{"id":19,"date":"2021-08-11T14:42:41","date_gmt":"2021-08-11T18:42:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/world-politics-2021\/?page_id=19"},"modified":"2022-07-25T11:41:52","modified_gmt":"2022-07-25T15:41:52","slug":"modern-nation-state","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/world-politics-2021\/modern-nation-state\/","title":{"rendered":"Modern-Nation State"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n
PART I<\/strong><\/h5>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

We begin!<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

What does it mean to say that we are at a critical juncture in history?\u00a0 And if we are at this point, how can we study it while we are literally living in it?<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Over the past couple centuries, multiple populations grew accustomed to living in the era of the Modern Nation-State<\/strong><\/em>.\u00a0 In this opening section of our course, I shall outline the defining aspects of this unique human invention. I shall also outline the characteristics of the particular expression of this state that we have known best and from which we have profited immensely:\u00a0Liberal Democracy<\/strong><\/em>.\u00a0\u00a0I will draw a \u00a0connection between two perspectives we all share in common: \u00a0\u201cmodernity\u201d and \u201cliberalism.\u201d At this early point in the semester, we will deal with several abstract concepts.\u00a0 In the coming weeks, these abstractions will become real to you when we explore the origins and evolution of a distinct type of state: the Liberal Nation-State<\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

My personal guarantee: \u00a0By the end of this course, you will see how my abstractions fit together into one dynamic story.\u00a0 You should also have a sense for what it means to live in a time of radical uncertainty.<\/p>\r\n

I am telling a story with no clear ending. This is a good academic story. More importantly, it is your<\/em>\u00a0story, too.<\/p>\r\n

To get us moving, I have created a lot of reading assignments for this week, and especially for your first discussion section on Friday.<\/p>\r\n

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1. LECTURE:\u00a0 Monday, August 23<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\r\n

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Reflections on the making of the Modern Nation-State<\/strong> and the indeterminate nature of human activity<\/em>.<\/p>\r\n

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\"\" We leave Afghanistan to its fate . . .<\/p>\r\n

Today\u2019s Assumption<\/em>: The\u00a0Modern Nation-State<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0is distinguished by the underlying idea that one can bring together different peoples and contending identities under the rubric of a common community. \u00a0This state form represents a novel way of organizing human beings. \u00a0To be clear, not all states are\u00a0Nation-States<\/em><\/strong>. And, not all peoples want to live together.<\/p>\r\n

Consider the tragic consequences of our failed experiment in nation-building in Afghanistan.\u00a0 If only our politicians had been better historians, we would have known what we were getting into.\u00a0 And then, we would appreciate our role in the devastating circumstances that we left behind.<\/p>\r\n

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Assignment<\/em>:\u00a0 Watch the video below and reflect upon the nature of historical change. Also, look ahead to your Friday discussion section.\u00a0 You will have a paragraph assignment<\/p>\r\n

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The nature of historical change as seen by a paleontologist<\/em>.\u00a0 A fabulous thinker, Steven Jay Gould, offers approach to studying fundamental change that I find totally convincing\u2014evolutionary theory.\u00a0\u00a0Watch at least the first 6 minutes of this stimulating video: WATCH<\/a>\u00a0 As you listen to Gould, ask yourself how his arguments about both human evolution, \u201cpunctuated equilibrium\u201d (what does this concept mean?), and the extinction of dinosaurs can be applied to the evolution of political ideas and institutions.<\/p>\r\n

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Are currently living in a state of punctuated equilibrium?\u00a0 I think so.<\/p>\r\n

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2.\u00a0 LECTURE: Wednesday, August 25<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\r\n

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Reflections on what it means for citizens of the United States to live\u00a0in\u00a0modern times<\/em>.<\/p>\r\n

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Today\u2019s Assumption<\/em>: \u00a0We are all\u00a0Modern<\/strong><\/em>. \u00a0By this statement, I mean that we share conceptions of truth and ideas about how to organize our lives which differ fundamentally from those held by other societies in the world.<\/p>\r\n

