Faculty of Information and Media Studies
Media, Information and Technoculture
M.I.T. 372F “Witch Hunts in the Modern Era”
Fall Term, 2006

Instructor:		Sean Mulligan, Philosophy Dept.

Contact Info:		(519) 661-2111, ext. 85749
			Talbot College Rm 323
			Office Hours by Appointment Only
			mulligan@uwo.ca

Class Times:		Wed 2:30-4:30pm in KB-K103
			Fri 10:30-11:30am in KB-K-103

Course Website:	http://instruct.uwo.ca/mit/376g
			(please note the old course code)

Course Description:  This course will explore the 17th Century Witch Craze, with the goal of then moving on to examine key events in the 20th and 21st Centuries that have been characterized as witch hunts.  Topics will include but will not be limited to the following:

The First Crusade, 17th Century Witch Craze, Political Philosophy, Logical Fallacies, The Dreyfuss Case, Nazi Germany, Japanese Internment Camps, McCarthyism and Hollywood, RCMP vs. FLQ, PMRC vs. Popular Music, Project Archangel vs. HALO, Terror Suspects, Media and Censorship.

Course Requirements:

Media Review:				(2-3 pages)	  10%
Multi-Media Research Assignment:		(4-6 pages)	  20%
Prospectus&Annotated Bibliography:	(4-6 pages)	  20%
Term Paper:					(15-20 pages)	  50%

Attendance: While there is no assigned grade value for attendance or participation, preparing for and coming to class will be required for students to derive the proper benefit from lectures.  This course will introduce material from a number of different periods and sources, and students who fall behind in the readings will find it difficult to derive a coherent picture of the course content.  In accordance with Senate Regulations, any student whose attendance falls below the minimum acceptable level may be refused permission to write the final examination.

Course Scope: A very broad range of approaches will be respected in this course, so knowledge from other disciplines will be an asset in the research paper - ex. history, sociology, economics, medicine, law, politics, public policy, literature, theory and criticism, philosophy, the sciences, etc.  As long as the subject of the paper fits into the evolving definition of a witch hunt, and there is a media component to the writing I am open to a great many suggested topics and methods.

Plagiarism Policy: Excerpted from Senate Regulations:

“Plagiarism: Students must write their essays and assignments in their own words.  Whenever students take an idea, or a passage from another author, they must acknowledge their debt both by using quotation marks where appropriate and by proper referencing such as footnotes or citations.  Plagiarism is a major academic offence (see Scholastic Offence Policy in the Western Academic Calendar).  The University of Western Ontario uses software for plagiarism checking.  Students may be required to submit their written work in electronic form for plagiarism checking.”

Plagiarism in any form will not be tolerated in this course, and penalties will be assessed against those students found to have infringed on these regulations.  The minimum consequence will be a grade of 0% on any assignment in which plagiarism is detected.

Appeals Policy:  As per F.I.M.S. Regulations:

The Faculty “does not view the appeals process as an opportunity for students to solicit a second opinion on a grade assigned to a particular piece of work.  Appeals must pertain to the final grade in a course, and will only be entertained if sufficient grounds for appeal can be met, including: medical or compassionate circumstances, a defect in the evaluation process, bias, inaccuracy or unfairness.”  Please consult the appropriate administrators in the faculty for clarification.

END.

Syllabus for M.I.T. 376G “Witch Hunts in the Modern Era”
Instructor: Sean Mulligan, Philosophy Dept.
Wednesdays 2:30-4:30pm in KB-K103
Fridays 10:30-11:30pm in KB-K103

Fri 08 Sep 	Course Introduction and Overview Comments on Witch Hunts

Wed 13Sep	From Crusade to Witch Hunt
			Read:  “The First Crusaders” CP p.1-6
			Read: “Summis Desiderantes” CP p.7-10
Fri 15 Sep	The Witch Craze
			Read: “The Devils of Loudun” (Novel)

Wed 20 Sep	Case Study:  17th Century France
			Read: “The Devils of Loudun” (Novel)
Fri 22 Sep	Case Study:  17th Century France
			Read: “The Devils of Loudun” (Novel)

Wed 27 Sep	FILM:  “The Conqueror Worm”
			Read: “The Devils of Loudun” (Novel)
Fri 04 Oct	Fallacies and Rhetoric 
			Read: “Relevance, Presumption, and Ambiguity” CP p.21-34

Wed 04 Oct	Security and Liberty – The Concept Map of Political Philosophy 
			Read: “Political Philosophy” CP p.11-20
Fri 06 Oct	Case Study:  1930s Northeim, Germany
			Read:  “Spring-Summer 1933” CP p.35-69

Wed 11 Oct	Case Study:  1930s Northeim, Germany 
Read:  “Spring-Summer 1933” CP p.35-69
Fri 13 Oct	Guilty By Suspicion
			Read: “Spring-Summer 1933” CP p.35-69

Wed 18 Oct	Guilty by Suspicion – From World War to Cold War
			Read: “Them” CP p.69-76
			Read: “McCarthyism – Documents from and About the Era” 				(Reserve: Weldon)
Fri 20 Oct	Cold Warriors and the New Suspects
			Read: “McCarthyism – Documents from and About the Era” 				(Reserve: Weldon)

Wed 25 Oct	FILM “Good Night, and Good Luck”
			Read: “McCarthyism – Documents from and About the Era” 				(Reserve: Weldon)
Fri 27 Oct	Free Media and Civil Liberty

Wed 01 Nov	The Canadian Red Scare
			Read: “RCMP vs. FLQ” CP p.85-98	
Fri 03 Nov	Film “After the Baths” (Documentary)
			(See collection at the Pride Library for information)

Wed 08 Nov	Due Process and Moral Uncertainty
			Read: “Rights of the Accused” CP p.77-84
			Read: “The Legal Enforcement of Morality” (Reserve: Weldon)
Fri 10 Nov	Civil Liberties in Canada

Wed 15 Nov	FILM:  “Paradise Lost:  The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills”
			(Berlinger/Sinofsky 1996) 2hrs 30 mins
			No Reading
Fri 17 Nov	End of “Paradise Lost”.  Discussion.

Wed 22 Nov	Hearing the Ahmadi Voice – The History of Islam	
			Read: “Beyond Impunity and Collective Punishment” CP p.99-119
			Read: “Ahmadi Muslims and Orthodoxy in Pakistan” CP p.119-				131.
Fri 24 Nov	Terror Suspects in Canada

Wed 29 Nov 	FILM:  “Why We Fight”
Fri 01 Dec	Security and Freedom – What Do the Words Mean?

Wed 06 Dec	Witch Hunts In a New Age
			Read: “Librarians, Academics, Unions, and Oil” CP p.131-end.

End of Term – Term Paper Due

END.