HARVARD UNIVERSITY
HISTSCI 166*
"What is Enlightenment?": Science, Religion, and the Making of Modernity
Fall 2015
Mondays, 02:00 - 04:00 p.m.
Room: Science Center 252
Soha Bayoumi, PhD
Email: [email protected]
Office hours: Wed. 3-5, Science Center 356
Introduction and Course Goals
From Immanuel Kant's answer to this question in 1784 to Michel Foucault's engagement
with the same question and answer in 1984, two centuries had passed and a lot of water had
flown under the bridge. From the
inception of its ideals in the AngloSaxon world in the seventeenth
century at the hands of Spinoza, John
Locke and Isaac Newton, to its
development in France in the
eighteenth century by Voltaire,
Montesquieu and Rousseau and
culmination with the writings of
Immanuel Kant, the Enlightenment
developed into an important intellectual movement which helped shape modernity and its
repercussions in the contemporary world. This course will trace the history of Enlightenment in
primary sources, enriched by a collection of secondary readings, and will explore contemporary
reflections on Enlightenment from various schools of thought ranging from Marxism to
*
Offered jointly with the Divinity School as HDS 3302.
feminism and postmodernism. The course will address the themes of reason and rationality,
science and knowledge, religion and religious institutions, tolerance and intolerance, ethics and
morality.
Course Policies
Weekly attendance and participation are key in this course. Therefore, students are
asked to do the readings before the class and write at least one question on each reading on the
course’s online discussion board. These questions are meant to show the students’ engagement
with the readings. They should ideally be conducive to class discussion. Students are encouraged
to read the questions asked by their classmates before coming to class and and be ready for
discussion. The online discussion board is also available for further participation by students if
they wish to additionally contribute, in a written format, to class discussions, by posting their
own thoughts on the subjects and readings discussed, or by linking to interesting and relevant
online materials. All course readings will be made available through the course website. The
Harvard Library liaison to the Department of the History of Science, Fred Burchsted, has also
created a research guide for our course (http://guides.library.harvard.edu/enlightenment), which
is very valuable for conducting your research.
We will also set a schedule according to which one or more students will present on the
readings (for 10-15 minutes each) every session and one or more other students will respond to
the presentation(s) (for 5-10 minutes each), in order to create a lively discussion in the class.
Presenters and discussants should meet, share notes or otherwise coordinate with one another
prior to class. These different forms of participation aim at enriching the reading, understanding
and debating of the materials the course will deal with. In addition to their final project, students
are required to submit three written assignments throughout the semester.
Assignments and Evaluation
Grades are divided as follows: attendance (5%), in-class participation (5%), questions
posted on the online discussion board (10%), presentations and responses (10%), Notes on a
Primary Source 10%, Historiographical Essay 10%, Destination Report 10%, Final Project 40%.
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All assignments must be received by midnight on the dates they are due. Late assignments will
have one shade deducted for every day they are late.
Notes on a Primary Source: 2-4 pages, choose a primary source text, either one that is
included in our course readings, or another relevant text. Discuss the author, the time when the
text was written, the purpose for producing the text and its main arguments and methods.
Historiographical Essay: 2-4 pages, choose two secondary sources that address an
Enlightenment theme or event, and discuss how they differ in their analysis. You can choose
outside sources or ones that are included in the course readings.
Destination Report: 2-4 pages, choose a destination in search of a building or an object
from the period of the Enlightenment, or a modern or contemporary one that evokes the
Enlightenment or one of its themes, and write about what you have found and its relevance to our
course.
The Final Project can take a variety of forms: a term paper, a website, an artwork, a
film, etc. (final projects from previous years include original computer software, course syllabi,
musical compositions and baked goods!) If you choose a non-paper format for your final project,
you are asked to accompany it with a 2-5 page narrative as well as a bibliography. Term papers
are 10-12 for undergraduate students or 15-20 pages for graduate students (double-spaced, 12
font, and 1-inch margins). Team projects are allowed. If a student is interested in joining forces
with one or more other students for their final project, they are encouraged to discuss it with the
instructor. In general, before embarking on your final project, you are highly encouraged to get in
touch with your instructor to discuss its topic and format.
