Course Description:
 During this summer’s Democratic National Convention, in the latest installment of political stone throwing that dates back to the ’96 conventions, Hillary Clinton asserted that “I still believe it takes a village to raise a child.”  This was in response to comments directed against her at the ’96 Republican convention, where then Republican candidate
Bob Dole -- in what was a direct slap at Mrs. Clinton, in reference to a book she had pub-lished (It Takes a Village) -- made the claim that it does not "take a village" to raise a child, but it takes a family.  In her addresses to both Democratic Conventions, Mrs. Clinton responded that in fact it really takes a network of family, teachers, doctors, po-lice, government, etc. -- i.e., a village -- to accomplish this successfully.
 That ongoing exchange represents the two versions of community, both rooted in classical liberalism, that have defined the tension between what are today described as American Conservatism and Liberalism.  That tension is at the root of the difficulty of getting at what America understands by the word "community" when that word is used to describe the collectivity of individuals who are counted as "Americans."  It is also at the roots of the American debate over “big government” vs. “small government.”
 Under that umbrella, this course will develop an understanding of the meaning and nature of community in the American context.  We will examine some of the histori-cal, cultural, political and religious forces which have shaped both American community and the American understanding of community, and the dynamic that exists between the various components of communities, between the individual and the larger community.  We will be particularly concerned with the relationship of the individual to the communi-ties of which she is a part, with the tension Tocqueville identifies between freedom and equality.
 

Texts:
 Second Treatise on Government, John Locke
 Democracy in America, Alexis deTocqueville
 A Necessary Evil,  Garry Wills
 Rights Talk,  Mary Ann Glendon
On the Condition of the Working Class (Rerum Novarum), Pope Leo XIII
 On Social Reconstruction (Quadragesimo Anno), Pope Pius XI
 Requirements:
 Presentation to begin (at least) two class meetings.
 Active participation in seminar discussions.
A mid-term “conversation” with me to discuss where you are with the material.
 A tension filled, intellectually challenging, community building, group-   oral-final exam.
 

Schedule of Classes & Readings:

Sept. 5 – Introduction.

Sept. 12 -- John Locke, Second Treatise of Government.  Read the “Editor’s Introduc-tion” and Chapters I - IX, and Chapter XV.

Sept. 19 -- Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America, Author's Preface and Intro-duction;  Vol. I, Part 1:  chapters 1-5.

Sept. 26 -- Democracy in America, Vol. I, Part 2, chapters 1- 7

Oct. 3 -- Democracy in America, Vol. I, Part 2, chapters 8 and 9, chapter 10 pp. 363 to the end, and “Conclusion.”

Oct. 10 – Case study:  “The Community of Jesuit Higher Education and the Question of Justice”

Oct. 17 -- Garry Wills, A Necessary Evil, Chapters I - II

Oct. 24 -- Garry Wills, A Necessary Evil, Chapters III - V

Oct. 31 -- Garry Wills, A Necessary Evil, Chapters VI – IX and Conclusion

Nov. 7 --  Glendon, Rights Talk, Chapters 1 – 4.5 (p. 89)

Nov. 14 -- Glendon, Rights Talk, Chapters 4.5 – the end.

Nov. 21 – no class.

Nov. 28 -- Pope Leo XIII, On the Condition of the Working Class (Rerum Novarum) and Pope Pius XI,  On Social Reconstruction (Quadragesimo Anno)

Dec.  5 -- Bringing it all together.

Dec. 12 -- Final Exam.  The final is actually scheduled for Dec. 19, but I don’t want to wait till then anymore than I am sure you do. If this is date is not a possibility for anyone, speak now or forever hold your peace!  Be there as a community!!

Philosophy of Community  II  (PL29201)
Prof. David McMenamin
Spring, 2001  Tuesdays, 4:30 - 6;00

Course Description:
 This course is a continuation of the themes developed in Philosophy of Community I, though participation in the Fall seminar is not a requirement for participation in the Spring semester.
 By the use of both classic and contemporary texts we will examine various understandings of the nature of community in general and of human life in the context of community.  Particular focus will be given to the American experience of community.  The approaches will be historical, social, political and cultural;  special attention will be given to social problems associated with life in communities, the sources of such problems and the difficulty of reconciling individual and community life.

Texts:
 Alexis DeTocqueville,  Democracy in America, Vol. II
 Jane Jacobs,  Death and Life of Great American Cities
John Rawls, Charles Taylor and/or Alasdair McIntyre (handouts)
 Shlomo Avineri and Avner De-Shalit, eds. Communitarianism and Individualism
 Robert Putnam, Bowling Alone.
 Paul’s Letter to the Corinthians
 Selected short stories (handout)

Requirements:
Reading of assignments in advance of class.
Presentations to begin at least two class meetings.
A group, oral final exam.

Reading Assignments:  TENTATIVE except for Tocqueville.
 Jan. 23  - Tocqueville, Vol. II, Part I
 Jan. 30  - Tocqueville, Vol. II;  Part II and Part III, Chapters 1 - 10.
 Feb. 6  - Tocqueville, Vol. II;  Part III, Chapters 11-26 and Part IV
 Feb. 13  - Jane Jacobs, Introduction and Part One
 Feb. 20  - Jacobs, Parts Two and Three
 Feb. 27  - Jacobs, Part Four
 Mar. 13  - Avineri & DeShalit, Introduction and…
 Mar. 23  - John Rawls/Charles Taylor/Alasdair McIntyre handouts.
 Mar. 20  - Avineri & DeShalit,
 Mar. 27 - Avineri & DeShalit,
 Apr. 3 - Putnam, Bowling Alone
 Apr. 10 - Putnam, Bowling Alone
 Apr. 17 - Short stories:
 Apr. 24 -  Paul’s Letter to the Corinthians
 May 1 - “Grand Synthesis” Day
 May 8 - Final Exam