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THE LIBERAL IMAGINATON EASTERN
NAZARENE
COLLEGE Students must
submit a total of
7, 1.5 to 2 page, double-spaced, typed responses to the Tues or Thurs
reading assignments. These 7 will be graded as
pass/fail. Students will also
write 3 short, 2-3 page book reviews of the supplemental
texts. These will be graded on a 1-100 scale.
SCHEDULE Set 1 Answer one question from each
section. Alan Wolfe, "Nobody Here But
Us Liberals,"� New York Times (CP) Selection from Lionel
Trilling, The Liberal Imagination (CP).
14. Why did Lionel Trilling write: "In the United States at this time liberalism is not only the dominant but the sole intellectual tradition"�?(ix) 15. What is the "sentiment"� of liberalism? How is literature political? 16. What is the "liberal imagination"�? THUR Feb 1: Rick
Perlstein, "What is Conservative
Culture?"� TNR (CP); selection from Patrick M. Garry, Liberalism and
American Identity (CP); Bill Moyers, "New Story for America,"� The
Nation (CP); "Notebook,"� TNR (CP). Set 2 Answer one from each section.
Section A Alan Brinkley, Liberalism and Its Discontents, preface, pgs ix-xii 1. Alan Brinkley writes, "Today liberalism stands in apparent disarray. . . ."� (x) How did that represent a shift from mid-century America? 2. What are some of the complaints that liberalism's foes bring against it? Why? Section B Rick Perlstein, "What is Conservative Culture?"� TNR (CP) 3. In Rick Perlstein's opinion, what sort of things did the writers at the National Review chose to ignore about the conservative tradition? Why? 4. What does Perlstein mean when he comments that conservatism is held together not by "its intellectual history but its cultural one"�? (2) 5. Is it true, as Perlstein argues, that conservatives are unified in their intense opposition to liberalism? Section C Selection from Patrick M. Garry, Liberalism and American Identity (CP) 6. In what sense was the founding of America a liberal cause? 7. Are there parallels between classical 19th century liberalism and 20th century liberalism? Some reviewers fault Patrick Garry for linking figures and movements to "liberalism"� that really do not fit. Is that a fair critique? 8. How did the New Deal, in Garry's view, fuse together earlier forms of liberalism? 9. Do you agree that Garry's three basic precepts on page 77 define American liberalism? Section D Bill Moyers, "New Story for America,"� The Nation (CP) 10. What does journalist, former Kennedy and Johnson aid Bill Moyers find so appalling about recent political developments? 11. Bill Moyers asserts, "America needs a different story."� What does he propose? 12. Why does Moyers cite Jared Diamond's work? Section E "Notebook,"� TNR (CP). 13. After reading the quotes selected in this piece, do you see a common thread? 14. What complaints did the editors of TNR level against the Vietnam War? WEEK 3 - LIBERAL
PROTESTANTISM AND PROGRESSIVISM Set 3 Answer one from each section.
Section A Selection from Sydney Ahlstrom, A Religious History of the American People (CP) 1. Describe the immediate social and intellectual background of liberal theology. 2. In what ways was Boston Unitarianism critical to the development of liberalism? 4. "Never since the scientific revolution completed by Newton,"� Ahlstrom writes, "had the humanistic and religious traditions of the West been confronted by a greater need for adjustment and reformulation"�(767). Many liberal theologians sought to resolve the conflict between science and religion. How did they do that? Were they successful? 5. In what sense was John Fiske, quoted on pages 770-71, an example of optimistic liberalism? How would later generations criticize such views? Section B 6. History and historical studies, Ahlstrom perceives, were fundamental to the liberal turn in theology and religious studies. How was that so? 7. What place did harmartiology, the doctrine of sin, have in liberal theologies? 8. What was the impact or larger significance of theological liberalism? 9. Was H. Richard Niebuhr's critique of liberalism fair?(784) Section C "Lyman Abbott Argues that Christianity and Evolutionary Theory are Compatible, 1892"� (CP) 10. In Lyman Abbot's view, how were Christianity and evolutionary theory compatible? 11. What does Abbot's argument reveal about his understanding of human history? Section D "George Herron Depicts Jesus as a Revolutionary Socialist"� (CP) 12. Why is it important to George Herron that Jesus be considered a political figure? What argument might be made against this view? Section E Walter Rauschenbusch, A Theology for the Social Gospel (CP). 13. Walter Rauschenbusch held that "Sin is not a private transaction between the sinner and God"�(48). Why did he insist on this point? 14. Why is sin "selfishness"� and why does that matter for Rauschenbusch? 15. Ahlstrom observes that quite a few liberal theologians thought of God as immanent (within the limits of experience and close to believers) rather than transcendent (beyond the limits of experience and independent of the material universe). What outlook did Rauschenbusch have on the matter?