Activities and Field Trips
In addition to weekly class meetings, the course will include a number of field trips to
Harvard museums and collections relevant to the themes discussed. A film screening will also be
scheduled towards the end of the course. Dates will be agreed upon, and students should try their
best to make it to these activities. Though not compulsory, these activities help the students
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deepen their understanding of the themes covered in the course and expose them to a number of
artifacts and material objects that allow a more vivid approach of teaching and learning. Come
prepared to learn and have fun!
Course Schedule
1. Introduction to the Course: What Is Enlightenment? (September 2)
Kant, Immanuel. “An Answer to the Question: What Is Enlightenment?” (1784), in
Schmidt, James. What Is Enlightenment?: Eighteenth-Century Answers and Twentieth-Century
Questions. University of California Press, 1996, pp. 58-64.
Mendelssohn, Moses. “On the Question: What Is Enlightenment” (1784), in Schmidt,
James. What Is Enlightenment?: Eighteenth-Century Answers and Twentieth-Century Questions.
University of California Press, 1996, pp. 53-57.
Schmidt, James. What Is Enlightenment?: Eighteenth-Century Answers and TwentiethCentury Questions. University of California Press, 1996, pp. 1-44.
2. The Politics of the Enlightenment and the Creation of a Public Sphere
(September 14)
Klein, Ernst Ferdinand. “On Freedom of Thought and of the Press: For Princes,
Ministers, and Writers” (1784), in Schmidt, James. What Is Enlightenment?: Eighteenth-Century
Answers and Twentieth-Century Questions. University of California Press, 1996, pp. 87-96.
Bahrdt, Carl Friedrich. “On Freedom of the Press and Its Limits: For Consideration by
Rulers, Censors, and Writers” (1787), in Schmidt, James. What Is Enlightenment?: EighteenthCentury Answers and Twentieth-Century Questions. University of California Press, 1996, pp.
97-113.
Fichte, Johann Gottlieb. “Reclamation of the Freedom of Thought from the Princes of
Europe, Who Have Oppressed It Until Now” (1793), in Schmidt, James. What Is
Enlightenment?: Eighteenth-Century Answers and Twentieth-Century Questions. University of
California Press, 1996, pp. 119-142.
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Moser, Friedrich Karl von. “Publicity” (1792), in Schmidt, James. What Is
Enlightenment?: Eighteenth-Century Answers and Twentieth-Century Questions. University of
California Press, 1996, pp. 114-118.
Moser, Friedrich Karl von. “True and False Political Enlightenment” (1792), in Schmidt,
James. What Is Enlightenment?: Eighteenth-Century Answers and Twentieth-Century Questions.
University of California Press, 1996, pp. 212-216.
Teiftrunk, Johann Heinrich. “On the Influence of Enlightenment on Revolutions” (1794),
in Schmidt, James. What Is Enlightenment?: Eighteenth-Century Answers and Twentieth-Century
Questions. University of California Press, 1996, pp. 217-224.
Bergk, Johann Adam. “Does Enlightenment Cause Revolutions” (1795), in Schmidt,
James. What Is Enlightenment?: Eighteenth-Century Answers and Twentieth-Century Questions.
University of California Press, 1996, pp. 225-232.
Laursen, John Christian. “The Subversive Kant: The Vocabulary of ‘Public’ and
‘Publicity’”, in Schmidt, James. What Is Enlightenment?: Eighteenth-Century Answers and
Twentieth-Century Questions. University of California Press, 1996, pp. 253-269.
