Enlightenment? Cultures and Ideas of Knowledge in the Eighteenth Century
Rebecca Spang
Hutton Honors College
The 1700s in European history are sometimes called an “Age of Enlightenment” or “The Age of Reason” and a handful of well-known writers (Montesquieu, Voltaire, Kant etc.) are treated as human embodiments of the period. In this course, we will read those authors but also many others as we think about the _varieties of knowledge _produced in (and about) the eighteenth century. Remember, this was an era before electric lighting, before wood-pulp paper, and (in most places) before mass literacy. What did writing, reading, and exchanging ideas look like in the eighteenth century and where and when did people do these things? How did writers in Europe know about other parts of the world, what did they know, and to what extent does that “knowledge” continue to shape our lives today? Do readers’ reactions to a piece of writing change with time and place?
Readings will include eighteenth-century materials (primary sources) as well as recent works of interpretation and analysis (secondary sources). No prior study of the time or place is assumed, but all students are expected to work hard and be open to new ideas. Students should be prepared to present their own ideas and engage in constructive conversation. Final grades will be based on class preparation and participation (including reading reports and discussion-board posts), 45%; two papers (4-5 pages), 15% each; and a final project-presentation, 25%. You must submit at least three reading reports (out of 4) and five discussion boards (out of 8) to pass the course.
Catalog Information: HON-H 234 LITERATURE OF TIME AND PLACE