Set 4 Answer one question from each
section. Section A Selection from Robert H.
Wiebe, The Search for Order (CP
WEEK 4 - PROGRESSIVISM;
LABOR; FRANKLIN, ELEANOR ROOSEVELT, AND THE NEW DEAL1. Robert Wiebe perceives a fundamental shift that took place in America around 1900. What changes occurred and how did those alter the social order? 2. How did classical liberalism respond to some of the key problems of the age? (136) 3. Wiebe cites Henry George, Edward Bellamy, and Washington Gladden as some of those who hoped to meet the challenges of the day. What did they propose? 4. Wiebe observes that some theorists "envisioned a day when men would miraculously step outside of history"�(144). Explain that statement. 5. Describe the "bureaucratic expertise"� that Wiebe writes about. How did its exponents cope with the crises of the era? Was this a form of positive liberalism? Section B Selection from John Patrick Diggins, The Rise and Fall of the American Left (CP) 6. John Patrick Diggins suggests that describing the left as composed of those who favor change "does not tell us very much"�(28). Why? 7. What have historians of the Left hoped to find in America's past? Does this describe most of the historical profession? 8. Diggins notes: "If the historical European Left . . . is to be defined as the attempt to realize "˜popular sovereignty,' the New Left in America may have to be defined as the attempt to realize the sovereignty of the unpopular."� Explain that statement. 9. Is the American Left best defined as a "tradition of dissent"�? Why or why not? 10. How might we best understand the 20th century American Left according to its generations? 11. Why has the Left tended to identify with the working class? Section C "Eugene V. Debs: Capitalism and Socialism."� 12. When Eugene V. Debs gave this speech in 1908 the unemployment rate in the US hovered around 8%. (Today it is roughly 4.5%. Mississippi has the highest: 7.5%. Massachusetts is slightly above the national average: 5%). What does Debs see as the solution to inequalities in America? 13. Debs opposes what he called the law of the jungle. What did he mean by that? 14. What sort of future did Debs imagine for America? What became of his dream? TUES Feb 13: Jane Addams, Ruth W. Messinger, Twenty Years at Hull-House. Choose one of the two questions below (A or B) if you intend to write a book review. Indicate at the top of the paper which question you are answering. A. Throughout Twenty Hears at Hull-House, Jane
Addams recalls what drew her to social work and the plight of the urban
poor. Describe the events, individuals, and movements that shaped
her. Why did she become a reformer? What did she hope to
accomplish?
