RousseautoRevolution PHL324,PSC292 Fall2007 TuTh9:40-10:55 MoreyHall501 Dr.RichardDees Lattimore529 275-8110 Officehours:Tu11-12,Th11-1 E-mail:[email protected] In1750,Jean-JacquesRousseaupublishedthe“DiscourseontheArtsandSciences” beganacontroversialliteraryandphilosophicalcareerthatupturnedmanyoftheacceptedviews oftheEnlightenmentandinspiredtherevolutionariesof1789.Buthisworksareanodd combinationofromanticism,republicanism,andresignation.Wewilllookatsomeof Rousseau’smostimportantworks,andthenwewilllookatthereactionstoRousseau’smessage inthepoliticalthoughtsurroundingtheFrenchRevolutionitself.Wewillreadsomeofthe importantfiguresoftheRevolution,butwewillalsolookatthedebatesabouttheRevolutionin England,whichinspiredthreeofthegreatestworksofEnglishpoliticalphilosophy:Edmund Burke’s ReflectionsontheRevolutioninFrance ,ThomasPaine’s RightsofMan ,andMary Wollstonecraft’s VindicationoftheRightsofWoman . TheupheavalsoftheRevolutionprecipitatedageneralcrisisinEuropeofthelegitimacy ofexistinggovernmentsand,moregenerally,oftheauthorityofexistingsocialstructures.What constitutesagoodsociety,oragoodgovernment?Whatarethefoundationsofgovernmentand society,andwhatistheroleoftheindividual?Thesedebatesinthelateeighteenthcenturyabout rightsandtraditions,democracyandprivilege,andvirtueandcommercestill,Ithink,framethe politicaldebatesofthetwenty-firstcentury.Byseeingthesedebatesnadifferentpolitical context,wewill,Ihope,cometoabetterunderstandingofcontemporarypolitics. RequiredTexts: Pierre-AugustinCarondeBeaumarchais, TheMarriageofFigaro (Penguin) EdmundBurke, ReflectionsontheRevolutioninFrance (Hackett) ThomasPaine, TheRightsofMan (Penguin) Jean-JacquesRousseau, BasicPoliticalWritings (Hackett) _______, TheGovernmentofPoland (Hackett) MichaelWalzer,ed., RegicideandRevolution (Columbia) MaryWollstonecraft, VindicationoftheRightsofWoman (Penguin) ReadingsonBlackboard Supplementaltext: D.G.Wright, RevolutionandTerrorinFrance,1789-95 (Longman) CourseRequirements: Classparticipationisworthasignificantportionofyourgrade.Theclassisbasedon studentdiscussions,notonlectures.Youareexpectedtocometoclass,andyouareexpectedto cometoclasspreparedtodiscussthereadings–ifonlytoaskrelevantquestionsaboutthem. Eachweek,youwillbeexpectedtowriteabriefone-pagereactiontotheweek’sreadingand senditbye-mailtoeachoftheteachersby9:00p.m.onMonday.Inaddition,atleastonce duringtheterm,Iwillbeshowingavideotosupplementthereadings. Themajorassignmentsinthiscoursewillbedoneusingthetutorialsystem.Twice duringtheterm,Iwillgiveyouaseriesofquestionsaboutparticulartexts.Youwillchooseone questionandwritea6-8pageanalyticalpaper.Youandanotherstudentwillthenmeetwithme inmyofficetodiscussandhandinyourpapers.Classeswillbecancelledduringthetutorials.I willexplainthetutorialmethodindetaillater. Foryourfinalassignment,youwillwritean8-10pagepaper.Thispapercanbeathird tutorialpaperonatopicIgiveyou,oronasubjectofyourownchoosing.Thelatteroptiongives youtheopportunitytoexploreanissueofparticularinteresttoyou.Beforebeginningsucha paper,however,youmusttalktome,sothatIcanmakesurethatthetopicissuitable,andalso sothatIcanhelpyouwithresources. Thecoursegradeisdividedinto13parts,apportionedasshown: Firsttutorial 3parts Secondtutorial 3parts Finalassignment 4parts Participation 3parts ScheduleofReadings: Thisscheduleistentative;“BB”indicatesareadingthatcanbefoundthroughalinkon theBlackboardpageforthiscourse. I.Rousseau