Valencia Enlightenment Discussion

Our course begins at the terror and trauma of war has finally subsided throughout Europe.  On the Continent, 30 years of warfare (yes, thirty real years…a far cry longer than the wars we moan and whine about here such as the events in Afghanistan—hard events for sure, but not 30 years yet) finally came to an end, with a quite shocking conclusion….the people in Central Europe battered from the experience.  On the island north of Europe, the 6 years of Civil War (their second in 100 years; the first the romantically titled “War of the Roses” but a bloody civil war nonetheless) had come to its own shocking conclusion with the King beheaded.

This course, then, deals with the world that emerged in that time. In 1650, the world isn’t quite “modern” yet, but the ideas and thoughts of our modern age will emerge from here. Why?  What are those modern ideas?  How does the Thirty Years War point ahead to those changes?

Check out this video from the Department Chair as it helps set the tone of the discussion (we will see it again later in another discussion as a reminder).  Besides the laughter of the wonderful Monty Python gang, pay close attention to the points made about government.

Discuss the political writings of Thomas HobbesLinks to an external site.Links to an external site..Links to an external site. Links to an external site., John Locke,Links to an external site. and Jean-Jacques Rousseau.  Links to an external site.Explain what these men thought was the correct style of political theory and government.  Make sure you connect both men and their ideas to the two major political developments of the age: absolutism and constitutionalism.  Which man’s thoughts, if either, do you see as most dominant today in the USA?

Let your discussion range across the issues of human liberty, humanism, impact to government and warfare.  You do not have to feel like you must address everything in one post; in fact, please do NOT do that, but rather write a thoughtful contribution to our discussion.  The textbook will help you too; use the index to find each man.  Here are two more to see a comparison:  Link OneLinks to an external site. and Link TwoLinks to an external site.