B. What did Jane Addams learn from her twenty years at Hull-House? Offer clear examples and analyses. OR... Set 5: Further questions for in-class discussion. Answer one from each section. Section A
1. What did Addams learn from her father and her upbringing in Illinois? What was Addams like as a child? 2. Explain Abraham Lincoln's influence on Jane Addams. 3. Describe Addams' experience at Rockford Female Seminary. How did the environment and individuals she met there shape her? 4. What does Addams mean to convey in the title of chapter 4, "The Snare of Preparation"�? Section B 5. What did Addams learn from her European travels? 6. Describe some of the challenges Addams faced when she first organized Hull-House. How did she meet these? 7. What projects and programs did Hull-House implement? Were they successful? Did immigrants find it a welcoming environment? 8. According to Addams, what were the root causes of poverty in Chicago? How did she think these could be addressed? Section C 9. Professor of English James Hurt has written that Addams refused to "adopt any ideology"� and insisted "upon the primacy of direct unmediated experience"� (Hurt, "Introduction,"� Twenty Years at Hull House, U. Ill Press, 1990). In what ways was that so? Did she, in fact, have an ideology? 10. How did Addams rely on experts and scholars to deal with the problems of the day? Was that an effective startegy? 11. Describe Addams' treatment of immigrants. What did she think of their traditions, habits, and customs? How did she want to enrich their lives? 12. Summarize Addams' meeting with Leo Tolstoy. She had hoped he would tell her better understand the "tangled affairs of city poverty."� Did he? 13. After reading this work, what might be said about the connection between communal living and social activism? THUR Feb 15: Selection from Robert H. Zieger, The CIO,
1935-1955 (CP); Brinkley, Liberalism and Its Discontents, chpts 1 and
2, pgs 1-36. Set 6 Answer one from each section.
Section A Selection from Robert H.
Zieger, The CIO, 1935-1955 (CP) Section B Brinkley, Liberalism and Its
Discontents, chpts 1 and 2, pgs 1-36. 6. Did Roosevelt's disability
affect his political career? If so, how? 9. Brinkley notes: "Perhaps
Roosevelt's most important contributions to the nation's short-term
economic fortunes was to dispel the broad sense of panic. . . ."�
(20) Is that an accurate observation? Why or why not?
10. Explain the distinction Roosevelt's administration made between the "deserving"� and undeserving"� poor. Might such distinctions be made today? 11. How did the experience of WWI shape New Deal reformers? 12. Do you agree that "For all its limitations . . . the Roosevelt administration ranks among the most important in American history"�? (34) Clarify your answer with historical detail.
Set 7 Answer two from each section.
Section A Brinkley, Liberalism and Its Discontents, chpt 3 1. Was there a coherent vision to the New Deal? If so, what was it? 2. Explain the role Thurman Arnold played in Roosevelt's administration. 3. What were the "aggressively statist ideas of the new liberals"�? (46) Why did such views draw fire from critics? 4. What affect did World War II have on liberalism? Section B Brinkley, Liberalism and Its Discontents, chpt 4 5. Summarize V. O. Key's observations about the South in the late 1940s. 6. Why did the New Deal have a limited impact on the South? Could Roosevelt have altered this? 7. Brinkley notes that "the New Deal was even more effective in laying the groundwork for the Second Reconstruction,"� including desegregation and expanded civil rights in the 1960s. (76) Why?
Set 8 Answer one from two of the
sections and two from the remaining one. Section A
Brinkley, Liberalism and Its Discontents, chpt 5 1. According to Brinkley, what did liberals like Walter Lippman hope to see as a result of WWI? 2. Contrast the political legacies of WWI and WWII. 3. Brinkley writes, "The New Deal, in short, had helped teach liberals not only what the state could do, but what it could not do"� (87). Expand on that statement. 4. Why did liberals increasingly believe that consumption, not production, drove the economy? Why did it matter? Section B Brinkley, Liberalism and Its Discontents , chpt 6 5. "One legacy of World War II,"� Brinkley notes, "was the return of abundance, and with it the relegitimation of capitalism."� Explain what that might mean. 6. What impact did the war have on African Americans and the question of race in the U.S.? 7. In what sense did the war actually confirm more traditional expectations of women? 