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.
Week No. |
Dates |
Topic |
Source of materials |
|
|
|
|
1 |
19–24 January |
Critical thinking |
Web pages |
2 |
26–31 January |
Overview; The deed |
WCR Chapters I, II |
3 |
2–7 February |
Pre-WCR reactions |
Web pages |
4 |
9–14 February |
Rest of Warren Report I |
WCR III–VII |
5 |
16–22 February |
Rest of Warren Report II |
WCR App. I–XIII |
6 |
23–28 February |
Reactions to Warren Report I |
Web pages |
7 |
1–6 March |
Reactions to Warren Report II |
Web pages |
8 |
8–20 March |
Issues and evidence I |
Web pages |
9 |
22–27 March |
Issues and evidence II |
Web pages |
10 |
29 Mar.–3 Apr. |
Issues and evidence III |
Web pages |
11 |
5–10 April |
The HSCA |
Web pages |
12 |
12–17 April. |
Oliver Stone’s film JFK |
Film plus web pages |
13 |
19–24 April |
Conspiracy theory |
Web pages |
14 |
26 Apr.–1 May |
Reports from students |
Students |
Note: The many conspiracy theories will be discussed during weeks 6 and 7.