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An essential part of being modern is agreement on facts.\u00a0 Thanks to our capacity to reason, we pursue factual knowledge and build theories by using the scientific method (even though we don\u2019t always recognize that this is what we are doing).\u00a0 The acceptance of a factual claim (e.g., a heliocentric model of our solar system) does not prevent us from holding a religious faith (e.g., the existence of God).\u00a0 The believer\u2019s faith in God may be just as true as factual knowledge.\u00a0 For example, facts cannot tell us how to act.\u00a0 In contrast, religious faiths can do so.\u00a0 For this reason, I believe that certain aspects of my personal faith\u2013especially the obligation to treat people as having intrinsic dignity\u2013are no less true than the claim that the earth rotates around the sun.\u00a0 No matter what any non-religious person says, they are not my opinion.\u00a0 Like America’s founders, I hold them to be “true and self-evident.”<\/p>\r\n

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Throughout much of its modern history, the Catholic Church has maintained that there is no contradiction between the acceptance of factual knowledge (reason) and faith\u2014these twin truth claims are simply different forms of knowing.<\/p>\r\n

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Jen Christensen, \u201cThe Most Accurate Clock in the World is Redefining the Second\u201d\u00a0READ<\/a>\u00a0 What can a mechanical clock tell you about modern society?<\/p>\r\n

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Truth-telling is a big theme in this course. Read what Oprah Winfrey has to say about pursuing the truth:\u00a0\u00a0READ<\/a><\/p>\r\n

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Alan Burdick, \u201cSome Good News, and a Hard Truth about Science,\u201d\u00a0New York Times<\/em>, November 18, 2018\u00a0READ<\/a><\/p>\r\n

How should we judge the quality of a new source in a liberal democracy?\u00a0 In my view, the most reliable news sources admit when they are wrong.\u00a0 Here is a link<\/a> to a series of articles in the\u00a0New York Times<\/em> in which contributors from different political camps admit when they were wrong.\u00a0 If you don’t have a subscription to the\u00a0NYT<\/em>, you won’t be able to read all of these articles immediately. However, you can get the paper for free through Hesburgh online.<\/p>\r\n

Here are the “confessions” of two writers, the first on the moderate right, the second on the moderate left:<\/p>\r\n

David Brooks, “I Was Wrong About Capitalism”\u00a0 READ<\/a><\/p>\r\n

Gail Collins, “I was Wrong about Mitt Romney”\u00a0 READ<\/a><\/p>\r\n

What should we make of the quality of a news source that never admits to its mistakes?<\/p>\r\n

Not to get too provocative (!), but what should we make of any person we encounter\u00a0 who never admits to making a mistake?<\/p>\r\n

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NOTE<\/strong>: At the bottom of your assigned readings for our first discussion section on Friday, there is a writing assignment.\u00a0 Be sure to complete it by Thursday at 5 and send it to your respective TA.<\/p>\r\n

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3.\u00a0 DISCUSSION SECTION:\u00a0 Friday,\u00a0 August 27<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\r\n

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Here is your discussion theme:\u00a0 \u201cWhat does it mean to be a real American?\u201d<\/p>\r\n

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How do we decide who\u00a0belongs\u00a0<\/em>in the United States? How do we decide who does not? Assuming you are an American citizen, how did you acquire this title? Should every American do more to reasonably be called a citizen? If so, what?\u00a0 Finally, how are Americans doing with their fellow citizens?<\/p>\r\n

Here’s a classic statement:\u00a0 Emma Lazarus, \u201cThe New Colossus<\/a>,\u201d a plaque on America\u2019s Statue of Liberty:\u00a0 READ<\/a><\/p>\r\n

There are a lot of readings for this discussion section. And why not! Some are short.\u00a0 Make sure you read all of them.<\/p>\r\n

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Trigger Warning<\/a>\u00a0for\u00a0Liberals!<\/strong> \u00a0Many of these readings come from conservative sites and\/or conservative writers.\u00a0 Pay particular attention to the two primary readings\u00a0 by Huntington and Gorman:<\/p>\r\n

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Primary Reading #1:\u00a0 Samuel Huntington, \u201cThe Hispanic Challenge\u201d (Foreign Policy):\u00a0PRINT AND READ<\/a><\/p>\r\n

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Huntington was a preeminent political scientist. \u00a0Note his incredible prediction on p. 14.\u00a0 This is a controversial article.<\/p>\r\n

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Edward Hudgins, \u201cWhat is an American?\u201d (the libertarian Cato Institute)\u00a0READ<\/a><\/p>\r\n