8. Brinkley observes that intellectuals in the postwar period became suspicious of the "masses."� Why? How did such suspicion/fear shape the work of historians and social commentators? Section C Brinkley, Liberalism and Its Discontents, chpt 7 9. What accounts for the widely varied interpretations of the interwar years? 10. In the Age of Roosevelt the historian Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., argued that American history was cyclical. Was that an accurate observation? 11. Explain some of historians' revisions on the decade of the 1920s. 12. How have recent historians branched out into new areas of research? Do current historians have a "progressive"� view of history? WEEK 6 - WORLD WAR
II; THE
COLD WAR AND CONSENSUS LIBERALISM Set 9 Answer one from each section. Section A
Brinkley, Liberalism and Its Discontents, selection from chpt 10, pgs164-177 1. What made the so-called "American establishment"� a coherent group? 2. Describe Henry Stimson's background. In what sense was he a part of the American elite? 3. Who did Stimson look to as his political mentors? Section B 4. In what ways would Stimson's Victorian morality affect his diplomatic career? Was that moral vision an asset or a liability? Selection from H. W. Brands, The Strange Death of American Liberalism (CP) 5. Brands writes that strangely enough "the Republican conquest of the White House in the 1952 election led not to a rollback of the New Deal but to the New Deal's entrenchment"� (67). Why? 6. How did the postwar atomic threat reshape liberalism? Section C 7. Eisenhower appointee General James Doolittle summarized the need for covert operations abroad: "If the United States is to survive, long-standing American concepts of "˜fair-play' must be reconsidered"� (72). How would that change America's international conduct? Is Doolittle's statement relevant for contemporary America? 8. Eisenhower believed in "liberalism-as-national-security argument"� (76). Explain what that meant. What were the results of that viewpoint? 9. Why did president Eisenhower ignore matters of race? Section D 10. To what degree did the Cold War make John Kennedy a liberal president? 11. Brands comments that "The Great Society marked the apogee of American liberalism"� (91). How so? How did LBJ's liberalism differ from the liberalism of his predecessors? 12. Why did Johnson remain so committed to American involvement in Vietnam?
Set 10 Answer one from each section
Section A Selection from John Patrick Diggins, ed., The Liberal Persuasion (CP) 1. What is the meaning of the term "vital center"�? Describe some of the themes or directions of Arthur Schlesinger, Jr's. writing. 2. What were Schlesinger's objections to Marxism and multiculturalism? 3. What is the "Tom Paine problem in American history"�? (7) 4. John Patrick Diggins and Michael Lind argue that "all of Schlesinger's books are inspired by great figures of thought or action. . . ."� (11) How is that? How might one critique this sort of history? Section B E. J. Dionne, Jr., "When the Religious Right Was Left,"� TNR (CP) 5. What does E. J. Dionne note as the "greatest victory of the religious right"�? Why? 6. According to Dionne, what are the "religious sources"� of American liberalism? 7. Describe the 1960s "rupture"� Dionne mentions. How did that "rupture"� change the American religious landscape? 8. What concluding critiques does Dionne offer concerning American liberalism? Are these legitimate? Section C H. Richard Niebuhr, "Theological Aftermath"� 9. What did H. Richard Niebuhr mean by the term "revelation"�? Why was the discussion of it problematic for him? 10. For Niebuhr, why must an understanding of revelation be "confessional"�? Paul Tillich, Systematic Theology (CP) 11. Why does Tillich call for a situational theology? What happens when "situation"� or "context"� is neglected? 12. Explain Tillich's view of "ultimate concern."� Section D Kevin Mattson, "Why We Should Be Reading Reinhold Niebuhr Now More Than Ever: Liberalism and the Future of American Political Thought,"� The Good Society (CP) 13. Why does Mattson think that Reinhold Niebuhr, Richard's brother, "provides the intellectual ammunition so desperately needed by the left today"�? (77) 14. How did Niebuhr's concept of "sin"� influence his political and social views? 15. In Niebuhr's understanding, how should Christianity inform foreign policy? 16. According to Mattson, why is Niebuhr important for liberals today? Choose one of the three
questions below (A, B, C, or D) if you intend to write a review of the
book.
