For your first blog assignment, due Thursday evening (2/2), you’ll need to start by carefully reading the two short texts I passed out at the end of class (also up under the readings tab of this blog):
“The Enlightenment in Europe and the Americas”
Kant, “What Is Enlightenment?”
Remember to read with a pen/pencil in hand, looking up words if you need to. You should be prepared to re-read the Kant essay: it’s short but dense, and it makes some distinctions that may not be easy to understand with a single reading.
First, make sure your assignment starts with a brief hello introducing yourself to the class. It’s also a good idea to make sure that you’ve edited your blog profile to show your full name and (if you choose) a picture. You can do this by clicking on the “Welcome, [your name]” at the top right of this screen.
In a short blog post of no more than 500 words, explain your take on Kant’s response to his central question. First, explain in your own words what you understand Kant’s answer to be (that is, what he thinks Enlightenment is). Then, explain why Kant thinks Enlightenment is difficult to achieve. (If you think there are several reasons, you should feel free to focus on one.) These two components should take up no more than half of your post, so choose your words carefully and avoid fluff. You should quote important phrases if you think they add to your explanation, but avoid long quotations. Instead, focus on your own explanation.
Finally, for the last part of this post, I have a question that might be rather challenging, so be sure to give it some thought: Based on Kant’s definition, do you think we currently live in an enlightened age? Why or why not? Would you propose another definition? (We’ll talk about this question a bit at the beginning of class next Monday as well.)
This should be a new blog post of your own (not a comment on this post); you can start a new post by going to the “+New” button in the top black bar of this screen. Before you “Publish” your post (blue button on the right of the text box), be sure to proofread it carefully and please tag your post (in the window to the right). You can use existing tags or create new ones of your own.
If you’re still learning how to use the blog platform, check out the “Help!” button at the top of the screen. A rubric for how blog posts are evaluated can be found on the syllabus. If you review these and still have questions, you can ask a classmate for help or (if all else fails) email me.
