Dear History MA and PhD Students,

Here is a course description provided by Dr. Fred Beuttler for his 
course, which was just added to the Spring 2010 schedule last week. 
It will be taught on Thursday evenings and you can register for it 
directly on Patriotweb:

HIST 615-009: Problems in U. S. History: Democracy in 20th-Century America

This seminar course will investigate the development of the "idea" of
American democracy, from roughly the 1890s through the present, seeking
to discover the relationship between science, philosophy, and religion in
creating a practical democratic philosophy.   The readings in this course
will introduce students to some of the most important ideas, thinkers,
institutions and debates that shaped an understanding of the function and
practice of American democracy, as well as the notion that the United
States is both "exceptional" and a "model" for democratic polities
through the world.  Each week's class will combine primary source
readings from major thinkers of the period, such as William James, John
Dewey, Herbert Croly, Walter Lippmann, Margaret Sanger, Reinhold Niebuhr,
Whittaker Chambers, Gunnar Myrdal, John Courtney Murray, Martin Luther
King, Cornell West, Francis Fukuyama, and Jean Bethke Elshtain, among
others, along with interpretative monographs by current intellectual
historians.  Students will actively participate in class discussions,
write several reviews of the readings, and research and write one longer
paper, based on a topic chosen in consultation with the instructor.

If you wish to contact Dr. Beuttler with any questions, he can be 
reached at <[log in to unmask]> until his GMU email account 
is set up.

Mack Holt
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*********************
Mack P. Holt
Professor of History
Director of Graduate Studies
George Mason University
Mail Stop 3G1
4400 University Drive
Fairfax, VA 22030-4444
Direct office phone: (703)-993-1259
Fax: (703)-993-1251