Pacific Seminar II
The Perfect Society’s Citizens
Prof. Susan Sample
204 George Wilson
ssample@pacific.edu
OH: TR 2-4; F 3.30-4
If a good society is good, a perfect society has to be better, right? Drawing on themes of
the state and civil society, this course will examine modern historical attempts at creating
the “perfect society,” and particularly the way in which these attempts to carve out
perfection defined citizenship in ways that were often deadly for individuals in those
societies. Particularly in the 20th century, a number of countries attempted to create
perfect societies and concluded that doing so required eliminating those people who
weren’t “real citizens” of their nation, whether those were Jews, class enemies, or others.
We will examine the causes and consequences of genocide (from the Holocaust to
Rwanda) and other types of state organized mass murder in the course, both through the
social scientific lens and through accounts of individuals within those societies. What is
genocide? How does it differ from other kinds of state mass murder, and to what extent
does that difference matter? Finally, we will examine the role of the citizen, ethically and
practically, in a state that is determined to create “the perfect society” at any cost
necessary.
As with all Pacific Seminar 2 course, by taking this course, students will be able to:
• Continue to study the question “What is a Good Society?” from Pacific Seminar 1
through a discipline-specific perspective.
• Develop academic writing and research skills appropriate to lower-level (freshmen)
students within a writing intensive course.
• Develop critical thinking and oral presentation skills.
• Broaden social awareness encouraging engaged citizenship.
After completing this specific section of Pacific Seminar II, students will be able to:
--Define genocide in legal, political, and ethical terms
--Critically evaluate the role of the state and its citizens in instances of democide
Required Books:
The Genocide Studies Reader, ed. Totten and Bartrop
The Diary of Dawid Sierakowiak, ed. by Alan Adelson
Sophie Scholl and the White Rose, Newborn and Dumbach
Other readings are on Sakai.
Graded Assignments:
Reading Notes/Reflection 4 @ 2.5
Participation, including random Reading Quizzes
Short Papers 2 @ 10
Group Presentation
Research Paper
Introduction, March 16
Interim Draft, April 6
Formal Presentation
Final Draft, April 25
Research Journal
10
15
20
10
05
10
05
20
05
Reading Notes/Reflection: Reading notes must be handed in three times during the
semester. If the assignment is a single-authored chapter, the reading notes should be
approximately one single-spaced page. It should contain about ½ page of summary of the
main argument, relevant definitions, and evidence offered by the author (in Pacs I,
you may have heard the term “Inhabit the reading”—this is what you should do for Part I
of the reading notes). This summary should be written so that you could come back to it
5 years from now, read the summary, and remember exactly what the author wrote. For
Part II, you should write ½ single-spaced page that is your analytical and/or personal
reflection on the reading. Do not say things like, “I liked it” or “I didn’t like it.” Rather,
either a) compare and contrast it to other readings for the course, b) critique its argument
and/or evidence from an intellectual standpoint; c) personally reflect on it—how does it
relate to your experience, how does it challenge you, how does it make you feel? In
cases where the reading assignment is several short pieces by different authors, the
reading notes should be approximately 2 single-spaced pages: Part I should include a
paragraph of 10-12 lines summarizing the main points of each separate article. Part II
(approximately ½ page) should either a) compare/critique them all together, or b)
personally reflect on them all together. The Reading Reflection due on March 30 will
require a reflection on the reading from Hatzfeld, The Diary of Dawid Sierakowiak, and
Sophie Scholl. We’ll discuss it in class in advance of the due date.
Short Papers: Twice during the semester, you will write essays in response to specific
questions that I give you. These essays will be thesis-driven and they will require you to
take the concepts and ideas from the readings and apply them to a particular case or
political problem.
Group Presentation: On Feb 1st, four groups will present cases for the whole class.
Presentations will be formal, last for 15 minutes, and the group who does the work for the
presentation may divide up the preparation and presentation in any fashion they choose
(not everyone has to present if the non-presenters prepared a great deal of the work). I
will not require anything to be handed in, but I will grade the presentation for its clarity
and accuracy in explaining the case to the rest of the class.
Participation: Classroom participation includes attending classes in their entirety, taking
appropriately active part in class discussions and activities, demonstrating through your
participation that you have read the assignments and digested them, and completing all
assigned work in good faith. Any indication on any day that you have not fully read the
assignments for the day will result in a zero for that day’s participation: this includes
dead silence as well as talking about the material in such general terms that it sounds like
you’re making it up as you go along, etc.
Research Paper: The research paper will be discussed in class in some depth. You will
be required to turn in three drafts: an initial 1-2 page introduction, an interim draft of
about 5 pages, and the final 6-8 page paper. The first two drafts will get comments from
me. You will also be required to formally present your paper before doing final editing.
