Wednesday, April 22, 2015

Disillusion



Disillusion is a word often associated with The Great War and its aftermath. What about this war led to an unprecedented level of disillusionment for people in the Europe and the US?

Historiography


I know this comes with only a few days left to blog, but I think it could be a great topic. As we will discuss in class, historiography is essentially the way that historians study history. For example when historians ask why an event unfolded the way it did?  Some might say because of economic reasons, while others might argue for social reasons and others might say it was due to the actions of a "great man." I challenge you to compare different historical interpretations of an event. This could be good practice for your 20th Century History Project.

Tuesday, April 14, 2015

Can a person be wrong and still be important?

Today most people in the field of psychology think Sigmund Freud was wrong about many of his most basic assumptions. If that is true, why is he considered so important? You could also look at some of his ideas and newer alternatives.

Man's Ego

According to your text, Darwin's theory was the "sharpest blow" to modern man's ego since Copernicus "moved the earth from the center of the universe." Why has this particular scientific theory caused so much fuss over the past century and a half? Why have US Courts come down so hard on "creationism" and its younger relative "intelligent design"?

Thursday, April 2, 2015

Any good ideas?

As you study Bentham, Ricardo, Malthus, Smith and the Utopian Socialists, which of their ideas were the best? Why?