Phil 3162/Hist 3162: The Scottish Enlightenment
- Study Abroad Program -

May 21 - June 9, 2008

Program Description:

The Scottish Enlightenment is widely recognized as an age of genius. In the period from 1720 to 1790, Scotland led the world in almost every area of human inquiry. The work of Adam Smith and David Hume, two of the most famous thinkers of the period, has had an extraordinary influence on the development of the modern world and how we think about it. Our 2008 trip will introduce you to several of the fundamental texts of the period, as well as the context in which those ideas took shape. The trip includes study in Glasgow, Edinburgh, and St. Andrews, the historic centers of the Scottish Enlightenment. In each of these cities, there will be guest lectures by internationally-recognized experts in the study of the Scottish Enlightenment. In addition, there will be time and opportunity to enjoy the extensive cultural offerings of these beautiful cities. The final week of our trip will be spent in the Scottish Highlands and the coastal city of Oban, where we will have the chance to reflect on how 18th century Scotland and its economic experimentation played an influential role in the development of capitalism and our understanding of the virtues and vices of commercial societies.

Trip Leaders:

Dr. Mark Collier, Assistant Professor of Philosophy at the University of Minnesota, Morris. Mark received his Ph.D. from the University of California, San Diego. His primary area of specialization is David Hume, one of the leading thinkers of the Scottish Enlightenment. He was previously a faculty member at Stanford University, University of Pittsburgh (Semester at Sea), and Pomona College.

Dr. Marynel Ryan, Assistant Professor of History at the University of Minnesota, Morris. Marynel earned her Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota in 2006. Her research focuses on the history of economics as a field of knowledge and, in particular, on the political and institutional contexts within which economic knowledge is produced. She teaches broadly in the history of modern Europe.

Guest Lecturers:

Dr. Christopher Berry, Professor of Political Theory at the University of Glasgow. He is the author of Hume, Hegel, and Human Nature (1982), Human Nature (1986), The Idea of a Democratic Community (1989), The Idea of Luxury (1994) and Social Theory and the Scottish Enlightenment (1997).

Dr. Alexander Broadie, Professor of Logic and Rhetoric at the University of Glasgow. He is the author of 16 books, including The Scottish Enlightenment: The Historical Age of the Historical Nation and Why Scottish Philosophy Matters.

Dr. Nicholas Phillipson, Honorary Research Felow in History at the University of Edinburgh. Professor Phillipson taught at the University of Edinburgh from 1965 until 2004. He is the author of countless articles and numerous books on the Scottish Enlightenment, including David Hume (2008) and Adam Smith (forthcoming, 2009). He has also co-edited several important volumes, including Scotland in the Age of Improvement: Essays in Scottish History in the Eighteenth Century.

Dr. James Harris, Lecturer in Philosophy at the University of St. Andrews. Professor Harris is the author of Of Liberty and Necessity: The Free Will Debate in 18th-Century British Philosophy. He is currently editing the Oxford Handbook of British Philosophy in the Eighteenth Century and writing a new intellectual biography of David Hume.

Course Schedule (Tentative):

May 21: Meet (5:15 PM) the Seminars International representative at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, Hubert H. Humphrey Terminal, for 7:20 PM departure on Icelandair.


Glasgow

May 22: Arrival, Group Tour of City, Group Dinner and Discussion at the Bothy Restaurant.

Reading: Selections from David Allan, Scotland in the Eighteenth Century and Broadie, “What Was the Scottish Enlightenment?” from Broadie, Ed., The Scottish Enlightenment: An Anthology.

May 23: Christopher Berry's Guest Lecture from 10:00 AM-12:00 PM (Adam Smith Research Foundation Seminar Room) & lunch with Berry. Afternoon class from 2:00-4:00 PM.

Reading: Berry, Social Theory of the Scottish Enlightenment, Chs. 2 and 6.

May 24: Alexander Broadie's Guest Lecture (10:00 AM-12:00 PM, 2 University Gardens) & Lunch. Afternoon free.