Research Journal: You will be required to keep a research journal once the research
paper process begins. I will require that you turn it in to me at random intervals, and the
final version of that will be turned in to me at the end of the semester along with the final
draft of the paper. I will give more details about how to write a research journal as the
time approaches.
Attendance is required for Pacific Seminar 2. Students are allowed three unexcused
absences during the semester. After three unexcused absences, the final grade for the
course will be lowered by one-third of a grade (e.g., from a “B+” to a “B”) for each day
that the student is absent from class without a valid excuse. This means that if a student
misses five days of class without a valid excuse, that student’s final grade for the course
will be lowered by two-thirds of a grade (e.g., from a “B+” to a “B-”). A valid excuse for
missing class will require written documentation from a person who can certify your
illness or other misfortune.
Honor Code: The Pacific policy on academic honesty is detailed in Tiger Lore. I am
aware that academic honesty and how to avoid plagiarism is part of the Pacs I curriculum.
Thus, I have the policy of automatically failing students in the course for violations of
the Honor Code, so all students are strongly advised to read it. I have a zero-tolerance
policy toward academic dishonesty, including cheating and plagiarism. Please see a good
style manual for what constitutes plagiarism and how to avoid it. The most obvious case
is to turn in something someone else has written (including a nameless, faceless person
on the internet) with your name on it. While you are encouraged to discuss your ideas
with each other, unless the assignment has specifically been designated to be a group
effort, you are expected to be sole author of what you submit. It is plagiarism when:
1. More than four words in a row are taken directly from another text without citing it as
a direct quote.
2. The work of another is very closely paraphrased. Paraphrasing is not the same as
using your own words.
3. The sources of any idea attained from another text are not properly cited. All ideas
taken from other sources must be cited, not just direct quotes.
4. The same rules apply to websites.
The easiest way to avoid all potential problems is to read the material, think about it, then
close all of your books and write. Keep track of where ideas are from by jotting notes to
yourself (“I want to talk about Smith’s idea that…”). Then go back and cite everything
properly: great idea you’ve just talked about (Smith 2002: 45). With longer papers, you
need to cite as you go, but the rule about closing the books while you write still holds.
To do this properly, you have to think about time management. Read a couple of days
before you have to write (so you have time to think). Write notes to yourself about what
you think is important and where you got the ideas. Then sit down and write. Often
cheating takes place because someone doesn’t organize time properly, feels up against a
deadline, and makes a bad decision. While I understand how this can happen, I do not
consider it an excuse. If you have any questions about what to do or not do, just ask.
Assignments will be turned in to Turnitin through Sakai. I will check those assignments
for evidence of plagiarism—I am likely to do so late in the semester, so you may receive
a graded assignment back, but if I later check and find plagiarism, I will fail you in the
course at that time and report the case to Judicial Affairs.
Learning or Physical Disabilities: If you need accommodations because of a certified
learning or physical disability, you must contact the Office of Services for Students with
Disabilities to obtain an Accommodations Request Letter. Once you have obtained the
letter, we will make appropriate arrangements to accommodate your needs. If you need
accommodations, get them! It’s not fair to you to not have accommodations if you need
them.
Revisions to Syllabus: While I do not anticipate making changes to this syllabus, I
reserve the right to do so to best serve the pedagogical needs of the students in the class.
Revisions will be announced in class and will take precedence over this document.
Classroom Rules and Guide for Doing Well in College:
1. NO SCREENS in the classroom other than mine. You may not use your laptops
in this class for any purpose, including note-taking. You should not text, etc.
during class hours. If I catch you texting during class, you will forfeit your
participation grade (on the first catch).
2. TAKE NOTES with pen and paper. You should come prepared to take notes—
this involves writing down the main points of any lecture and main points that
arise during discussion. If you fear that you won’t understand what the main
points are as we go along, write as much as you can so that you will remember
what was said later. DO NOT depend on your ability to remember what was said
later without good notes. It is simply not possible for 99.9% of human beings.
(For further advice on how to do this well, ask.)
3. READ the material assigned, and take notes from it. Your reading notes can
come in many forms. One way to do it is to, at the end of each section you are
reading, make yourself write a one-paragraph summary of the main points of what
you just read. Getting good at this takes practice—now is a good time to get that
practice in. (For further advice on how to do this well, ask.)
4. DON’T MULTITASK. There is now ample evidence that pretty much nobody
is good at multitasking, though everyone likes to pretend they are. Set aside
blocks of time for reading, studying, playing, facebooking, calling your friends,
working, etc., and try not to have those times overlap. When you are studying,
don’t have your phone ringing. When you are reading, don’t give into the
temptation to facebook. Try “Leechblock”—a neat little computer app that can
block particular webpages that tend to distract you when you should be working.
(For further advice on how to do this well, ask.)
