External comments on this course

 

Call for comments and participation

On 17 January 2000, I sent this request to my JFK distribution list:

Invitation to a JFK course

Fellow JFK Researchers:

This spring semester of 2000, I am again giving the upper-level course on the JFK assassination in the University of Rhode Island's Political Science Department that I first offered last year. It is designated PSC482G, "Political Science Seminar: The JFK Assassination," and is attended mostly by juniors and seniors in that department. This year's course differs in two respects from last year's, however: (1) it forsakes "textbooks" (except for the WCR) in favor of copious documentation that I am assembling on a web; and (2) it is much broader than before, with sections added on early criticism, critics, conspiracy theories, conspiracy theory, scientific topics, and higher criticism (essentially JFK in the postmodern age). Because of the success of last year's experiment in public participation, I am again making the course available to all interested people outside the University of Rhode Island. Please feel free to follow the readings, assignments, and answers, and to send me any comments you wish about the readings or answers or even about the course itself. As before, I will post for the students and the JFK community everything that you send (but please identify yourself and provide a return address). We already have two or three students who will follow the course (from Michigan, Sweden, and maybe Florida), and I would love to have 10-20 more. I promise to discuss any answers you send me in the appropriate class.

The home page for the course is  http://karws.gso.uri.edu/PSC482G/Spring2000/Intro_to_482G_Spr2000.html. There you will find the syllabus, the homework assignments and answers, and of course all the readings, as many as possible of which are original documents.

If any of you have documents or images that you think would enhance the course, please send them to me and I will post them. I prefer them in electronic form, but will gladly accept hard copies instead. My main goal is to get the maximum amount of material posted for all to see and use.

Thank you in advance for participating, and I look forward to hearing from you.
 
Sincerely, Ken Rahn

Responses

Here are the responses I received, in order, with comments as appropriate:

17 January 2000

From Robert Chapman of Dallas. This was the first reply I received, even though it doesn't look like it from the times:

Date: Mon, 17 Jan 2000 18:05:13 -0800
From: robert chapman <rchapman@mem.net>
To: "Kenneth A. Rahn" <krahn@uri.edu>
Subject: Re: Invitation to a JFK course
Dear Dr. Rahn,

Thank you for your offer.  I have carefully examined your website, including the material posted under the "critics" sub-heading.  I conclude from my reading of that that you care little for your students having an objective perspective when they are introduced to various viewpoints (in particular, those not in accord with what appear to be yours) of the different critics.  Frankly, your tone is not one to inspire confidence in you as an impartial academic interested in the facts of this case. Accordingly, I decline the invitation.  Further, please remove me from your mailing list.

Thank you.

Robert Chapman

 

From Jim Masland, who maintains the web site "Nook of Eclectic Inquiry," at http://www.jmasland.com/:

From: "jwm" <jwm@jmasland.com>
To: "Kenneth A. Rahn" <krahn@uri.edu>
Subject: Re: Invitation to a JFK course
Date: Mon, 17 Jan 2000 19:21:22 -0500
Thanks for the note on your forthcoming course. Please feel free to use
anything from my website which may be useful to your endeavor, and, if I can
be of assistance, please don't hesitate to contact me.

Ciao...

*******

From Stuart Wexler of Dallas:

From: Stugrad98@aol.com
Date: Mon, 17 Jan 2000 20:21:43 EST
Subject: Concerning what I've seen thus far
To: krahn@uri.edu
Congrats again on offering this course.  I was curious about two things,
which I guess amounts to two suggestions.
 
1)  Will you be including Art Snyder's critique of the NAA?
 
2)  Will you be including Art Snyder's critique of the Jet Effect?
 
I believe Snyder did a much better job at pointing out problems with both
than any of the people you are presently citing. 
 
Glad to hear from you again.
 
-Stuart Wexler

My reply, same day:

Stuart

Thanks for your interest and the good suggestions. I haven't really gotten to the NAA stuff yet, other than to reformat you earlier compendium, so I hadn't thought much about Art and his work. But your suggestions are both fine, and I will follow them.

Ken

Wexler replies, same day:

Thanks for the open-mindedness, it's rare in this case.
 
Hypothetically, would your class be interested in doing some investigation as part of the class.  I can explain.
 
-Stu

My response, same day:

Stu:

My response was simply recognizing a good idea that I hadn't thought of yet! (The first guy who replied to me asked me to remove him from my mailing list.)

First read the syllabus and then tell me your idea about actually investigating.

Ken

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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