirements

Reading list

Texts for purchase

On reserve, optional for purchase

Coursepack readings (indicated by a * below)


 
 

SCHEDULE OF TOPICS AND READINGS

Sept. 25 INTRODUCTION TO THE COURSE
Sept. 27 MODELS OF CITIZENSHIP
*Putnam, "Bowling Alone"
*Sandel, Democracy's Discontent, 3-24

 
The liberal individualist
Oct. 2 THE MODEL: LIBERALISM
Locke, Second Treatise, §§ 4, 6-8, 13, 27-32, 39-41, 44-45, 54-55, 58, 61-63
Oct. 4 Locke, §§ 77-80, 82, 86-90, 95-100, 113-124
Oct. 9 CASE STUDY: ANGLO-AMERICAN DEMOCRACY
*Stone, Family, Sex, and Marriage, 149-180
*Norton, Founding Mothers & Fathers, 3-17
Oct. 11 *Norton, Founding Mothers & Fathers, 281-322, 401-404

 
The virtuous republican
Oct. 16 THE MODEL: REPUBLICANISM
Rousseau, Social Contract, I. 1-4, 6, 8-9; II. 3-6, 8-10
Oct. 18 Rousseau, III. 1, 3-4, 9-15; IV. 1-3
Oct. 23 CASE STUDY: THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
Higonnet, Goodness Beyond Virtue, 76-96, 101-103, 111-116, 125-143
Oct. 25 Higonnet, 183-223, 325-335

PAPER TOPICS DUE OCT. 25 IN CLASS

Oct. 30 NO CLASS - individual meetings with instructor
Nov. 1 NO CLASS - individual meetings with instructor

MIDTERMS DUE NOV. 3

The joiner
Nov. 6 THE MODEL: CIVIL SOCIETY
Tocqueville, Democracy in America, 65-77, 218-227, 273-312
Nov. 8 Tocqueville, 620-649, 767-769, 838-845
*Walzer, "The Civil Society Argument"
Nov. 13 CASE STUDY I: NATIONALISM
*Anderson, Imagined Communities, 1-36, 47-65
Nov. 15 CASE STUDY II: FASCISM
*Berman, "Civil Society and the Collapse of the Weimar Republic"
*Koshar, "From Stammtisch to Party"

 
The public activist
Nov. 20 THE MODEL: THE PUBLIC SPHERE
Habermas, Structural Transformation, 1-5, 14-43, 51-56
Nov. 22 Habermas, 159-175, 181-196, 211-222
Nov. 27 CASE STUDY: THE FALL OF COMMUNISM
Havel, Summer Meditations, 1-59
Nov. 29 *Isaac, "The Meanings of 1989"

TERM PAPERS DUE DEC. 4