Core 102
The Idea of Democracy
Roger Williams University
Section 05 LLC TTH 12:30AM 01:50AM GHH 106
Section 02 ELI  T-F   02:00PM  03:20PM  GHH 105
Fall  Semester, 2015
Michael R. H. Swanson, Ph. D.
Office: GHH 215
Hours: M 2:00-3:20  T & Th: 11:00-12:00 Or By Appointment
Phone:  ext 3230
E-mail:  mswanson@rwu.edu
For Tuesday, September 8

Download and read, from The Core Canon
Second Inaugural Address, George W. Bush (Jan. 20, 2005)

Put your Kaplan document where you can see it easily, as today we’re going to put these first two documents, written only eight years apart, side-by-side for the purposes of comparison. You will want to use your marked up edition as you mark up Bush. Some of the differences you will note arise from the different occasions which caused them to come into being.  Inaugural Addresses occur on ceremonial occasions, full of pomp and circumstances.  Certain sentiments become obligatory on such occasions. 

Yet each document also reflects ideas and sentiments of the writer/speaker.  What I want you to do is this:

Welcome Back from the long weekend.  Europe celebrated Labor Day on May First every year. There were many unions parading in the streets of cities.  The United States decided to celebrate Labor Day on the Monday in September, as the business community was not unfriendly with Unions.  Click on the pictures above to learn more.  Each connects to a different web page.
Watch the video of the Bush Inaugural AFTER you've read the speech.  Compare your reactions to teach.  Think about the effects of facial expression, gestures, tone of voice, and accent, as well as indications of crowd reactions (where does he get applause? and where is the applause a little weak?)  We'll be thinking about the importance of "rhetoric" in shaping opinions later in the semester.
Puzzle image courtesy of National Democratic Institute.  Click to visit its website.
If you feel interested in this topic and want to learn more, click on the banner above
Download and read, from The Core Canon,
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
As you mark up your document to add to your dropbox I want you to do these three things.



Good questions
A.Cannot be answered “yes or no”.
B.Cannot be answered by simply searching through the
        document and copying.
C.Require some thought and analysis to formulate an
         answer:  for example, a good question may require
  discussing alternative possibilities and the merits or failings these alternatives.
DO NOT ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS.  JUST FORMULATE THEM

Put them in a final sticky-note at the bottom of your .pdf file before you put it in your drop box.
There are many different points of view concerning the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and indeed, the concept of human rights in general.  The two videos above will give you some sense of this.  To see even more, click on the button below.
For Thursday,  September 10(Friday, September 11)