Core 102

Roger Williams University

Section 01 LLC

GHH 106

TTH 12:30 - 1:50

Fall Semester, 2016

Michael R. H. Swanson, Ph. D.

Office: GHH 215

Hours: Hours:  M,  12:00-1:00

T-Th 9:30-10:50 or by Appointment

Phone:  ext 3230

E-mail:  mswanson@rwu.edu

For Tuesday,  December 6

For  Thursday, December 8

The Idea of Democracy

Download, Read, Mark Up, and Add to your Dropbox,

This being the last day of class,  I want to thank you all for being my students in this class.  I know how some of you feel about "required" classes in subjects in which you have no interest.  I felt the same way as an undergraduate more than fifty years ago.  My least favorite classes were German and Statistics.  I hope this class will not wind up on your "least favorite" list, and that you found at least some of the topics we covered interesting and/or useful.  Next semester I'm teaching as course called "Class and Culture".  It has prerequisites, but if you don't have them I will be happy to sign you in if the topic interests you.  You can see earlier versions of the syllabi at http://mysyllabi.homestead.com.   Remember that my classes are not the same every time I offer them.

• Brown v. the Board of Education of Topeka Kansas.  (Unanimous decision of the Supreme Court of the United States, written by Chief Justice Earl Warren) 1954
  

• Statement by Alabama Clergymen 1963
  

• Letter from Birmingham Jail (Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King) (1963)
  

Step ONE

• Compare/contrast Plessy v. Fergusson with Brown v. The Board of Education.  Do you see any relationship between the majority or minority decision of Plessy and the unanimous situation of Brown?  If you do, mark the similarities up. 
  

• Some have said that one of the judges in Plessy v. Ferguson was almost like a tenth member of the Earl Warren Court.  Can you recognize which one? 
  

• Are there some new arguments used by the Warren Court?  Do they draw upon a relatively new discipline in the social sciences?  (Some of you may be planning on choosing it for your major or minor).  IF you find such arguments, highlight them.
  

Step TWO

• Notice the time differential between the Brown decision and both the Statement of the Alabama Clergymen and MLK's letter. 
  

• Read the Statement by Alabama Clergymen first.  It is the shorter document and it became the occasion for the more famous Letter from Birmingham Jail. 
  

• As you read the document, identify the principal assertions made by this group of clergymen, identifying each by either a number or letter, whichever you prefer.
  

Step Three

• Read Letter from the Birmingham Jail.
  

• Any place you notice a similarity to the clergy Statement, place a cf in the margin by it.  For example, if you locate a similarity to assertion 1,  place cf 1 in the margin.
  

Step Four

.Are you convinced by Dr. King's argument? argument?  Why or why not?  Write about this in a final sticky note.  If you also have thoughts comparing the situation over 50  years ago with the situation in the United States today, write a sticky note about that, as well.

Above is the famous "Segregation Now, Segregation Forever" Speech of Governor George Wallace of Alabama--also 1963.  To read the speech, Click Here

The Charter of Compassion

The principle of compassion lies at the heart of all religious, ethical and spiritual traditions, calling us always to treat all others as we wish to be treated ourselves. Compassion impels us to work tirelessly to alleviate the suffering of our fellow creatures, to dethrone ourselves from the centre of our world and put another there, and to honour the inviolable sanctity of every single human being, treating everybody, without exception, with absolute justice, equity and respect.

It is also necessary in both public and private life to refrain consistently and empathically from inflicting pain. To act or speak violently out of spite, chauvinism, or self-interest, to impoverish, exploit or deny basic rights to anybody, and to incite hatred by denigrating others—even our enemies—is a denial of our common humanity. We acknowledge that we have failed to live compassionately and that some have even increased the sum of human misery in the name of religion.

We therefore call upon all men and women ~ to restore compassion to the centre of morality and religion ~ to return to the ancient principle that any interpretation of scripture that breeds violence, hatred or disdain is illegitimate ~ to ensure that youth are given accurate and respectful information about other traditions, religions and cultures ~ to encourage a positive appreciation of cultural and religious diversity ~ to cultivate an informed empathy with the suffering of all human beings—even those regarded as enemies.

We urgently need to make compassion a clear, luminous and dynamic force in our polarized world. Rooted in a principled determination to transcend selfishness, compassion can break down political, dogmatic, ideological and religious boundaries. Born of our deep interdependence, compassion is essential to human relationships and to a fulfilled humanity. It is the path to enlightenment, and indispensible to the creation of a just economy and a peaceful global community.

The Charter for Compassion was announced November 12, 2009.  Since then, 102,680  individuals have affirmed a belief in the charter’s principles.  Any one in this class who would wish to do so can do so at the Charter’s website.    The Charter was produced by a collaboration of dozens of organizations representing many faiths and avenues of thought.  Links to many of them are on the website.

I will be showing a video from the PBS Serious Eyes on the Prize :  American's Civil Rights Years, 1954 - 1965, which will relate to the readings for Tuesday's class.  And, as I have done for many years, I will introduce you to one very brief document.  We’ll read it and we’ll look at it recited. 

The document is entitled