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\u201cAlan Dershowitz, \u201cBirthright Citizenship is Bizarre\u201d (the Alt-Right Breitbart News)\u00a0READ<\/a><\/p>\r\n

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And not so much on the Right:<\/p>\r\n

Primary Reading #2. Amanda Gorman, “The Hill We Climb”<\/p>\r\n

Read, Print,\u00a0 and Listen<\/a><\/p>\r\n

Finally, ask yourself this question:\u00a0 What is an American Car?\u00a0READ<\/a><\/p>\r\n

Why on earth would I pose this question?<\/p>\r\n

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Assig1nment<\/strong><\/em>: Write a\u00a0one-paragraph<\/em>\u00a0(no more!) response to the following question:\u00a0 \u201cIn your opinion, what is the single, most important requirement for being a \u2018true American\u2019.\u201d \u00a0You may only choose one requirement. \u00a0The point of your paragraph is to persuade the reader why it is the single, most important factor.<\/p>\r\n

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You should send your TA one-paragraph response by 5:00 pm on the Thursday preceding every Friday discussion section. All paragraphs should be typed and double-spaced (12 point font).<\/p>\r\n

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Your TA will be happy to talk with you about this assignment or any future assignments.<\/p>\r\n

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4. LECTURE:\u00a0 Monday, August 30\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\r\n

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Reflections on a political invention, the\u00a0Liberal Nation-state<\/strong>.\u00a0\u00a0Liberalism<\/strong>\u00a0is a specific set of principles according to which some human beings have organized their relations in modern times. However, it is not the only expression of modern politics. As we shall see later in this course,\u00a0Fascism<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Leninism\u00a0<\/strong>are also forms of modern politics. As we look into the future , there will be seemingly self-evident political identities that are not liberal at all. I think we are experiencing elements of these\u00a0post-liberal<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0identities right now.<\/p>\r\n

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Abraham Lincoln\u00a0invents<\/strong>\u00a0the liberal nation-state:\u00a0\u00a0READ<\/a><\/p>\r\n

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Today\u2019s Assumption<\/em>:\u00a0 We are all\u00a0Liberals!<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0 (Sorry, Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul, but it\u2019s true.)\u00a0\u00a0However, this is no cause for alarm for political conservatives (at least traditional ones).\u00a0 In making this claim, I do not mean that we are all \u201cliberals\u201d in terms of our political affiliation.\u00a0 Making concrete political decisions on a daily basis is necessarily complex—just like good wine<\/a>.\u00a0 Thus, it is reasonably–indeed, to be expected–in a truly liberal society that people and parties should disagree about what constitutes good policy.<\/p>\r\n

Rather, in using the term “liberal,” I am referring to classical liberalism<\/strong><\/em>, a conception of political order that was invented\u2013not<\/em> discovered\u2013by people\u00a0 like John Locke, Adam Smith, and John Stuart Mill.<\/p>\r\n

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Assignment<\/em>:\u00a0 Read Chapter II, \u201cOn the Liberty of Thought and Discussion,\u201d in John Stuart Mill,\u00a0On Liberty\u00a0<\/em>(1869): \u00a0PRINT AND READ<\/a><\/p>\r\n

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Then, listen to musician Frank Zappa talk about freedom of speech\u00a0HERE<\/a>\u00a0 Do you agree with Mr. Zappa?\u00a0 If not, where should we draw the line between legitimate and illegitimate free speech in a\u00a0Liberal<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0society?\u00a0 Or should there be a dividing line at all?<\/p>\r\n

Book banning in America:\u00a0 Readings TBA<\/strong><\/p>\r\n

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<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

PART I We begin! What does it mean to say that we are at a critical juncture in history?\u00a0 And if we are at this point, how can we study it while we are literally living in it? Over the past couple centuries, multiple populations grew accustomed to living in the era of the Modern … Continue reading “Modern-Nation State”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":114,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-19","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/world-politics-2021\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/19","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/world-politics-2021\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/world-politics-2021\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/world-politics-2021\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/114"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/world-politics-2021\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19"}],"version-history":[{"count":26,"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/world-politics-2021\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/19\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1000,"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/world-politics-2021\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/19\/revisions\/1000"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/world-politics-2021\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}