This is a seminar about Hell.
The Twentieth Century was a century of pure Hell — two world wars; civil wars; fascist and communist dictatorships; genocide; racist xenophobia; populist hysteria; assassinations; class violence; entrenched poverty; and terrorism. Who knows whether the Twenty-first century will be any better.
I define the Twentieth Century as the period between the outbreak of World War I on July 28, 1914 and the terrorist attacks on the United States of September 11, 2001. We will explore this troubled century of Hell by focusing on four themes:
- The experience of Hell.
- Contending theories of Hell’s origins.
- The moral implications of Hell, and finally,
- The problem of dealing with Hell.
To address these themes, we will draw upon ten widely recognized images of Hell. These are World War I; the Holocaust; existentialism; tyranny and madness; totalitarianism; technological imperialism; moral confusion; nihilism; poverty; and terrorism.
I have four goals in this seminar. If we achieve them, I will be pleased.
- To introduce you to a fascinating and disturbing period in the history and politics of the modern world.
- To familiarize you with four key concepts in the study of politics: description; explanation; analysis; and prescription.
- To develop your reading, writing, speaking, and arguing skills.
- To teach you how to persuade. Leadership is nothing more than the art of persuasion. All Notre Dame students should become leaders.
I have designed this seminar to be demanding, both in terms of your time and your personality. To avoid being left behind, be sure to keep up with all of your assignments. Aditionally, I expect each of you to participate fully in everything we do. This includes speaking in class, communicating with your classmates over Concourse, and daring to think for yourself.
You are now looking at the authoritative syllabus for the seminar. I do not use a paper syllabus. That would be soooo 1990s. I will modify this site as we move along, offering useful commentary on our progress from time to time. You should consult these pages regularly throughout the semester since I will modify our schedule and change your assignments as we move along.
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NOTE: Please leave your technology at home. This includes electronic devices of any kind, such as laptops, i-Pads, cell phones, Kindles, video cameras, or other personal digital devices.