- Spring 2022
Syllabus Description:
APT 2 Syllabus - Spring 22.pdf
Description
This course surveys American political thought from the Civil War to the present. Topics and authors include the crisis of post-bellum America (Walt Whitman and Frederick Douglass), Social Darwinism and progressive reform (William Graham Sumner and Jane Addams), the problem of the color-line (Booker T. Washington and W. E. B. Du Bois), anarchism and socialism (Emma Goldman and Eugene Debs), New Deal liberalism (Franklin Roosevelt and John Dewey), the black freedom movement and the politics of difference (Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, James Baldwin, and Audre Lorde), and the fate of the American Dream (Arthur Miller).
Mode of Instruction
This is primarily a lecture course, but large segments of each session will be dedicated to discussion. Participation is encouraged. Students are expected to complete the assigned reading prior to the lecture for which it is assigned. You are also expected to bring the reading to lecture.
All Power Point slides and lecture notes will be posted on Canvas.
Covid-19 Guidelines
Let’s work together to keep each other healthy and safe. If you have symptoms, do not come to class and do get tested. For FAQs about COVID-19 and UW Policy, go here.
Learning Objectives
- To obtain a basic knowledge of the history of American political thought from the Civil War to the present, and acquire a sense of the historical trajectory of American ideas about freedom, equality, and democracy.
- To expand our ability to connect past to present, so that our political arguments are more historically informed.
- To conduct political dialogue with sympathy, critical attention, passion, and respect.
- To strengthen our command of English prose through careful writing.
Papers and Grading
There will be three 5-page papers. Each will count for one third of your course grade, and you must complete all three to pass. Paper guidelines appear in Appendix A.
Paper 1: Assigned Monday, April 11; Due Friday, April 22.
Paper 2: Assigned Monday, May 2; Due Friday, May 13
Paper 3: Assigned Wednesday, May 25; Due Wednesday, June 8.
Though participation is not required, strong participation in the discussion segments of class will make me more likely to “round up” your final grade.