1
PROFESSOR PHYLLIS MACK
pmack@rci.rutgers.edu
VAN DYCK 224
OFFICE HOUR: WED 1:30-2:30
AND BY APPOINTMENT
HISTORY SEMINAR 506:402
THE ENLIGHTENMENT
The Enlightenment, which had its roots in the seventeenth century and came to full
flower in the eighteenth, was many things: a new way of looking at the world and
humanity’s place in it, a movement away from a worldview centered on Christian
doctrine and institutions, and an explosion of communication in print, music, literature,
and the visual arts. Modern ideas about individual freedom and privacy, human nature
and sexuality, gender relations, world capitalism, democracy, and secularization all had
their roots in Enlightenment ideas. This course will explore some of these ideas and their
relevance in contemporary society and thought.
GRADING: Informed class participation
Class presentation of project
Final paper
40%
10%
50%
REQUIRED BOOKS (available at the Barnes and Noble bookstore in Ferren Mall):
Margaret C. Jacob, The Enlightenment: A Brief History with Documents
Isaac Kramnick, ed., The Portable Enlightenment Reader
Voltaire, Candide
Additional readings are listed with an * and can be downloaded.
SCHEDULE OF CLASSES
Jan. 19
Introduction. What was the Enlightenment and why does it matter? “
Dumarsais, “Definition of a Philosophe”. Movie excerpt, “Amadeus”
Jan. 26
The Enlightenment temperament: coffee houses and consumers, ridicule
and satire. What is a philosophe?
READING: Voltaire, Candide
*Jonathan Swift’s “A Modest Proposal.”
Feb. 2
The attack on religion and the celebration of reason and science. How
important was religion in the Enlightenment?
READING: *Voltaire, “On the Pensees of M. Pascal”
Kramnick, pp. 73-74, 109-40, 155-60, 166-67, 174-80
2
Feb. 9
The nature of human nature. Movie, “The Wild Child”
READING: Jacob, 161-76
Kramnick, pp. 195-209, 255-56, 629-49, 657-69
Feb. 16
The social individual, society, commerce, history.
READING: Kramnick, pp. 281-87, 306-14, 359-61, 363-69, 483-96
Feb. 23
Education.
READING: Jacob, pp. 73-93, 156-59
Kramnick, pp. 17-21, 229-35
Mar. 1
Manners, morals, sex. Movie, “Barry Lyndon”
READING: Kramnick, pp. 23-24, 81-90, 242-54, 257-74
Benjamin Franklin, Autobiography
Mar. 8
Government, politics, progress
READING: Jacob, pp. 56-59, 177-208
Kramnick, pp. 1-7, 26-38, 369-78, 387-95, 416-30, 448-52, 466-72
Mar. 15
SPRING BREAK
Mar. 22
Crime and punishment. Fantasies of power. Movie, “Dangerous Liaisons”
READING: Kramnick, 525-46
*Marquis de Sade, “Philosophy in the Bedroom”
Mar 29
The Enlightenment and Gender: Feminism
READING: Jacob, pp. 137-56
Kramnick, pp. 560-628
Apr. 5
Individual conferences.
Apr. 12
Presentations (hand in outlines and summaries).
Apr. 19
Presentations (hand in outlines and summaries).
Apr. 26
Presentations and discussion: The end of the Enlightenment (!?).
3
FINAL PAPERS ARE DUE IN MY OFFICE BY NOON ON DEC. 15
Current academic integrity policy: http://academicintegrity.rutgers.edu/integrity.shtml
Consult Don't Plagiarize: Document Your Research! For tips about how to take notes so
that you don't plagiarize by accident:
http://www.libraries.rutgers.edu/rul/lib_instruct/instruct_document.shtml