| Title: | American Democracy in Crisis |
|---|---|
| Course Section Number: | FRT-101-07 |
| Department: | Freshman Tutorial |
| Description: | Americans seem more divided than ever before. Increasingly, we disagree not only about the issues but also basic facts. Our disagreements have even led to violence, including after our last Presidential election. Why are we so divided? Can we unite? Could we draw upon our Founders' wisdom to help answer these questions? The Founders' experience may seem irrelevant because they were much more successful. After all, they defeated the world's mightiest empire, established the first successful large-scale democracy, and ensured a level of liberty previously unknown. But the Founders were also real people with serious faults. As one historian describes them, "they could write like angels and scheme like demons." For example, the Founders largely dodged the issue of slavery, subjected Native Americans to what would become a form of genocide, and at times attacked one another as ferociously as today's political leaders. Indeed, efforts to decide our first two-party Presidential election in 1800 between Founders John Adams and Thomas Jefferson almost turned into a riot. By treating the Founders as real people and drawing on their dramatic experiences, we will try to learn how we can unite, or at least disagree more productively, about the issues that divide us so deeply today. |
| Credits: | 1.00 |
| Start Date: | August 21, 2024 |
| End Date: | December 14, 2024 |
| Meeting Information: |
08/22/2024-12/12/2024 Lecture Tuesday, Thursday 09:45AM - 11:00AM, Baxter Hall, Room 212
|
| Faculty: | Himsel, Scott |
Course Status
| Section Name/Title | Status | Dept. | Capacity |
Enrolled/ Available/ Waitlist |
|---|