A. What drew Will D. Campbell to the plight of minorities? What did other southerners think of him? What challenges to his work and ministry did he face? B. Throughout his autobiography, Will D. Campbell describes himself as a "white southern liberal."� What does that mean in context? C. Will D. Campbell observes that violence and hope often enveloped the civil rights movement. How was that? How critical are these two themes to his narrative D. The triumphs and tragedies of American history weigh heavy on Will D. Campbell's autobiography. Explain how history informs his account. Further questions for
in-class discussion will be added later. THUR March 8: First Exam - Studyguide for midterm
exam Set 11 Answer one from each section. Section A
Brinkley, Liberalism and Its Discontents, chpt 11, 210-221 1. What are the two contradictory legacies of JFK that Brinkley describes on page 211? How can both describe the same individual? 2. In the opinion of some historians, how does Kennedy's presidency stack up to others'? 3. Brinkley observes: "the historical John Kennedy . . . has proved almost irrelevant to the way people of the United States (and much of the rest of the world) remember him"� (212). Why? 4. What is the "counter-myth"� and the historical revisionism on the Kennedy presidency? Why have some scholars developed such views? Section B 5. Why does Brinkley write that "Kennedy's image of grace and accomplishment rested in part on a series of carefully crafted illusions and deceptions"�? (217) 6. To what degree was Kennedy "an embodiment of a particular moment in American history"�? (218) James T. Patterson, America's Struggle Against Poverty, 1900-1994 (CP) 7. How was poverty "rediscovered"� in the late 1950s and early 1960s? Why does historian James Patterson find that "ironic"�? 8. Early 1960s observers tended to link poverty to America's urban/ethnic communities. Why was that? How did experts explain that supposed connection? Section C 9. What did critics say about Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan's report on the black family? Do similar arguments divide social critics today? 10. Why did Newburgh, NY, City Manager Joseph Mitchell's welfare proposal gain so many supporters in these years? What assumptions did Mitchell and his allies have concerning poverty? 11. If polled today, do you think members of the American middle class would draw the same conclusions as those who were polled in the mid-1960s did? 12. Do 21st century Americans consider poverty one of the nation's most significant problems? In February 2006, John Edwards penned these lines in the Boston Globe: "One of the great disgraces of our country is that a vast new impoverished population has developed in our midst. These are the Americans who work -- in fact, they labor at the heart of the industries that drive our economy -- yet they still are unable to make ends meet, even as they work at two or three jobs."�* But will Americans go to the polls with such issues on their minds in the 2008 presidential election? Why or why not?
Set 12 Answer one from each section.
Section A Selections from The Portable Sixties Reader (CP) 1. "The first problem for all of us,"� feminist leader Gloria Steinem declared, "is not to learn but to unlearn"� (540). Explain. 2. Describe Steinem's points made from history. Do these examples lead to a sound argument? 3. Have Steinem's goals been met? 4. Why did Rachel Carson's Silent Spring mark a starting point for the modern environmentalist movement? Section B 5. What features do the selection from Carson's book and the excerpt from Peter Mathiessen's share? 6. Is the "concept of conservation"� a "far truer sign of civilization than that spoliation of a continent. . ."�? Why or why not? Brinkley, Liberalism and Its Discontents, chpt 12, pgs 222-236. 7. Brinkley, like John Patrick Diggins, notes the distinct generational component of the New Left. Why does that matter? 8. Who were the Schachtmanites? What influence did they have on political radicals? Section C: 9. Brinkley contends that radical pacifism "was perhaps best positioned ideologically to lead a revived left in the early 1960s. . . ."� (226) How was that so? 10. What does the emergence of the SDS tell us about the connections between the Old and New Left? 11. How did intellectuals like Herbert Marcuse and C. Wright Mills help shape the New Left? 12. What does Brinkley make of the "social and cultural changes"� student radicals demanded? (235) Why does Brinkley argue that New Lefties "drifted away from politics in their search for "˜self actualization'"�? (236)
Set 13 Answer one from each section.
