Syllabus

PSC482G, Spring 2000
Political Science Seminar: The JFK Assassination
http://karws.gso.uri.edu/PSC482G/Spring2000/Intro_to_482G_Spr2000.html

Instructor: Kenneth A. Rahn krahn@uri.edu, http://karws.gso.uri.edu 874-6713
Center for Atmospheric Chemistry Studies Room 212, Graduate School of Oceanography (Bay Campus)

Goals
    The main goal of this course is to allow you to come to understand the JFK assassination in an intellectually rigorous way—something that, believe it or not, is rarely done. A secondary goal is to show you the kinds of knowledge you need to reach the first goal. (You may be surprised at the areas you need to know something about.) Another secondary goal is to show you the kinds of skills in critical thinking you need to reach the first goal. (Here you may also be surprised.) Note that the goals do not include letting you find out who killed JFK or whether it was a conspiracy, for neither of these are known with certainty yet, and probably never will be. But you can delimit the range of answers to a surprisingly large degree if—and only if—you acquire skills in critical thinking that are probably well beyond most of your present capabilities. That is why we begin this course with a section on critical thinking and use the principles developed there throughout the rest of the course. Thinking skills are unusually important in this case because enough evidence has been generated over the years to superficially support just about any interpretation you want. In order get you to where you can distinguish the important 1% of the evidence from the other 99%, I will lead you through something that often resembles a boot camp, where you unlearn much of what you think you know and replace it with the principles of rigorous thinking that have been refined and tested for centuries. In understanding the JFK assassination, what you (think you) know is much less important than how you know it. Thus this course might be called “Epistemology of the JFK Assassination.” But don’t worry—I would not put you through this if the results weren’t worth the effort. The skills and knowledge you acquire will serve you for the rest of your life.

Materials
    In keeping with the new millennium, this spring’s course represents a significant enhancement over previous courses. Because there are no books that properly review all aspects of the assassination, I am in effect creating my own, but on the web. We retain one formal textbook, The Warren Commission Report (Longmeadow Press, Stamford, 1992), or WCR, because it is the granddaddy of JFK books and still the most important—all serious study of the assassination starts here. I am supplementing the WCR with abundant materials on history (of investigating the assassination), issues and evidence (the single-bullet theory, the Zapruder film, etc.), scientific topics (the basic chemistry and physics you need to know to understand the assassination), principles of critical thinking, conspiracy theories, conspiracy theory (the intellectual side of conspiracy theories), the WCR critics (their profiles and publications), higher criticism (intellectually broader aspects of the assassination with a distinct postmodern flavor), and people, organizations, and web sites. I am assembling as many original materials as possible, many of which have been unavailable or hard to find for many years. The URI library also has the full Warren Commission and HSCA Reports, plus a selection of old and new books on the assassination.
    The web will eventually contain much more material than any course could treat in a single semester. We will deal with this problem (or opportunity, if you like to think positively) by each assuming a set of responsibilities. My responsibilities will be to provide you with as much quality information as possible in as many areas of the JFK assassination as possible, to show you the major principles and evidence, and to guide you to the heart of this maze where “truth” lies. Your responsibilities will be to thoroughly learn this core of principles and information, to explore the entire web and outside information as time permits, and to choose a topic of special interest that you will read about in detail, think about carefully, and report on to the rest of the class at the end of the semester or whenever you are ready. At that point, I and the class will have the opportunity to question you on your facts and your logic.

Format, homework, exams, grading
    We meet MWF at 11 a.m. in Washburn 132. Typically, we will first discuss the reading and the homework for that day and then introduce the material to be read for the next class. Discussion will often be lively, as different points of view are promoted. Class participation is very important, and differences of opinion will be respected provided that you can defend them. Our rule is simple: you propose it, you be ready to defend it.
    Assignments will be due for many of the classes, and will be graded and returned at the next class. Most will be questions about material you will have read, and will range from straightforward to hard. Quality of writing is important—sentences and paragraphs are to be constructed to the highest standards of written English. Handwritten answers are acceptable as long as they are neat and legible. Late assignments will be penalized by 50%. By putting full effort into all homework assignments, you can keep up with the work and earn a high final grade.
    Be prepared to work hard for this class because the evidence on the assassination is full of twists, turns, and contradictions that take time to sort out. I would be doing you no favor by offering a class that was less than rigorous. Plan to spend up to three hours outside class for each hour in. But I do not ask more than nine outside hours in any given week—if you reach that level, you may quit without penalty, and I will assume responsibility for making the assignments overly long.
    There will be a final exam on Friday 5 May from 3 to 6 p.m. If you really want a midterm exam, I can be persuaded to give one. If there is a midterm, the final grade will be 30% on homework, 20% on the midterm, 20% on the paper/presentation, and 30% on the final. If there is no midterm, the final grade will be 40% on homework, 30% on the paper/presentation, and 30% on the final.

Provisional Schedule
    Important note: Because of all the new material and the nonlinear nature of any web experience, our schedule can only be predicted roughly. Here is my best guess at this time. We will undoubtedly alter it as the semester progresses.

Note: The many conspiracy theories will be discussed during weeks 6 and 7.

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