Reading: Selections from Adam Ferguson, Essay on the History of Civil Society; Broadie, “Morality and Civil Society,” from The Scottish Enlightenment: The Historical Age of the Historical Nation.

May 25: Hume's Moral Theory. Classes 10:00 AM-12:00 PM and 2:00-4:00 PM.

Reading: Mandeville, Selections from "Fable of the Bees" and "Enquiry into the Origin of Honour"; Hutcheson, Selections from Inquiry into the Original of Our Ideas of Beauty and Vice; Hume's Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals, Sections I, V, IX (Part I) and Appendix 1.


Edinburgh

May 26: Travel day w/visit to Stirling Castle and tour of Edinburgh.

May 27: Hume's Science of Man. Short meeting in morning (11:00 AM); Nicholas Phillipson's Guest Lecture in the afternoon (3:00-5:00 PM, Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities, Seminar Room, Hope Park Square) & Dinner with Phillipson.

Reading: Phillipson, "Scottish Enlightenment" from The Enlightenment in National Context, Porter and Teich, eds; "Introduction" to Hume's Treatise.

May 28: Hume's Theory of Justice. Class from 5:00-8:00 PM.

Reading: Hume's Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals, Sections III-IV and Appendix 3; Collier, "Hume's Natural History of Justice".

May 29: Hume's Political Economy. Class from 5:00-8:00 PM.

Reading: "Of Commerce" and "Of Refinement in the Arts"; C. Berry, "Hume and the Customary Causes of Industry, Knowledge, and Humanity", History of Political Economy, 2006, 38, 291-317.

St. Andrews

May 30: The Scottish Critique of Hume. Morning travel, guest lecture & dinner with James Harris (2:00-4:00 PM, Philosophy Department, St. Andrews University).

Reading: Harris, "The Early Reception of Hume's Theory of Justice", and Hume's Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals, Section IX (Part 2).

May 31: Adam Smith's Moral Theory and Theory of Justice. Class from 2:00-5:00 PM.

Reading: Selections from Smith's Theory of Moral Sentiments

June 1: Adam Smith's Political Economy. Class from 2:00-5:00 PM.

Reading : Adam Smith, “Division of Labor and the Provision of Education,” from An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations .


Ft. William

June 2: Scottish Discoveries. Travel Day w/ visits to Dunkeld Hermitage, Glen Tilt, Urquhart Castle, and Caledonian Canal.

Reading : Adam Smith, “Scientific Discovery” and James Macpherson, Dissertation Concerning the Era of Ossian. Optional reading: James Hutton, “Observations made in a Journey to the North Alpine part of Scotland in the year 1785,” from Theory of the Earth with Proofs and Illustrations.

June 3: The Statistical Account of Scotland 1790-1791. Morning class from 10:30-11:30 AM and afternoon visits to Highland Museum (2 PM) and Ben Nevis Distillery (4 PM).

Reading: John Sinclair, Statistical Account of Scotland; Alexander Fraser, “Parish of Kilmalie”.

June 4: Free day. Consider a hike of Ben Nevis or a partial walk of the Great Glen Way (weather permitting).


Oban

June 5: Changes to the Highlands. Morning class from 10:30-11:30 AM and afternoon travel.

Reading: Christopher Whatley, "Commercialisation and the Impact of Industrialisation in the Highlands and Islands," from Scottish Society, 1707-1830.

June 6: The Scottish Influence on America (Part One). Class from 10:00 AM-2:00 PM.

Reading: Samuel Fleischacker, "Adam Smith's Reception among the American Founders, 1776-1790," The William and Mary Quarterly, 2002, Volume 59, 897-924.

June 7: The Scottish Influence on America (Part Two). Class from 10:00 AM-2:00 PM and farewell dinner at the Waterfront Restaurant.

Reading: Garry Wills, “…endowed by their creator…” and “…inalienable rights…” from Inventing America ; D.W. Howe, "Why the Scottish Enlightenment Was Useful to the Framers of the American Constitution", Comparative Studies in Society and History, 1989, 31, 572-587


Iceland

June 8: Travel Day: Oban to Iceland.

June 9: Afternoon Departure from Iceland.