Section A Selection from John Patrick Diggins, ed., The Liberal Persuasion (CP) 1. What does historian Leo Ribuffo mean by the term "Rafshoonery"�? How does that apply to President Carter? 2. Explain Carter's so-called "weirdo factor"�? How did this affect his presidency? 3. How did Carter break from New Deal, welfare-state liberalism? Provide examples. 4. Critics in the press often pointed out that Carter brooded and was indecisive. To what extent was that true? 5. Was there a "crisis of confidence"� in late 1970s America? How would that perception shape Carter's presidency? Section B 6. What is Carter's legacy, in Ribuffo's opinion? 7. Describe the traits, political and otherwise, that Ribuffo argues Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter shared. Brinkley, Liberalism and Its Discontents, chpt 16, pgs 277-297. 8. Why did consensus and New Left historians neglect American conservatism? 9. Brinkley notes that conservatism is a "broad range of ideas, impulses, and constituencies. . . ."� (281) Why has that made it a difficult movement to study? Section C 10. What were the "essentially liberal concerns that [Friedrich] Hayek raised"�? (284) Why did scholars dismiss Hayek and others like him? 11. In what sense does the rise of the right in the last forty years owe so much to the American West? 12. What were some of the lingering stereotypes concerning fundamentalism? How were those put to rest? 13. Brinkley describes a kind of failure of liberal "cosmopolitanism"� (295). What did that failure amount to and what would that mean for the new American right? Choose one of the three questions below (A, B, C, or D) if you intend to write a review of the book. Set 14 Answer all four. A. In Thomas Frank's view,
what is the matter with Kansas? Do you agree with him? Why
or why not?
B. In a June 2004 article in the New York Times, Josh Chafetz wrote: "if there's one thing Frank's book has plenty of, it's contempt. Kansans are described as 'deranged' and 'lunatic,' people who live in a 'dysfunctional' state. They 'revel in fantasies of their own marginality and persecution.' Evangelical Kansans are often aggressively pious individuals who can be expected to 'bark and howl and rebuke the world for its sins.'" Why does Thomas Frank have such a low estimation of conservative "values" Republicans? C. Read this excerpt from George F. Will's "Practicing the politics of materialism," The San Diego Union-Tribune, July 8, 2004. "It has come to this: The crux of the political left's complaint about Americans is that they are insufficiently materialistic. For a century, the left has largely failed to enact its agenda for redistributing wealth. What the left has achieved is a rich literature of disappointment, explaining the mystery, as the left sees it, of why most Americans are impervious to the left's appeal. An interesting addition to this canon is "What's the Matter with Kansas?: How Conservatives Won the Heart of America." Its author, Thomas Frank, argues that his native Kansas "“ like the nation, only more so "“ votes self-destructively, meaning conservatively, because social issues such as abortion distract it from economic self-interest, as the left understands that. . . . So, what's the matter with Kansas? Not much, other than it is has not measured up "“ down, actually "“ to the left's hope for a more materialistic politics." Do you agree with George Will's critique? Why or why not? D. Read this excerpt from Gary J. Andres, "What's the matter with Kansas?" Washington Times, August 31, 2006. "Unfortunately for Mr. Frank, while the notion that rural voters are rubes or dopes may play well in certain intellectual salons, it's nothing more than an urban myth. . . . Maybe the question rural voters are asking is: "What's the matter with the Democrats?" As the authors conclude in 'PS: Political Science and Politics': "The Democrats are not an attractive party for rural Americans . . . because many doubt whether typical Democratic economic positions fit with what they believe is true about themselves and the world. 'I always thought Toto was a Republican.'" Do you agree or disagree. Why?
Set 15 Answer one from each section.
