Introduction to Topics in History (292-0-28)

Topic

Great Trials in History

Instructors

Edward Wallace Muir Jr
847/491-3653
Harris Hall - Room 244

Meeting Info

University Hall 312: Mon, Wed 11:00AM - 12:20PM

Overview of class

One of the distinguishing characteristics of western civilization has been its persistent concern to adjudicate disputes and to judge alleged wrong-doers through the process of a trial. The forms of trials and standards of evidence have changed a great deal since ancient times when Socrates was condemned to death, and yet the trial still remains the principal means through which society makes its most important judgments. Trials are also exceptionally revealing of the basic values in society. What distinguishes the great trials has been how they uncover conflicts about those values, how they preserve for prosperity a sensitivity for justice and injustice, how they symbolize conflicting values, and how often they have stimulated great works of philosophy and literature. In this course we shall analyze a few of the most famous trials from the ancient world to the twentieth-first century and ask such questions as what is justice and injustice, what is the role of persuasive rhetoric in trials, how have trials constructed evidence for and against defendants, and most importantly how have the trials of certain individuals stimulated a debate about the fundamental values of society?

Learning Objectives

Write strong argumentative essays

Evaluation Method

Discussion, short essays, mock trials

Class Notes

Concentration: European

Class Attributes

Historical Studies Foundational Discipline
Historical Studies Distro Area