3. The Age of Reason: Between Rationalism and Empiricism (September 21)
“Notes on a Primary Source” Due
Descartes, René. Meditation V: Of the Essence of Material Things; And, Again, of God;
That He Exists. http://www.wright.edu/~charles.taylor/descartes/meditation5.html
Locke, John. An Essay Concerning Human Understanding. Prometheus Books, 1994, pp.
59-70
Kant, Immanuel. Critique of Pure Reason. P. F. Collier and son, 1901, pp. 43-52
Cassirer, Ernst. The Philosophy of the Enlightenment. Edited by James P. Pettegrove.
Translated by Fritz C. A. Koelin. Princeton University Press, 1968, pp. 3-36.
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4. Teaching and Learning: Schools, Universities and the Book Industry
(September 28)
Helvétius, Claude-Adrien. A Treatise on Man, His Intellectual Faculties and His
Education: A Posthumous Work of M. Helvetius. Translated from the French, with Additional
Notes, by W. Hooper, printed for B. Law and G. Robinson, 1777, pp. 1-10.
Gay, Peter. The Enlightenment: An Interpretation : The Science of Freedom. W. W. Norton
& Company, 1996, pp. 497-528.
Gill, Natasha. Educational Philosophy in the French Enlightenment: From Nature to
Second Nature. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., 2010, pp. 23-34, 65-72.
Melton, James Van Horn. The Rise of the Public in Enlightenment Europe. Cambridge
University Press, 2001, pp. 79-122
Andrew, Edward. Patrons of Enlightenment. University of Toronto Press, 2006, pp.
35-58.
5. Science and Knowledge (October 5)
Frängsmyr, Tore. “The Mathematical Philosophy”, in Frängsmyr, Tore, J. L. Heilbron,
and Robin E. Rider. The Quantifying Spirit in the Eighteenth Century. University of California
Press, 1990, pp. 27-45.
Heilbron, J. L. “The Measure of Enlightenment”, in Frängsmyr, Tore, J. L. Heilbron, and
Robin E. Rider. The Quantifying Spirit in the Eighteenth Century. University of California Press,
1990, pp. 207-242.
Gay, Peter. The Enlightenment: An Interpretation : The Science of Freedom. W. W. Norton
& Company, 1996, pp. 126-140, 319-343.
6. Religion and Faith (October 19)
“Historiographical Essay” Due
Byrne, James M. Religion and the Enlightenment: From Descartes to Kant. Wesminster
John Knox Press, 1996, pp. 1-26.
Gay, Peter. The Enlightenment: The Rise of Modern Paganism. W. W. Norton &
Company, 1995, pp. 212-226.
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Sheehan, Jonathan. “Enlightenment, Religion, and the Enigma of Secularization: A
Review Essay.” The American Historical Review 108, no. 4 (October 1, 2003), pp. 1061–1080.
7. Toleration: Philosophical and Political Concerns (October 26)
Gay, Peter. The Enlightenment: An Interpretation : The Science of Freedom. W. W. Norton
& Company, 1996, pp. 398-406.
Grell, Ole Peter, and Roy Porter. Toleration in Enlightenment Europe. Cambridge
University Press, 2006, pp. 1-22.
Rosenthal, Michael A. “Spinoza on Why the Sovereign Can Command Men’s Tongues
But Not Their Minds”, in Williams, Melissa S. and Jeremy Valdron. Toleration and Its Limits.
Nomos, 2008, pp. 54-77.
Forst, Rainer. “Pierre Bayle’s Reflexive Theory of Toleration”, in Williams, Melissa S.
and Jeremy Waldron. Toleration and Its Limits. Nomos, 2008, pp. 78-113.
Tuckness, Alex. “Locke’s Main Argument for Toleration”, in Williams, Melissa S. and
Jeremy Waldron. Toleration and Its Limits, Nomos. 2008, pp. 114-138.