Section A Tony Judt, "Europe vs. America,"� New York Review of Books, February 10, 2005 (CP) 1. Why does Tony Judt use coffee to reveal the European-American divide? 2. Describe some of the examples Judt gives regarding health care, labor, criminal justice, wealth distribution, and foreign aid. What is his perspective? 3. Judt writes that many conclude, "surely the one thing that American capitalism is good at . . . is the dynamic generation of wealth."� What counterevidence does he offer? 4. What are the dilemmas, challenges that Europe faces? How do those differ from the problems America faces now and will face in the future? 5. Judt notes that unlike Europe the United States "had no direct experience of the worst of the twentieth century"”and is thus regrettably immune to its lessons."� Unpack that statement. Section B Jonathan Cohn, "Neoliberal Utopia Awaits: Great Danes,"� The New Republic, January 2007 (CP) 6. In Jonathan Cohn's view, why do conservatives argue that the European welfare state is unsustainable and a failure? 7. What prompted government activism in Denmark? How has that country chartered a course quite unlike that of the US? 8. How does Denmark compare to America on poverty, healthcare, parental leave, unemployment, and the standard of living? 9. Cohn quotes Harvard economist Richard Freeman, who argues that ""˜High taxes don't hurt [by themselves]."� What does that mean? If that is true, why are US politicians and Americans so adamant about the matter? Section C William Tucker, Socialism in every City, The Weekly Standard, November 3, 2003 (CP) 10. In William Tucker's opinion, why is the living wage campaign harmful to America's cities and the American economy? 11. Why does Tucker think living wage advocates are ill-informed? Beth Shulman, "Working and Poor in the USA,"� The Nation, February 9, 2004 (CP). 12. How does Beth Shulman use the example of "Cynthia"� to illustrate her case? 13. According to Shulman, who are America's working poor? 14. What suggestions does Shulman make to counter the affects of poverty?
THUR April 5: Barbara Ehrenreich, Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in
America. Choose one of the the * questions below if you intend to write a review of the book. Set 14 Answer one from each section. Questions adapted from the Henry
Holt reading guide.
Section A *1. Were your perceptions of blue-collar Americans transformed or reinforced by Nickel and Dimed? Have your notions of poverty and prosperity changed since reading the book? 2. How do booming national and international chains "restaurants, hotels, retail outlets, cleaning services, and elder-care facilities" affect the treatment and aspirations of low-wage workers? *3. Housing costs pose the greatest obstacle for low-wage workers. How was that the case for those individuals Ehrenreich describes? Should the government do anything to rectify this situation? Why or why not. 4. While working for The Maids, Ehrenreich hears Ted claim that he's "not a bad guy . . . and cares a lot about his girls." How do the assumptions of supervisors such as Ted affect their employees? How does Ted compare to Ehrenreich's other bosses? Section B *5. Ehrenreich is white and middle class. She asserts that her experience would have been radically different had she been a person of color or a single parent. Do you think discrimination shaped Ehrenreich's story? In what ways? 6. Ehrenreich experienced remarkable goodwill, generosity, and solidarity among her colleagues. Is this surprising? 7. Why are low-wage workers reluctant to form labor organizations as Ehrenreich discovered at Wal-Mart? How might employees improve their working conditions? 8. Many campus and advocacy groups are currently involved in struggles for a "living wage." How should a living wage be calculated? Section C *9. Ehrenreich concluded that had her working life been spent in a Wal-Mart-like environment, she would have emerged a different person"”meaner, pettier, "Barb" instead of "Barbara." Does an individual's vocation have much to do with personality and character development? 10. The workers in Nickel and Dimed receive almost no benefits"”no overtime pay, no retirement funds, and no health insurance. Is this fair? Would an increase in salary redress the lack of benefits, or is this a completely separate problem? 11. Many of Ehrenreich's colleagues relied heavily on family"”for housing and help with child-care, by sharing appliances and dividing up the cooking, shopping, and cleaning. Do Americans make excessive demands on the family unit rather than calling for the government to help those in need? *12. After reading Nickel and Dimed, do you think that having a job" any job"”is better than no job at all? Did this book make you feel angry? Better informed? Relieved that someone has finally described your experience? Galvanized to do something? WEEK 12 - IDENTITY
POLITICS; RELIGION Set 15 Answer questions from each
section.
