POL 150C1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Emancipation Proclamation, Glossary Of Dune Terminology, Centrism
45 views2 pages
9 Oct 2014
School
Department
Course
Professor
POL 150: Politics of Happiness - Lecture 2: The American Dream
● The American Dream
○ Individual, property rights
○ Alternative Interpretations of ‘The American Dream’
● Readings: Dec of Independence, Constitution, Emancipation Proclamation, Lincoln;s
2nd inaugural, FDR’s economic bill of rights, MLK’s I have a dream, LBJ’s “American
Promise”, E.J. Dionne, “our divided political heart”, ben franklin’s “autobiography”,
defending & condemning slavery: stringfellow & fitzhugh vs garrison & douglass
● BBC country profile for USA
● ibook ch. 2
● “Pursuit of happiness is a very old American concept first revealed in the Dec. of
Independence.
● Notion of happiness in the U.S. as with the rest of the world is not static and is dynamic
and ever shifting.
● The “American Dream" is complex, multifaceted, and subject to various interpretations.
● Utility of challenging our traditional (unconsidered) views of the “American Dream”
● A critical review will provide:
○ A deeper insight into the ideological underpinnings of the “American Dream”
○ Understanding of different points of view on the “American Dream,” facilitating a
more collegial discussion in the future.
○ Our ability to juxtapose the “American Dream” with the “European Dream” and
other perspectives
● American values with experience:
○ Pragmatism
○ Centrism
○ Moderation
○ Individualism (individual identity)
○ Character (nature) over ideas
○ Entrepreneurship & material interest (over ideas); property
○ Minimal intellectualism
■ “American mindlessness”
○ Escape dominance of religious institutions in a secular republic
■ Embrace laws without rigid religiosity.
○ America as a product of the Enlightenment:
■ Primacy of Reason and respect testimony of nature
■ Science and intellectualism
○ Puritan Heritage:
■ Against church of England and monarchy
■ Personal Biblical interpretation
■ Individual and corporate conformity to Bible
■ Minimal decoration, simplicity of worship and emphasis on preaching
○ “The Great Convention”: Puritanism & Englightenment
■ Reason + Religiosity