History of Ideas

98-99 University Bulletin Entry for:

(file last updated: [8/10/1998 - 15:24:22])

Objectives

Santayana put it well: "Thosewho cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."To understand the significance of our beliefs and commitments--evento understand the significance of the questions and problems thatbeset us--we need to trace their sources and their history. Becauseideas are expressed in social and political institutions as wellas in philosophical, scientific, religious, and literary works,the program in the History of Ideas (HOID) is distinguished byits multidisciplinary approach. Since political structures andinstitutions are themselves articulated in vigorous intellectualdebates, we need to understand the ideas that have formed andthat continue to form them. HOID proposes to provide studentswith the historical background of the issues and values that haveshaped their interests. It is intended to provide students withthe skills and the knowledge, the guidance and the freedom toconstruct a focused and rigorous course of study, one that exploresthe historical transformation of a set of ideas and institutionsacross several traditional disciplines.

Students who successfully fulfillthe requirements of the program will receive a certificate inthe History of Ideas; their participation will be listed in theirUniversity transcripts.

How to Become a ProgramMember

Students may apply to the programin the History of Ideas any time before the end of the fall termof their junior year. Their application should describe theirinterest in the program and the general area of their proposedstudies. To formulate a coherent curricular program, they arestrongly encouraged to consult with both the HOID advisor andthe advisor in their primary concentration.

Committee

Tzvi Abusch

(Near Eastern and Judaic Studies)

Pamela Allara

(Fine Arts)

Bernadette Brooten

(Near Eastern and Judaic Studies)

John Burt

(English and American Literature)

Stephen Dowden

(Germanic and Slavic Languages)

William Flesch

(English and American Literature)

Richard Gaskins

(Legal and American Studies)

Stephen Gendzier

(Romance and Comparative Literature)

Robert Greenberg

(Philosophy)

Mark Hulliung

(History)

Patricia Johnston

(Classical Studies)

James Kloppenberg

(History)

Laura Quinney

(English)

Shulamit Reinharz

(Sociology and Women's Studies)

George Ross

(Sociology)

Benson Saler

(Anthropology)

Barney Schwalberg

(Economics)

Silvan Schweber

(Physics)

Faculty

Amélie OksenbergRorty, Chair and Undergraduate Advising Head

History of Ideas.

Requirements for the Program

Students will work with theHOID advisor to form a plan of study that draws upon and developstheir particular interests. Such a program might trace the historyof a particular theme, problem, or tradition (e.g. the idea ofrevolution in politics, science, or the arts) or it mighttrace the mutual influence of distinctive approaches to a subject.

A.Students must have taken at least one course in each of the followingareas:

1. Literature and the arts.

2. History, Near Eastern andJudaic studies, and philosophy.

3. Social sciences.

B.Students must take at least five courses whose substantive themefalls within the history of ideas, as determined in consultationwith the HOID advisor. These courses must meet the following distributionrequirements:

1. No more than two courseswithin the field of concentration.

2. One course in a relatedfield.

3. HOID 127a (Seminar in theHistory of Ideas).

Students are strongly encouragedto construct individual curricular programs and to include areasof study that are not presently listed (e.g., biology, chemistry,environmental studies, mathematics, physics). Since courses andfaculty interests vary from year to year, the list of coursesrecommended for the program will change annually.

Seniors in the program areinvited to participate in the History of Ideas Student Forum.The Forum provides the opportunity to present a problem or issuefor discussion. Working individually or in groups, students proposea discussion topic and a list of readings.

Students are encouraged, butnot required, to present a senior thesis. They may register forHOID 98a or b (Independent Study) to prepare their thesis.

Courses of Instruction

HOID 98a Independent Study

Signature of the instructorrequired.

Usually offered every year.

Staff

HOID 98b Independent Study

Signature of the instructorrequired.

Usually offered every year.

Staff

(100-199) Courses forBoth Undergraduate and Graduate Students

HOID 108b Greek and RomanEthics: From Plato to the Stoics

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Enrollment limited to 22.

Devoted to tracing the majorissues of early Western ethics: Is there a general conceptionof human nature and the human good? What is the relation betweenpleasure, virtue, and happiness? What are the conditions of responsibleagency? What distinguishes voluntary from non-voluntary actions?What is the relationship between ethics and politics, between"local" and "universal" ethical norms? Usuallyoffered every year.

Ms. Rorty

HOID 127a Seminar in theHistory of Ideas: Case Studies

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Brandeis faculty present casestudies of the role of history in forming the current agenda oftheir disciplines. For example: conceptions of political and scientificrevolutions; Federalism then and now; the sources and consequencesof Darwinian theory; conceptions of historical progress; transformationsin conceptions of class warfare; conceptions of "good society."Usually offered every year.

Ms. Rorty

HOID 130b Varieties of Libertyand Freedom

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Enrollment limited to 20.

Ideas of freedom and libertyhave developed in two directions: the internal idea of an individualfree will and the ideas of political freedom (e.g., colonial liberation,civic liberties, citizen self-rule). We trace the interactionof these conceptions historically, beginning with Thucydides'saccount of Perciles' Funeral Address, moving to Augustine andsome medieval writers, to early Enlightenment ideas, to economicideas of free enterprise, to Mill on liberty, and finally to existentialistwriters on free choice. Usually offered every year. Will be offeredin the spring of 1999.

Ms. Rorty

Elective Courses

The following courses representa selection from among those approved for the program. Other coursesmay be elected with the approval of the Program advisor. The coursesapproved for the program are not all given in any one year andstudents are advised to consult the Course Schedule foreach semester.

ANTH 80a

World Religions

CLAS 115b

Topics in Greek and Roman History

CLAS 170a

Classical Mythology

ECON 32b

Comparative Economic Systems

ECON 74b

Law and Economics

ENG 125a

Romanticism I: Blake, Wordsworth,and Coleridge