Section A Selection from Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., The Disuniting of America (CP) 1. Schlesinger's book hit the shelves in 1992. What global forces of change did he think threatened national and international unity? Why? Was he right? 2. How does Schlesinger answer his question: "What is it then that, in the absence of a common ethnic origin, has held Americans together over two turbulent centuries?"� (11) 3. Is Schlesinger's argument reminiscent of mid-century consensus liberalism? Why or why not? Section B 4. What does he mean by this statement: "The escape from origins yields to the search for roots"�? (15) 5. Why does the "cult of ethnicity,"� in Schlesinger's view, have negative results? 6. Writing in The Nation, historian Paul Buhle observed: "The doughty students of the Junior Schlesinger generation cling to the old narrative because it gave an absolute meaning to America, the one perfectible nation. But the old certainties are gone, and not likely to come back--least of all in minimizing the baneful consequences of the nation's racist past. . . . The vital center may still be successfully holding off the infidels within the Democratic Party and marginalizing movements further to the left. But it isn't vital anymore, in history or in politics." Is that a good critique of Schlesinger? Section C Christopher Caldwell, "Affirmative Distraction,"� New York Times, December 24, 2006 (CP). 7. Why is race not important to Walter Benn Michaels, author of The Trouble with Diversity? 8. Are there parallels between the work of Michaels and Thomas Frank? What critique might be made of Michaels?
Set 16 Summarize the reading for
Thursday in two, typed pages. Turn in summaries on April 24.
Set 17 Answer one from each section.
Section A 1. Is the issue of race the ultimate test of American liberalism? Why or why not? 2. In general, what impact did World War II have on race relations in the US? How might one argue that the war politicized blacks and marked the starting point of the civil rights movement? 3. During the Cold War conservative southerners opposed civil rights activists on a number of fronts. How and why did these critics do so? Section B 4. Was Brown v. Board of Education a "liberal"� decision? Explain. 5. William Chafe writes that when the sit-in protests began they "represented the crystallization of social forces already in place"� (169). What does he mean? 6. Does Chafe have a positive or negative view of John Kennedy on the race issue? How does Chafe's perspective differ from that of other scholars we've read in the class? Section C 7. Chafe writes that race "remained a reality within American society that the liberal tradition could accommodate, at best, only partially"� (175). Is that an accurate assessment? Explain. 8. What are the two events in the 1990s that Chafe thinks still point to the continued relevance of race? Does race still matter? Why or why not? THUR April 26: Jonathan Kozol, The Shame of the Nation:
The Restoration of Apartheid Schooling in America. Choose one of the the * questions below if you intend to write a review of the book. Set 18 Answer one from each section.
Section A 1. How and why did Jonathan Kozol first become interested in educational inequality? *2. How does Kozol construct his argument in Shame of the Nation? What sources does he use? Why? Is it a strong thesis? 3.What is the meaning of Kozol's chapter title, "Dishonoring the Dead"�? What trends does he see in public education since the Brown v. Topeka Board of Education Decision? *4. Discuss the conditions of the schools Kozol visits. What accounts for the state many are in? What could be done about it? Section B *5. How have education reformers and politicians tried to cope with the problems of America's schools? Have they been successful? 6. In chapter 2 Kozol recounts the many times he has heard critics remark: "Can you really buy your way to better education for these children?"� (57) How does he respond to that? What does he find particularly ironic about such statements? 7. Explain the "Taylorist"� or "Skinnerian"� system education strategists have implemented in recent years. Why have they done so? How does Kozol appraise these techniques? Section C 8. In chapter 4, "Preparing Minds for Markets,"� Kozol examines the limits that schools place on low-income children. How does he analyze this phenomenon? 9. How do majority-white and majority-black schools differ in New York City? Compare the resources white and black students have at their disposal. Why did some parents from the predominantly white district of East Meadow not want to integrate their schools? 10. What are some of the "resistance strategies"� Kozol describes in chapter 9? What purposes do these serve? *11. Does Kozol find much that is encouraging about the American educational system? If so, what is it? In his final analysis, what roles do teachers in these schools play? WEEK 15 - THE FUTURE OF LIBERALISM TUES May 1: In class presentations. No reading
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