OSHR 1105 - Modern European History: 1700-1905 - How the Past Can Help Shape a More Favorable Future

This course is offered through the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at Colorado State University. You must be a member of Osher to enroll in this course.

In his book entitled "Building a Bridge to the Eighteenth Century: How the Past Can Improve Our Future (1999)," Author Neil Postman has said that the l8th century Enlightenment Period in Europe provides "....ideas that offer a humane direction to the future, ideas that we can carry with confidence and dignity across the bridge to the 2lst century." This class will remind us of some of these "better dreams" from the recent western European past.

We will explore the broad themes and key organizing concepts of l8th and l9th century European history for inspiration and understanding. We will also examine the foundational principles that informed the great progress made in Western Civilization during the period l700 to l905, principles that are indeed being discussed over much of the "underdeveloped" world today.

A general context for the course includes how Western Europeans grappled with the:

• economic debate over capitalism, democratic socialism, and communism,
• political debate over representative democracy versus authoritarian rule,
• social debate over the separation of church and state, and
• rich cultural expressions of all of these concerns in the arts.

Two important current issues will be addressed:

• Why did so few "democratic" revolutions succeed while so many failed? Are there prerequisites for a successful democratic revolution?
• How did the West drift from the enlightened"Age of Reason" toward the "Age of Uncertainty," relativism, and secularism by the dawn of the 20th century?

Noncredit courses do not produce academic credit nor appear on a Colorado State University academic transcript.

Instructors

Tom Michoski
Tom.Michoski@comcast.net

Tom Michoski received his B.A. in history and sociology from Adams State College and an M.A. in American History from Colorado State University. He has a passion for the study of history and has done graduate study in international affairs. (European, Middle Eastern, and Chinese history). His extensive experience includes 31 years at Rocky Mountain High School where he taught primarily Advanced Placement U.S. History and Advanced Placement Modern European History for college credit as well as Modern Social Problems classes. Mr. Michoski earned a reputation for being an outstanding faculty member, not only by his students, but also by their parents! He focuses on key concepts, big ideas, themes, insightful generalizations, and debatable theories aimed at sparking dialogue and understanding. His OLLI students keep asking for more. This is the third course Tom has taught for OLLI, each on a different topic.

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