Core 2 - The Modern World
Core 2 is a study of the evolution of the modern world. Specifically, the course explores how science, religion, political thought, and innovative thinkers shaped history and world views since the 17th century.
Core 2 Faculty
- Brian Capouch - Computer Science
- Angela Elrod-Sadler - Core
- Fr. Philip Gilbert - Mathematics
- Roger Olson - Mathematics
- Chad Pulver - Psychology (Director Core 2)
- Robert Reuter - Philosophy & Religion
- Matt Schaefer - Core
- Michael Wisma - Business Administration
- Paul Yuckman - Core
Core 2 Required Texts
- Core 2 Reader: The Modern World - A number of the selected readings are reprinted with the permission from Pearson Education, Inc: Behrens, L. & Rosen, L. J. (1988). Theme and variations: The impact of great ideas. Scott Foresman and Company: Glenview, IL.
- Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass - Frederick Douglass
- What They Fought For - McPherson, James M.
- The Communist Manifesto - Marx, Karl
- Frankenstein - Shelley, Mary
- Metamorphosis - Kafka, Franz
- Candide - Voltaire
- The American Revolution - Wood, Gordon S.
- Room of One's Own - Woolf, Virginia
- Recommended: The Everyday Writer: A Brief Reference - Lunsford and Connors
Core 2 Writing Program
- Each student will write a minimum of 20 pages. Each student must complete a final research paper with bibliography or annotated bibliography. The sources for this paper must be varied with limited internet sources.
- Core 2 emphasizes argumentative and analytical writing. Therefore, the Core 2 faculty will select their writing assignments from the following list: position paper, analytical response paper, compare and contrast paper, summary paper, or satire paper.
- The faculty will emphasize certain skills germane to analytical, argumentative, and research writing: thesis statements, essay structure, use and integration of quotations, proper documentation, and summary and paraphrasing. This is in addition to the usual expectations concerning proper grammatical structure.
Collegial Agreements
Each of the faculty of Core 2 agrees to:
- Give a final exam that will include a comprehensive essay component.
- Frequently assess students over assigned readings and lectures.
- Teach the research paper as process, giving students papers and exercises that build research and research writing skills.
Lecture and Reading Schedule
| Date | Lecture | Required Reading |
|---|---|---|
| 1-6 | Chad Pulver Introducing Core 2: The Modern World |
None |
| 1-8 | Jennifer Coy The Scientific Revolution |
Scientific Revolution Core 2 Reader (pp. 5-40) |
| 1-13 | William Stang Faith and Reason: The Trial of Galileo |
Scientific Revolution Core 2 Reader (pp. 5-40) |
| 1-15 | Michael Malone The Political Thought of Thomas Hobbes |
Thomas Hobbes Leviathan (1651) |
| 1-20 | TBA Locke's New Social Contract |
John Locke Second Treatise of Government (1690) |
| 1-22 | TBA Adam Smith's Laissez Faire Economics |
Adam Smith The Wisdom of Adam Smith |
| 1-27 | John Rahe Sature and Comedy |
Candide (Ch. 1-15) |
| 1-29 | Michael Malone Rethinking the Divine: Deism and the New View of God |
Candide (Ch. 16-30) |
| 2-3 | Brian Capouch | Wikipedia selection Colonization |
| 2-5 | Therese Yanan | Wikipedia selection Native Americans |
| 2-10 | Michael Wisma The New World was Ripe for Revolution |
Gordon Wood The American Revolution (pp. 3-44) |
| 2-12 | Video - Rebels & Redcoats: How the British Lost America | Gordon Wood The American Revolution (pp. 45-109) |
| 2-17 | Ilicia Sprey Global Revolutionary Acts |
Gordon Wood The American Revolution (pp. 110-166) |
| 2-19 | Robert Reuter Slavery and Dehumanization |
Narrative Life of Frederick Douglass Ch. I-VII |
| 2-24 | John Rahe Performance of Spirituals |
Narrative Life of Frederick Douglass Ch. IV-XI |
| 2-26 | Rob Reuter On Civil Disobedience |
Henry David Thoreau Civil Disobedience Core 2 Reader |
| Spring Break | ||
| 3-10 | Michael Malone Prelude to the Civil War |
What They Fought For (Ch. 1-2) |
| 3-12 | Chad Pulver The American Civil War |
What They Fought For (Ch. 3-end) |
| 3-17 | Eric Hall The Context of the Industrial Revolution |
Frankenstein 1818 (Volume I) |
| 3-19 | Paul Yuckman Themes and Symbols |
Frankenstein (Volume II) |
| 3-24 | Roger Olson The Role of Energy in the Industrial Revolution |
Frankenstein (Volume III) |
| 3-26 | John Rahe Worker's Revolution |
Karl Marx The Communist Manifesto |
| 4-2 | Robert Brodman Charles Darwin and the Survival of the Fittest |
Charles Darwin Natural Selection: Or the Survival of the Fittest (1859) |
| 4-7 | TBA The Rise of Social Darwinism |
William Graham Sumner That it is not Wicked to be Rich |
| 4-9 | Michael Malone Analyzing The Metamorphosis: Alienation and the Modern World |
Franz Kafka Metamorphosis |
| 4-14 | Chad Pulver A Tale of Two Freuds |
Freud The Mind and Its Workings |
| 4-16 | Robert Reuter Faith and A Scientific Response |
None |
| 4-21 | Film Jesus Camp |
Viewing Monday 4/20 @ 6:30 PM Viewing Tuesday 4/21 @ 6:30 PM |
| 4-23 | Conclusion | |
Core 2 Internet Sources (links checked 05/09)
Here are a number of internet sources that maybe helpful to students in Core 2. Students should be critical in the use of these sources -- almost anything can be found on the internet.
- Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL) - A very good source for assistance in writing. Definitely worth a look.
- People of Ideas - This site contains information about some of the individuals you will be studying during the Enlightenment, and 19th Century.
- Internet Modern History: The Enlightenment - This site is located at the Department of History at Fordham University. There are links to numerous primary source materials from Enlightenment thinkers and a other information about the Enlightenment.
- The Avalon Project - Yale University - A great source for historical documents from the pre-18th Century to the 20th Century. This is a good place for primary source materials.
- Cultural Readings: Colonization & Print in the Americas - A great site from the University of Pennsylvania with lots of images and information on the "new world."
- History Online - Lots of information at this site.
- Archiving Early America - Site of the Early American Review, a journal of fact and opinion on the people, issues and events of eighteenth century America.
- America Civil War - A rather interesting site with some links for photos, battle and timelines.
- The Valley of the Shadow - A site from the university of Virginia, comparing a northern and southern town and various attitudes about the Civil War. Some very interesting information at this site.
- Women in America - Provides some views of women travelers from foreign lands on the lives of American women between the years 1820-42.
- Sigmund Freud - Here you can find out a little more about Freud, including sites with images of Freud.
- America Indian Studies - Lots of good links on this site.
- Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley Chronology & Resource Site - A good site with a number of resources.
