OKLAHOMA STATE UNIVERSITY

PHIL 3920       Early American Philosophy

Fall 2003        Professor John Shook

Course Description     This course examines dominant movements and prominent figures in American philosophy during 1620-1865: Puritan theology and social thought; the impact of the Enlightenment and the Great Awakening; the development of a federal constitution; the clashes between Calvinism, Unitarianism, Common-sense realism, and transcendentalism; and the abolition movement. Figures we will study include: Winthrop, Williams, Hutchinson, Edwards, Cotton Mather, Ben Franklin, Witherspoon, John Adams, Jefferson, Madison, Emerson, Thoreau, Walt Whitman, Garrison, Theodore Parker, Margaret Fuller, Sojourner Truth, and Frederick Douglass.

Course Objectives        Students will observe the origin and development of special conflict themes in American philosophy, relevant to the social/political changes from precarious settlements to prosperous colonies to federated republic. Among these themes are: worldly prosperity vs. heavenly salvation, church control vs. individual freedom, citizenship rights vs. exclusion of women/minorities, liberalism vs. communitarianism, methods of authority vs. personal experience, and agrarian values vs. urban values. In essay exams and papers the student will explain and contrast the philosophical positions and arguments surrounding these themes, and will show how these views and themes are still energizing contemporary American life.

Required Texts 

          Cotton Mather, The Christian Philosopher (Illinois)
          Jonathan Edwards, A Jonathan Edwards Reader, 2^nd ed. and Collected Sermons (Yale UP)
          Benjamin Franklin, Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin and Other Writings (Penguin)
          Sandoz, ed., Political Sermons of the American Founding Era, 1730-1805 (Liberty Fund)
          The Federalist Papers and The Anti-Federalist Papers (NAL Mentor Series)
          Ralph Waldo Emerson, Emerson’s Poetry and Prose (Norton Critical Edition)  
          Henry David Thoreau, Walden and Civil Disobedience (Houghton Mifflin)
          Scott Pratt, Native Pragmatism (Indiana)
          Plus handouts of other figures  

Website                 My Timeline of American Thought website has links to many assigned and optional readings.

Requirements        Your grade will be based on two exams, one term paper, 4 brief essays, and participation in class.

Final Grade:              800-720 = A      719-640 = B     639-560 = C     559-480 = D     479-0 = F 

Regulations              Attendance will be recorded for nearly every class.  Poor attendance will naturally cause you to receive a poor participation grade.  Plagiarism, cheating, or any other academic dishonesty will not be tolerated and will be punished to the appropriate extent.  In accordance with Academic Regulation 6.2, an incomplete grade will be available only if (a) you have completed a majority of the course requirements with a grade of D or better, and (b) unavoidable circumstances (a serious medical condition, family emergency, etc.) prevent you from completing the requirements by the end of the semester.  This course will not offer any opportunity for “extra credit” or re-taking tests.

Disability Accommodations       In compliance with Oklahoma State University policy and equal access laws, I am available to discuss appropriate academic accommodations that you may require as a student with a disability. Students must register with the Student Disability Services office (Michael Shuttic, 326 Student Union, 744-7116) for disability verification, determination of reasonable academic accommodation, and to get information about specific policies and procedures surrounding academic adjustments at OSU. I will gladly comply with those accommodations which are recommended for you by the Student Disability Services.

Office Hours              T-TH 12-2pm; and by appointment.  Location: 206 Hanner Hall.  Phone: 744-9231.  Messages and materials can be placed in my mailbox, which is located across the hall from my office. My webpage, which offers links to course syllabi, is at http://philosophy.okstate.edu/shook.htm