JPI 949
Modernity in America
This course examines the nature of modernization in America—how this process shares in and differs from modernization in continental Europe. The course ponders such matters as human dignity/rights, technology, and God/religion, in light of the distinctiveness of Anglo-American liberalism and claims of American "exceptionalism." Readings will be drawn variously from the Founders (e.g., Madison, Jefferson), "classical" interpretations of America (e.g., Tocqueville, Weber), twentieth-century interpretations of modernity/liberalism (e.g., M. Heidegger, L. Strauss, A. MacIntyre, G. Grant, P. Manent, J. C. Murray, J. Ratzinger), and select papal encyclicals (e.g., Testem benevolentiae, Veritatis splendor, Evangelium vitae, Centesimus annus, Deus caritas est).
