Core 102History and the Modern World

Challenges of Democracy

Roger Williams University  GHH 108

Section 02 LLC T, TH   12:30 PM-1:50 PM

Spring Semester, 2017

Michael R. H. Swanson, Ph. D.

Office: GHH 215

Hours:  M, 12:00-1:00

T, Th,  9:30 - 10:20  Or By Appointment

Phone:  ext 3230

E-mail:  mswanson@rwu.edu

Challenges of Democracy

For Tuesday, May 9

Download, and Read, Markup, and and write reflections  for your Dropbox on

The Charter for Compassion   November 12, 2009

For the last day, I've chosen the shortest document in the Core Canon.  If you've been by my office, you've seen it posted to my buletin board, It seems a logical followup to Locke on Toleration and Winthrop's A Model of Christian Charity.

"The future is not some place we are going, but one we are creating.

The paths are not to be found, but made.  And the activity of making them changes both the maker and their destination."

~ Johnn Schaar

We'll spend a bit of the class talking together about the Letter from 8 Clergmen

and the Letter from Birmingham Jail then on to...

On the left, you'll see the Charter for Compassion, read by a diverse group of people, perhaps as diverse as any you're like to see in a video this short.  Watch it a couple of times, and then, before you drop your marked up copy into your dropbox, write a comment about the strategy behing the presentation.  Is it a good strategy?  What do you think?  The Website for the Charter is here.  The charter also has a facebook page.  Click here to find it.

Some of you may have heard of TED.  "TED is a nonprofit devoted to spreading ideas, usually in the form of short, powerful talks (18 minutes or less). TED began in 1984 as a conference where Technology, Entertainment and Design converged, and today covers almost all topics — from science to business to global issues — in more than 100 languages. Meanwhile, independently run TEDx events help share ideas in communities around the world." The video on the right is a Ted Talk given by Karen Armstrong, the force behind the Charter.

Our Mission: Spread ideas

TED is a global community, welcoming people from every discipline and culture who seek a deeper understanding of the world. We believe passionately in the power of ideas to change attitudes, lives and, ultimately, the world. On TED.com, we're building a clearinghouse of free knowledge from the world's most inspired thinkers — and a community of curious souls to engage with ideas and each other, both online and at TED and TEDx events around the world, all year long.