Sep4-6 CharlesLoyseau, ATreatiseonOrders (BB) Supplemental :D.G.Wright, RevolutionandTerrorinFrance,1789-95 , Introduction Jean-JacquesRousseau,“DiscourseontheArtsandSciences,”in Basic PoliticalWritings ,1-21 DavidHume,“OfRefinementintheArts”(BB) Supplemental :Hume,“AConciseAccountoftheDisputebetweenMr. RousseauandMr.Hume” Sep11-13 Rousseau,“DiscourseontheOriginsandFoundationsofInequality AmongMen,”in BasicPoliticalWritings ,23-109 AdamSmith, InquiryintotheNatureandCausesoftheWealthofNations , BookI,chs.i-ii(BB) Sep18-20 Rousseau, TheSocialContract ,BooksI-II,in BasicPolitical Writings ,139-72 Sep25-27 Rousseau, SocialContract ,BookIII-IV,in BasicPoliticalWritings , 173-226 Oct2-4 Rousseau, TheGovernmentofPoland Oct9 •Firsttutorial(Noclasses,Oct9) II.Revolution Oct11 Beaumarchais, TheMarriageofFigaro --Movie:"LaNozzedeFigaro"(Oct11?) Oct16-18 RobertDarnton,"WorkersRevolt:TheGreatCatMassacreofRue Séverin"(BB) AbbeSieyes,“WhatistheThirdEstate?”(BB) “TheTennisCourtOath”(BB) “DeclarationoftheRightsofManandofCitizens,”inThomasPaine, TheRightsofMan ,110-12 RichardPrice,“DiscourseontheLoveofOurCountry”(BB) Supplemental :Wright, RevolutionandTerror ,chs.2-3 Oct23-25 EdmundBurke, ReflectionsontheRevolutioninFrance ,3-99 Oct30-Nov1 Burke, Reflections ,109-11,144-54,173-80,213-18. ThomasPaine, TheRightsofMan ,partone Nov6-8 Paine, RightsofMan, parttwo Nov13-15 •Secondtutorial MaryWollstonecraft, VindicationoftheRightsofWoman ,introand chs.1-4(79-122) Nov20 Wollstonecraft, Vindication ,chs,3-4(123-72) Thanksgivingbreak(Nov21-23) Nov27-29 Wollstonecraft,Vindication,chs.7-8,10-12,13.6(227-51,264-99, 316-18) “Constitutionof1791”(BB) SpeechesbyJean-BaptisteMaihle,Charles-François-GabrielMorisson, Louis-Antoine-LéonSaint-Just,ThomasPaine,andMaximilien Robespierre,allinMichaelWalzer, RegicideandRevolution, 93-138 Supplemental :Wright, RevolutionandTerror ,ch,.4 Dec4-6 SpeechesbyMarquisdeCondorcet,Jean-PaulMaratSaint-Just, Robespierre,Pierre-VicturnienVergniaud,andPaine,inWalzer, 139-214 Supplemental :Wright, RevolutionandTerror ,chs.5-7 Dec11-13 BenjaminConstant,“TheLibertyoftheAncientsComparedwiththatof theModerns”(BB) •Finalassignmentdue,Dec14 SUPPLEMENTALANDSUGGESTEDREADINGS Otherimportantwritingsbytheauthorscoveredinthiscourse: Beaumarchais,Pierre-AugustinCaronde. TheBarberofSeville (1775).ThefirstofBeaumarchais's playsaboutFigaroandhismasters.ThisonebecameanoperabyRossini. Paine,Thomas. CommonSense (1776).Paine'spamphletthathelpedgalvanizetheAmericansfor independence. Rousseau,Jean-Jaques. DiscourseontheArtsandSciences (1750).Rousseau'sgroundbreaking essaythatarguesthattheartsandscienceshaveledtothedecayofmorality _______ DiscourseontheFoundationsofInequalityamongMen (1752).Rousseau'sfamous argumentthattheinventionofpropertydestroyednaturalmanandledtothemoraldecayof thespecies _______ LaNouvelleHeloise ( JulieortheNewHeloise )(1761).Rousseau'ssentimental epistolarynovel.Itwasprobablythemostlywidely-readofRousseau'sworksduringhis lifetime. _______ Emile (1762).Rousseau'smajorworkoneducation.Ittracestheidealeducationofa boy,Emile,untilheisreadytobecomebothamanandacitizen.Italsobrieflyoffersan educationalprogramforhisperfectmate,Sophie. _______ Confessions (1770).Rousseaupracticallyinventedthemodernautobiographyinthis extremelypopularandcontroversialaccountofhislifethrough1765. Othermajorpoliticalworksofthelateeighteenthcentury: