Quest 1: Revolution!
Signature Question 2: How do people understand and engage in community life?
Karl E. Loewenstein
Office: Sage Hall 3613
Office Hours: MWF: ? PM or by appt.
E-mail: loewenst@uwosh.edu
Office phone: 424-2462
Home phone: 233-4831
Academic Focus
This course will introduce students to three of the most important modern revolutions: America,
France, and Russia. Using these three case studies, we will discuss political practices, revolutionary
theory, and language of violence. We will engage the study of the breakdown of community. At
what point do people break from earlier systems? When does the desire for change turn violent?
What drives people to revolt? Why do some reject the traditions of their society? Is there pattern to
revolution? Using these large themes, we will develop ideas about how we create and engage with
a functioning community.
Our Signature Question
Civic knowledge consists of an awareness and understanding of the various political and social
processes that impact the nature and quality of life in local, state, national, or global
communities. It also encompasses the cultivation of skills which may be useful in public life, like
effective communication and ethical reasoning. Civic engagement means having an appreciation
for and applying the values gained from civic knowledge in real world settings, directed at
improving the quality of life in the communities of which one is a part. Civic knowledge and civic
engagement emphasize learning, reflection, and action in order to create better communities.
All Signature Questions
The University Studies Program (USP) is your gateway to a 21st century college education at the
University of Wisconsin Oshkosh. This Quest I course is the first in a series of courses you will
take to introduce you to the campus and all it has to offer, the vibrant Oshkosh community, and the
challenges and opportunities of academic life as you pursue a liberal education. In these courses,
you’ll be exposed to three “Signature Questions” that are central to a UW Oshkosh education:
 How do people understand and engage in community life?
 How do people understand and create a more sustainable world?
 How do people understand and bridge cultural differences?
The Quest classes are designed to provide a solid foundation for the rest of your education here, no
matter which major you choose. Your USP courses will also provide the opportunity for you to
Explore and Connect as you begin your college education. For further information about the unique
general education at UW Oshkosh, visit the University Studies Program website.
Outcomes for this course:
You will:




Gain familiarity with key historical struggles, campaigns and social movements
Build capacity to describe comparative civic traditions expressed within and by different
cultural groups
Understand that knowledge is socially constructed and implicated with power
Explore and reflect on your core animating personal values
History and the Liberal Arts
History is at the center of a liberal arts education. The core of a college education is learning how to
become a life-long learner. Starting your Quest at UWO with a historian will send you in the right
direction. The very idea of the liberal arts should be seen in its historical context, as the idea gained
importance during the early Renaissance. It was then that scholars began to argue that one could
not be a virtuous person without the ability to read, write, and think clearly. This tradition extends
to our institution. Focusing on the ways that people have thought about radical change and how they
carried it out, we will emphasize the larger goals of critical thinking and civic engagement. This
knowledge and these skills will serve you well as a citizen and as a person.
Co-Curricular Activities
You will be required to attend a variety of co-curricular activities this semester. These options may
include a campus play, an international film, an art exhibit, a music performance, an athletic event
or other public opportunities outside the classroom. Lists of options for each semester will be posted
on this website to assist course planning.
Assignments
Students will read a mix of primary historical sources and more recent texts by scholars to develop a
historical understanding of the development of our three crucial moments. Students will be required
to read a large variety of works and lead class discussions about them.
For each reading assignment, you will have a series of short questions or a longer essay to write.
These will help you understand the reading and focus on the key issues of the section. Every other
week, one of these assignments will be turned into a 2 page graded essay.
Each student will lead at least one class on a specific reading. Then, the student will write an essay
about that document and experience. Finally, all students are expected to support their classmates
by participating in daily discussions.
Each student will have an individual meeting with me in my office at least once during the
semester.
Participating in the co-curricular activities and submitting your chosen work to your eportfolio will
also make up a portion of your grade.
There will also be a final examination that will ask students to contemplate the lessons of revolution
and community.
Readings
Hanna Arendt, On Revolution
Gordon Wood, The American Revolution: A History
Arno Mayer, The Furies: Violence and Terror in the French and Russian Revolutions
Assorted primary sources
Schedule
Week 1 Welcome to UWO
Introductions
Week 2 What is Revolution?
