University of Southern California

Master of Liberal Studies Program

LBST 531: The Hero/Heroine in History

Fall 2010Professor Paul Knoll

Wednesdays 6:00 p.m.—8:40 p.m.Taper Hall 355

By a combination of lecture, discussion, and writing assignments, this course examines the “problem” of the hero/heroine in history, with particular reference to the Western tradition. It focuses upon a critical reading and analysis of one of the classic treatments of this problem and upon a series of specific individuals whose lives and accomplishments will be analyzed and discussed to see what their status as heroes/heroines might be.

BACKGROUND AND ASSUMPTIONS

Are individual men and women capable of altering the course of history in any meaningful way by their actions? Or are they, rather, individuals who are merely spectators to historical processes, caught up ingreat impersonal forces over which they have no control?A deterministic view would suggest that we are all spectators, while those who would grant some degree of human agency in history argue that some have been able to seize the opportunities of their times and direct the course of events. In a similar way it might be said that there have been some who, by the power of their thought and vision have fundamentally affected the way people understand themselves and their world.

One of the classic works that treated the “problem” of the hero in history was the book of that name by Sidney Hook. His solution was to suggest that some whom we call heroes were merely “eventful” men (though he discussed women also), i.e., that they were merely present at the right time. The proverbial “Dutch Boy” who, seeing a leak in the dike, put his finger into it, thereby stopping the leak and saving the local village and becoming a hero, was a simplex example for Hook of an “eventful” hero. He did not control events. Others, he suggested, were able so to understand the potential of the moment that they could seize control and direct the course of developments. These individuals were “event-making” men, and, correctly or not, he used the example of Lenin in October/November 1917.

We’ll begin the course with an extended discussion of Hook’s book, then focus upon a series of individual, trying to determine what role—eventful or event-making—they played. Students will also write papers that treat both “dead” and “live” heroes/heroines.

To make explicit one assumption underlying the course, it should be emphasized that this approach does not mean that the instructor believes, as did Thomas Carlyle in the nineteenth century, that what has been accomplished in the past “is, at bottom the History of the Great Men who have worked here.” Rather, the intent of the course is to investigate closely the issue of human agency in history.

TEXTS TO BE READ AND DISCUSSED

Sidney Hook, The Hero in History (Cosimo Classics, 292 pp.).

J. Kelley Sowards, Makers of the Western Tradition. Portraits from History, 7th

Edition,2 vols. (Bedford/St. Martin’s) [NOTE: Sowards’ chapters are organized around pairs of primary accounts of the individuals being treated, followed by two, often conflicting, secondary interpretations. If rights to Sowards’ volumes, now out-of-print, can not be obtained, suitable alternative materials will be developed for a reader.]

Handouts as appropriate

COURSE REQUIREMENTS

Regular class attendance, with the assignments done by the dates indicated below, is assumed for full credit in the class, along with appropriate participation in class discussion. In addition, there are two other kinds of requirements.

First, during the semester, each student will be asked to lead the evening’s discussion on the topic assigned for that night, paired with another leader if enrollment in the course warrants. I will consult with individuals on how to approach and prepare for this aspect of the course.

Second, students will write two papers. One will be about 5 to 8 pages, double-spaced, and focus upon an individual, no longer living not considered in the class. The intent of this paper will be to assess the degree to which and the ways in which this individual may be consider “event-making” in Hook’s sense. The second, longer paper (about 12 to 15 pages, including documentation and bibliography) will focus upon a living individual, and the student will be asked to make the argument that this person fits Hook’s category of an “event-making” hero. During the last two class sessions of the semester, students will make oral presentations on their longer paper in class, leading an appropriate discussion of not more than twenty minutes. Final versions of this paper will be due at the end of the semester. I will consult with students in all instances on choices of topic for these papers.

SCHEDULE OF ASSIGNMENTS AND CLASSES

Wednesday 25 August

The Problem of the Hero/Heroine in History

Discussion

Wednesday 1 September

The Hero in History: Analysis and Discussion, I

Assignment:Sidney Hook, The Hero in History, ch. I-VIII

Wednesday 15 September

The Hero in History: Analysis and Discussion, II

Assignment: Sidney Hook, The Hero in History, ch. IX-XII

Wednesday 22 September

Moses: The Heroic Power of Transcendent Religion

Socrates: The Rational Hero

Assignment: Sowards, chapters on Moses and Socrates

Wednesday 29 September

Alexander the Great: Heroic Transformer in Spite of Himself

Julius Caesar: Heroic Colossus in Control?