Bentham,Jeremy. AnIntroductiontothePrinciplesofMoralsandLegislation (1780).Theclassic statementofutilitarianmoraltheory. Godwin,William. EnquiryconcerningJustice (1793).Thisworkisthefirstmajoranarchisttract, anditgreatlyinfluencedPercyShelley.Hewasalso,ofcourse,MaryShelley'sfather. Hume,David. PoliticalDiscourses (1752).Nowpublishedaspart2ofHume's Essays ,theessays herearethebestofHume'smorepopularworksonpolitics,itwasmorefamousinhis lifetimethanhismorestrictlyphilosophicalworks,likethe TreatiseofHumanNature (1739-40)Hume's HistoryofEngland (1754-62)wasalsohighlyinfluential,anditwasthe mostwidelyreadhistoryofBritainfor100years.LouisXVIwassaidtohavereaditbefore hisowntrial. Jefferson,Thomas. NotesontheStateofVirginia (1781).Jefferson,ofcourse,wrotemanyfamous speechesandreportsandthemainelementsoftheDeclarationofIndependence.Butthis work,anoverviewofhisnativestate,givesagoodsummaryofhisviews. Kant,Immanuel. PerpetualPeaceandOtherEssays (1784-95).Thepoliticalworksofthegreat Germanphilosopher,whoisbetter-knownforhismetaphysicalandmetaethicalviews(and withgoodreason),inparticularthe CritiqueofPureReason (1781)andthe Groundworkfor theMetaphysicsofMorals (1785). Maistre,Josephde. ConsiderationsonFrance (1796).DeMaistrewasanultra-conservative Catholic.ThesearehisreflectionsontheRevolution. Montesquieu,CharlesSecondat,Baronde. ThePersianLetters (1721)presentatolerantviewofthe worldasitsatirizessociallifeinFrancethroughtheeyesofPersianvisitorstoParis.His SpiritoftheLaws (1748)offersasystematicaccountofgovernmentthatinspiredthe AmericanFoundingFathers. Smith,Adam. TheWealthofNations (1776).Smith'sjustlyfamousdefenseofcapitalism,itisless laissez-faire thanmodernconservativessuppose.Inaddition,his TheoryofMoral Sentiments (1759)presentsamoraltheorythatsharplyconflictswiththestandard interpretationsof TheWealthofNations . Tocqueville,Alexisde. DemocracyinAmerica (1835).Toqueville'sinsightfulexaminationof Americanlifeandinstitutions. _______. TheOldRegimeandtheFrenchRevolution (1856).Toqueville’stakeontheRevolution, withanemphasisonthecontinuitiesbetweentheAncienRégimeandthepost- Revolutionaryera. Wollstonecraft,Mary. VindicationoftheRightsofWoman (1792).Thefirstgreatworkof feminism,itarguesthatwomenshouldhavethesameri3ghtsasthosedeclaredformen. Shewasalso,ofcourse,MaryShelley'smother(thoughshediedshortlyafterherdaughter wasborn). BooksabouttheEnlightenment: Becker,Carl. TheHeavenlyCityoftheEighteenth-CenturyPhilosophers .NewHaven:Yale UniversityPress,1932. Gay,Peter. TheEnlightenment .NewYork:Norton,1969. Hobsbawm,EricJ. TheAgeofRevolution,1789-1848 .NewYork:NewAmericanLibrary, 1979. Outram,Dorinda. TheEnlightenment .Cambridge:CambridgeUP,1995 Spencer,Samia,ed. FrenchWomenandtheAgeofEnlightenment .Bloomington:IndianaUP, 1984. BooksabouttheRevolution: Balzac,Honoréde. UnépisodesouslaTerreur (1830).Paris:Ed.duCarousel,1999. ---. Leschouans (1829).Paris:Gallimard,1972. Furet,François. RevolutionaryFrance,1770-1880 .Trans.AntoniaNevill.Oxford:Blackwell, 1992. Hobsbawm,EricJ. TheAgeofRevolution,1789-1848 .NewYork:NewAmericanLibrary, 1979. Hugo,Victor. Quatre-vingt-treize (1874). Ninety-Three .Trans.LowellBair.Intro.AynRand. NewYork:Bantam,1962. Hunt,Lynn. TheFamilyRomanceoftheFrenchRevolution .Berkeley:UCalP,1992. Landes,Joan. WomenandthePublicSphereintheAgeoftheFrenchRevolution .Ithaca: CornellUP,1988. Schama,Simon: Citizens:AChronicleoftheFrenchRevolution .NewYork:Knopf,1989..