5. REMEMBER THAT COLLEGE IS A FULL-TIME JOB. The standard for a
university course is that you are expected to work 2-3 hours outside of class for
every hour you spend in class. For a 16 unit load, and 2 hours per unit of studying
for that class, that means that your classes should take approximately 48 hours of
your week of real work (not sitting there with a textbook while playing on the
internet). Organize your time accordingly. I will grade exams, papers, etc., on
the assumption that you are treating college as a full-time job. Failure to do so is
likely to result in very low grades.
Course schedule: Please prepare readings for the day on which they are listed. Some days the
reading is heavier than others, so it would be a good idea to have a look at the whole schedule
now, so you can think out your strategies for preparation.
Monday
Jan 9:
Introduction to the course
Wednesday
Jan 11:
What is genocide and
why study it?
Friday
Jan 13:
What is a good society?
Read: From Pacs I reader:
Larry Diamond
Jan 16:
Read: Bowen, “The Myth of
Global Ethnic Conflict” Sakai
Jan 18:
NO CLASSES
Things we think are real…
What is a “perfect” society?
Read: Sakai: From Pacs I
Reader: Peggy McIntosh;
Hayden, “Imagined
Communities and Real
Victims”
Read: Chapter 1, GSR
Jan 23:
Defining genocide
Due to turn in:
Reading notes #1
Jan 25:
Related terms
Read: Chapter 2, GSR
Read: Chapter 3, GSR
Jan 20:
Last Day to Add (or Drop
Classes with no record of
enrollment)
Jan 27:
Chapter on Genocide in
history overview
Read: Jones, Chapter 1
Remind Sample to give you
specific chapter assignments
for Wed, Feb 1!
Jan 30:
Genocide of indigenous
peoples
Feb 1:
Genocides and/or Mass
Murders
Read: Jones, Chapter 2
Present!: Jones, Chapter 3
OR Jones, Chapter 4, OR
Jones, Chapter 5 OR
Jones, Chapter 8
Due: 15 min group
presentation on cases
(nothing to turn in;
presentation graded)
Due to turn in:
Reading notes #2
Feb 3:
Library Instruction Day
(And note my comment about
the long reading for next
Wed!)
Feb 6:
Cambodia
Read: Jones, Chapter 7
Feb 8:
Cases of Genocide
Read: Chapter 5, GSR
(long chapter, think ahead!)
Feb 10:
Comparing Genocides
Read: Chapter 6, GSR
Due to turn in:
Short Paper #1
Feb 13:
Theories of Genocide
Read: Chapter 4, GSR
Feb 15:
Read: Psychological
Perspectives, Jones, Chapter
10
Feb 17:
Issues in Prevention and
Intervention
Read: Chapter 7, GSR
Due to turn in:
Reading Notes #3
Feb 20:
Feb 22:
Prevention of Genocide
Feb 24:
Intervention
Read: Chapter 8, GSR
Read: Chapter 9, GSR
NO CLASSES
Due to turn in:
Short Paper #2
Feb 27:
Rwanda
Feb 29:
Experiences of Genocide
Read: Jones, Chapter 9;
Sakai: pp. xiv-40
Read: Sakai: From Life Laid
Bare, pp. 3-6; 22-29, 89-117.
From Machete Season, pp. x67
Mar 2:
Read: Sakai: From The
Antelope’s Strategy, 3-53;
222-235
Last Day to Drop Classes
March 5:
March 7:
March 9:
SPRING BREAK
SPRING BREAK
SPRING BREAK
Mar 12:
Mar 14:
The Holocaust
Read: Jones, Chapter 6
Sakai: Excerpt from
Eichmann in Jerusalem
Mar 16:
How to write a research
paper—note to self, construct
research journal assignment
March 19:
March 21:
Read: Diary of DS
Due to turn in: 1-2 page
paper introduction
March 23:
Diary of DS
Diary of DS
Sophie Scholl
March 26:
March 28:
March 30:
Sophie Scholl
Sophie Scholl
Sophie Scholl
Due to turn in: Reading
reflection
Last day to withdraw
April 2:
April 4:
April 6:
No class—professor away at
conference
No class—professor away at
conference
Paper workshop
Due to turn in: Interim
paper draft approx 5
pages—introduction redraft,
plus 3-4 pages of analysis
Please note that this is not
“free” time—you should be
working on your paper, and
next week’s reading is heavier
than usual
April 9:
Prosecution of Genocide and
Crimes Against Humanity
April 11:
International Criminal
Tribunals and National Courts
Read: Chapter 10, GSR
Read: Chapter 11, GSR AND
Chapter 12, GSR AND
Chapter 13, GSR
NO CLASSES
April 16:
International Criminal Court
Read: Chapter 14, GSR
April 18:
Denial of Genocide
Read: Chapter 15, GSR
April 20:
Paper presentations and
feedback
April 23:
April 25:
Paper presentations and
feedback
Final draft of paper due
6-8 pages
LAST DAY OF CLASSES
April 13:
Spring Holiday