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American Heritage

American Heritage. Lecture 1. Monday, January 6 th. Contact Information American Heritage Office 3421 HBLL 422-6076 Hours: 9am-5pm M-F americanheritage@byu.edu www.americanheritage.byu.edu American Heritage Review Room 3421 HBLL Hours: 9am-4pm M-F Professor Kirkham 784 SWKT

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American Heritage

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  1. American Heritage Lecture 1

  2. Monday, January 6th Contact Information American Heritage Office 3421 HBLL 422-6076 Hours: 9am-5pm M-F americanheritage@byu.edu www.americanheritage.byu.edu American Heritage Review Room 3421 HBLL Hours: 9am-4pm M-F Professor Kirkham 784 SWKT Email: Kirkhamd@law.byu.edu Office Hours: Mondays 3:30 – 5 p.m.

  3. Monday, January 6th • Don’t forget to go to labs! • Check for your section and room location • No lab quiz this week

  4. American Heritage • Examine the history and impact of the American founding • Interdisciplinary mix of history, political philosophy, and economics

  5. Course Introduction

  6. Getting Started • Questions • Add/Drop Deadline • Announcement Slide • Course Coordinator: Erica Souza • Introduce ourselves • Professor • Teaching Assistants (TAs) • Lecture Procedures • Participation • Books • Course Packet and Syllabus • Bring to lecture?

  7. Course Introduction Syllabus

  8. Syllabus • Study it! • TAs • Readings: • Textbook: City Upon A Hill: The Legacy of America’s Founding, Fox and Pope (2007) • American Heritage Course Packet: Available from BYU Bookstore, under Kirkham, David • Justice, Michael Sandel (2009) • Animal Farm, George Orwell. • Lectures and media clips • iClicker • Exams and Quizzes • Essays • Citizenship Project (10 hours) • Films • Grading

  9. Course Assignments

  10. Course Assignments • Three essay assignments (25, 50, 75 points each) • Two midterm examinations (100 points each) • comprehensive final examination (150 points) • Participation (50 points; attendance and iClicker responses are important parts of this grade) • Citizenship project (50 points) There is ample opportunity to receive the grade you earn.

  11. Class Conduct • There are no entirely correct opinions about politics or public policy. We should treat everyone and everyone’s opinions with respect and civility. • We should treat the US and its people, including government officials, with respect but not with unexamined acceptance. • We should treat other nations and all peoples with the same respect accorded the US and its people. • This is a serious course, dealing with serious issues, but we can still have fun.

  12. The Founders’ Rules • Reasoned discourse • Respect for differing opinions • Sense of humility about the limits of their own understanding

  13. More Rules of Class Conduct • Only one person in each seat • If you are going to eat in class, bring enough food for all of us (e.g. 120 sandwiches or 30 pizzas). • If you are going to leave class early, pretend to be sick. • Texting is fine if the text is taken from the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, or the Gettysburg Address; otherwise, no. • Cell phones may be used in class if there is a natural disaster, or you are going into labor.

  14. Policies for Success • Attend class faithfully. • Pay attention in class • When taking notes, supplement the information on the screen with information from the lecture and discussion. (Most of the slides will be posted for viewing online.) • Do not be distracted by cell phones, email, Facebook, ESPN, video games, etc. • Do the reading before the class for which it is assigned. • Schedule time to complete your assignments, rather than frantically completing them before the deadline. • Utilize the resources available to you, e.g., the TAs and the review room.

  15. Modern political discourse may not be the preferred method of discussion. • How do we treat the American Founders? • Hypocritical, pompous, slave-holding aristocrats? • Flawless demigods? • Try to avoid such extremes. • Remember that widely broadcasted opinions are not always the best opinions. #fb #twitter

  16. Why study American Heritage? • The idea of a bold experiment. • Has the United States found a formula to keep people free and prosperous? • Should this bold experiment be a beacon to other nations? • The founding occurs during the Age of Enlightenment when individuals believe they can solve, through the application of reason, the social ills that bedeviled ancient society. • American Heritage helps us to begin to answer the question “why” we engage in certain practices. • Why do we have a market economy? • Why do we have a two-party system?

  17. So why does the university require me to take this course? • In order to help you to begin to answer the following question: • “How can we design a government that resolves conflicting interests and fosters beneficial cooperation while maintaining order and liberty?”

  18. Importance of the American experience in world history • Embodiment of the ideal of consent of the governed • Government held accountable by its citizens • Freedom of the individual to pursue self-definition and realization • This particular brand of individual liberty has been labeled by some philosophers as “human flourishing.”

  19. Importance of the questions from an academic perspective • “Foundings” do not happen very often. • “Foundings” ask us to reflect on fundamental questions. • Who should rule? • What is a citizen? • How much power should government have? • What values should a government foster?

  20. Importance of these questions from a gospel-centered perspective • Members of the LDS faith in the United States provided the resources to fuel the expansion of the gospel abroad. • The prosperity of the United States is still essential for world-wide expansion today. • The system of rights and liberties established by the founding provides a “cradle for the Church.” • Religious liberty is a precondition for engaging in the activities that we cherish.

  21. American Heritage • A continual reflection on the practices, cultures, and institutions that make a stable and prosperous republic possible. • Stability and prosperity should not be taken for granted. • Governments and nations change. • Those changes can either enhance stability or promote destabilization. • Where is the American republic in 2014? • Are the answers of 1787 appropriate to 2014?

  22. Summary • Importance of American Heritage for helping you understand the political, cultural, and economic world surrounding you. • This environment shapes every significant choice you make. • You can run from American Heritage, but you cannot hide. • Read syllabus in its entirety for class on Wednesday. • Wednesday, Read Chapter 1 in City on a Hill

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