From Enlightened Despotism to Dangerous Radicalism: Kant’s "What is Enlightenment," The French Revolution, and Büchner’s Woyzeck

I. Immanuel Kant (1724-1804): The Critiques and the Kantian Crisis

    1. Ethics, Morals, and Tolerance
    2. The Metaphysical Self and the Beginning of Idealism
    3. The Categorical Imperative: "Act only on that maxim through which you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law."
    4. Kant’s Appeal to Frederick: "What is Enlightenment"

II. The French Revolution: 1787-1799

    1. Financial Crisis: The Estates-General and the Creation of the National Assembly
    2. The Tennis Court Oath and the Storming of the Bastille
    3. The Execution of the Royal Family and the Terror
    4. Bonaparte and the End of the Revolution

III. The Conservative Backlash: Georg Büchner (1813-1837) and the Hessian State

    1. Hesse in the Early Nineteenth Century
    2. Political Repression in Post-Napoleonic Times
    3. Georg Büchner’s Radical Education and Short Life

IV. Radical Politics: The Hessian Messenger

    1. Pamplets and Sedition
    2. Peasant Uprisings
    3. Betrayal and Exile
    4. "Peace to the Peasants! War on the Palaces!"

V. Papers!

    1. What’s a five page paper?
    2. What’s a thesis?
    3. What’s a paragraph?
    4. From Book to Idea to Outline to Draft