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

Do either question 1 or Question 2

(For extra Credit do them both)

The famous statue, The Thinker. (nudity not required)  IF thinking alone doesn't work, click the picture for additional resources.

Due:  Thursday, March 23

Submit by Bridges

Remember if you have a MAC, I cannot open .Pages files. Submit as .doc, .docx, or .pdf

Length:  Five pages in 10 point type.  I’ll read more quite happily.

Question One:

• USING THE DOCUMENTS ASSIGNED FROM THE CORE CANON, plus any links on the pages of the Website, plus your own thoughts and ideas, write a reflective essay responding to this question:
  

Is it possible to believe in Democracy if one doesn’t also believe in Reason (critical thinking)? What should one do if one’s reason disagrees with certain laws or policies of the government of the country in which one is a citizen? Why is access to knowledge (Freedom of the Press) necessary to reason confidently?  Include these ideas, but in the order which makes most sense to you.

Use These Documents:

• Cicero on the Laws (Marcus Tullius Cicero)
  

• Democracy and Despotism (Euripides, from The Suppliants)
  

• Government by the Middle Class (Aristotle)
  

• Areopagitica, John Milton (1644)  (Note the Subtitle: For the Liberty of UNLICENC'D PRINTING,)
  

.Question Two:

• USING THE DOCUMENTS ASSIGNED FROM THE CORE CANON, plus any links on the pages of the Website, plus your own thoughts and ideas, write a reflective essay responding to this question:
  

Is Toleration crucial if a Democracy is to function properly?  What arguments do people make against toleration? What are the best arguments for toleration?  Considering the last year or so, what is the state of  toleration in the United States?  What forms of "persecution" are taking taking place now?

Use These Documents:

• Roger Williams' Letter to the Town of Providence
  

• Letter Concerning Toleration, John Locke  (1689
  

• The Bloudy Tenent of Persecution by Roger Williams
  

• The Simple Cobbler of Aggawam by Nathaniel Ward, writing as Theodore de la Guard
  

• A Model of Christian Charity (John Winthrop  Aboard the ship, The Arabella, 1630)
  

• Feel free to use materials from the speeches of outgoing President Obama and Incoming President Trump,  You'll find them here.  You may also use news from online news stories, provided you can find them in two reliable resources.  (Finding them twice makes the sources a bit more reliable).