Assignment: Sowards, chapters on Alexander and Caesar

Wednesday 6 October

Charles the Great [Charlemagne]: The Father of Europe?

Leonardo da Vinci: Universal Man?

Assignment:Sowards, chapters on Charlemagne and Leonardo

Wednesday 13 October

Martin Luther: Breaker and Maker of Tradition

Elizabeth I: Creating a Heroic Settlement

Assignment: Sowards, chapters on Luther and Elizabeth

Wednesday 20 October

Catherine the Great of Russia: Neither Catherine nor Russian, but Was She Great?

Napoleon: Hero of the Revolution or Its Heroic Destroyer

Assignment:Sowards, chapters on Catherine and Napoleon

Wednesday 27 October

Karl Marx: A Hero for the Masses?

Charles Darwin: A Heroic Explanation

Sigmund Freud: It’s All in a Heroic Mind

Assignment:Sowards, chapters on Marx, Darwin, and Freud

Selections from Jacques Barzun, Darwin, Marx, and Freud

Wednesday 3 November

Vladimir Ilich Ulyanov [Lenin]: Did Hook Get it Right?

Assignment:Sowards, chapter on Lenin

Additional Handouts

Wednesday 10 November

Iosif Vissarionovich Dzugashvili [Stalin]: A Monstrous Hero

Adolph Hitler: Another One

Assignment:Sowards, chapters on Stalin and Hitler

Additional Handouts

Wednesday 17 November

Simone de Beauvoir:A Heroine for a New Gender Order

Margaret Thatcher: No Such Thing as Society

Mikhail Gorbachev: Hero or Goat? (Did He Intend Either?)

Assignment:Sowards, chapters on de Beauvoir and Thatcher

Additional Handouts

Wednesday 24 November

“Live Heroes/Heroines:” Class Presentations I

Wednesday 1 December

“Live Heroes/Heroines:” Class Presentations II

Friday 10 December

Final Version of Second Paper Due

GRADES:

Grades for the course will be based on:

-Discussion Leadership=20%

-Short Paper on “Dead” Hero=20%

-Oral Presentation and Discussion of “Live

Hero/Heroine” Paper=20%

Final Paper=40%

Total = 100%

A BLUNT STATEMENT ABOUT ACADEMIC INTEGRITY

Both Faculty and Students at USC are expected to adhere to the standards of academic integrity as defined in university policy in the Faculty Handbook and in SCampus. An academically dishonest act violates the community of trust upon which the pursuit of learning and truth is based. A violation of academic integrity, including but not limited to all kinds of plagiarism, will result in sanctions, including either a lowered grade for an assignment or for the course; or a failure for the assignment or for the course; or—in particularly flagrant instances—academic sanctions up to and including expulsion. Please note: by university policy, faculty are required to report all instances of academic integrity violations. Students may access the Student Conduct Code in Section 11.00 of SCampus, with the recommended sanctions located in Appendix A: The Office of Student Judicial Affairs and Community Standards carries on review of instances where academic integrity is alleged to have been violated. That review process can be found at:

STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES

Any student requesting academic accommodation based on a disability is required to register with Disability Services and Programs (DSP) each semester. A letter of verification for approved accommodations can be obtained from DSP. Please be sure the letter is delivered to me as early in the semester as possible. DSP is located in STU 301 and is open 8:30 a.m.—5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. The phone number for DSP is (213) 740-0776.

OFFICE AND OFFICE HOURS

Professor Knoll has an office in the Liberal Studies Program Office Suite THH 355, with Office Hours immediately before and after each class session and at other times by appointment. You should consult with him on all matters relating to the course and the topic. You may contact him by phone at his home phone (310) 838-9247; please do not call after 9:00 p.m. His E-mail address is Written messages may be left for him in the History Department Office, SOS 153, or the Liberal Studies Program Office, THH 355, which are open from about 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday-Friday. The telephone number of the History Department is (213) 740-1657; that of the Liberal Studies Program, (213) 740-1349.

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