Spinoza, Benedictus de. Theologico-Political Treatise (Chapter XX). 1673: http://
www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/992/pg992.html
Bayle, Pierre. A Philosophical Commentary on These Words of the Gospel, Luke 14.23,
‘Compel Them to Come In, That My House May Be Full’. 1686 (Chapter XI): http://
oll.libertyfund.org/?option=com_staticxt&staticfile=show.php%3Ftitle=163&Itemid=27
Locke, John. A Letter Concerning Toleration. 1689: http://www.constitution.org/jl/
tolerati.htm
Voltaire. Treatise on Tolerance (excerpts). 1763: http://www.constitution.org/volt/
tolerance.htm
8. Enlightenment Ethics and the Building of a New Morality (November 2)
Berman, Marshall. The Politics of Authenticity: Radical Individualism and the Emergence
of Modern Society. New ed. Verso, 2009, pp. 163-199.
Schneewind, Jerome B. The Invention of Autonomy: A History of Modern Moral
Philosophy. Cambridge University Press, 1997, pp. 483-530.
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9. Enemies of the Enlightenment?: The “Counter-Enlightenment Movement”
(November 9)
Berlin, Isaiah. Three Critics of the Enlightenment: Vico, Hamann, Herder. Edited by
Henry Hardy. First ed. Princeton University Press, 2000, pp. 255-358.
Fleischacker, Samuel. What is Enlightenment? Routledge, 2013, pp. 43-57.
10. Beyond Enlightenment: Contemporary Responses to the Enlightenment I.
Marxist Schools (November 16)
“Destination Report” Due
Hook, Sidney. “The Enlightenment and Marxism.” Journal of the History of Ideas 29, no.
1 (January 1, 1968), pp. 93–108.
Adorno, Theodor W. and Max Horkheimer. Dialectic of Enlightenment. Verso, 1997, pp.
3-42.
Horkheimer, Max. “Reason Against Itself: Some Remarks on Enlightenment”, in
Schmidt, James. What Is Enlightenment?: Eighteenth-Century Answers and Twentieth-Century
Questions. University of California Press, 1996, pp. 359-367.
11. Beyond Enlightenment: Contemporary Responses to the Enlightenment II.
Postmodernism and Post-structuralism (November 23)
Man, Paul de. Allegories of Reading: Figural Language in Rousseau, Nietzsche, Rilke,
and Proust. Yale University Press, 1982, pp. 135-159.
Foucault, Michel. “What Is Enlightenment”, 1984. http://foucault.info/documents/
whatIsEnlightenment/foucault.whatIsEnlightenment.en.html.
Foucault, Michael. “What Is Critique?”, in Schmidt, James. What Is Enlightenment?:
Eighteenth-Century Answers and Twentieth-Century Questions. University of California Press,
1996, pp. 382-398.
Foucault, Michel. Madness and Civilization: A History of Insanity in the Age of Reason.
Vintage, 1988, pp. 199-220.
Foucault, Michel. Discipline & Punish: The Birth of the Prison. Random House Digital,
Inc., 2012, 195-228.
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12. Beyond Enlightenment: Contemporary Responses to the Enlightenment II.
Feminism and Post-colonialism (November 30)
Wollstonecraft, Mary. A Vindication of the Rights of Woman. Edited by Carol H. Poston.
Second ed. W. W. Norton & Company, 1987, pp. 1-10.
Schott, Robin May. “The Gender of Enlightenment”, in Schmidt, James. What Is
Enlightenment?: Eighteenth-Century Answers and Twentieth-Century Questions. University of
California Press, 1996, pp. 471-487.
Landes, Joan B. Women and the Public Sphere in the Age of the French Revolution.
Cornell University Press, 1988, pp. 21-38.
Schor, Naomi. Bad Objects: Essays Popular and Unpopular. Duke University Press
Books, 1995, pp. 3-27.
Goodman, Dena. “Difference: An Enlightenment Concept”, in Baker, Keith, and Peter
Reill. What’s Left of Enlightenment?: A Postmodern Question. Stanford University Press, 2002,
pp. 129-147.
Final Projects Due December 11
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