Reading: Hanna Arendt, pp. 1-23
Reflection Essay
Week 3 Where do revolutions come from?
Reading: Arendt, pp. 45-102
Week 4: Conceptions of Revolution
Arno Mayer, chapters 1-2
Week 5: Violence and Terror
Reading: Mayer, chapters 3-4
Week 6 America: Why revolt?
Reading: Wood, sections 1-2
Week 7 Building toward Rebellion
Reading: Wood, sections 3-5
Week 8 Forming a revolutionary nation
Reading: Wood, sections 6-8
Week 9 France & Russia Compared
Reading: Arno Mayer, chapters 7-8
Week 10 Peasant Distrust
Reading: Mayer, chapters 9-10
Week 11 Religion challenged
Reading: Mayer, 11-12
Week 12 The External World
Reading Mayer, 14-15
Week 14 Review and Final examination
Other Essential Information for this Class
e-Portfolio
The UW Oshkosh ePortfolio provides the opportunity for students to document and connect their
learning throughout their college education. In addition, random sampling of these ePortfolios
during the Connect course and Capstone course or experience will provide the opportunity for
institutional assessment. Students will choose one assignment to submit to their e-Portfolio. This
will become practice in almost every class you will take during your years at UWO.
Early Alert
After the third week of class, you will receive a grade for your overall progress in this course and
each of the courses you are taking in your first semester. This process is called “Early Alert.” You
will receive this information in an email during the 5th week of classes. Early Alert is designed to
help you evaluate your study skills and your class attendance so that you know if you are on the
right track. If you need to make some changes, there are resources available to support your
academic success. These Early Alert grades are not permanent and will not appear on your
transcript.
MAP-Works
MAP-Works (Making Achievement Possible Works) is a survey that is all about you! To help you
have a wonderful first-year of college, we need you to take this survey. You will receive an email
from map-works@uwosh.edu inviting you to take the survey. Advisors, hall directors, instructors
and many other people on campus will use this information to help you be successful and to provide
you with what you need. You will receive a report with suggestions on how achieve your goals;
please review it.
Peer Mentor
This course will have a peer mentor. This person will enhance your connections to the class, to the
university, and to each other. Our peer mentor will help you with your studies and guide you to any
academic resources you might need, attending some class sessions and accompanying students to
co-curricular activities.
Resources available on Campus
In the University Studies Program, we want you to be successful. Please visit this resource page (or
the D2L course page) to read about all the campus services available to support your success.
http://www.uwosh.edu/home/resources)
Center for Academic Resources: The Center for Academic Resources (CAR) provides free,
confidential tutoring for students in most undergraduate classes on campus. CAR is located in the
Student Success Center, Suite 102. Check the Tutor List page on CAR’s website
(www.uwosh.edu/car) for a list of tutors. If your course is not listed, click on a link to request one,
stop by SSC 102 or call 424-2290. To schedule a tutoring session, simply email the tutor, let
him/her know what class you are seeking assistance in, and schedule a time to meet.
Writing Center: The Writing Center employs specially trained students with a passion for helping
their peers become better writers. The services it offers are beyond merely checking for grammar;
instead, the Center strives to teach students the process of good writing. Appointments are free,
confidential, and are at your convenience. For more information, email wcenter@uwosh.edu, view
their website (http://www.uwosh.edu/wcenter/ ), visit them at SSC 102, or call 424-1152.
Reading Study Center: The Reading Study Center is an all-university service whose mission is to
facilitate the development of efficient college-level learning strategies in students of all abilities.
The center offers strategies for improved textbook study, time management, note-taking, test
preparation, and test-taking. For more information, email readingstudy@uwosh.edu, view the
website (http://www.uwosh.edu/readingstudycenter) , visit them in Nursing Ed Room 201, or call
424-1031.
Polk Library/Information Literacy: Ted Mulvey: Mr. Mulvey is an Information Literacy
Librarian who is available to assist you as you access, evaluate, and use information in University
Studies Program classes. Phone: 920-424-7329; email: mulveyt@uwosh.edu