Benjamin Franklin


Book Description

Benjamin Franklin is generally considered one of America's most versatile and talented statesmen, scientists, and philosophers. His achievements include publisher of Poor Richard's Almanac and many articles on political, economic, religious, philosophical and scientific subjects. He was the inventor of bifocals, the Franklin stove, lightening rod, he was one of the signers of the 'Declaration of Independence', and the founder of, what is now the University of Pennsylvania. This book presents a detailed and riveting review of Franklin's life based on excerpts from the renowned 1899 book on Franklin by Sydney George Fisher. This overview is augmented by a substantial selective bibliography, which features access through title, subject and author indexes.




Benjamin Franklin's Science


Book Description

Examines the scientific work of Benjamin Franklin in fields ranging from heat to astronomy ; provides accounts of the theoretical backgroung of his science, the experiments he performed, and their influence throughout Europe and the U.S.




The Oldest Revolutionary


Book Description

Benjamin Franklin is the model American of an America that we have created. But if we can go beyond our preconceptions of Franklin and the 1776 and 1976 image of America, we can learn something of the truth, as well as the art, of his writings. The essays in this volume evaluate Franklin as a printer, publicist, and travel writer; they probe the structure, style, and organization of his most famous literary works, and assess his place in intellectual history. Taken together, the essays provide an overview of Franklin's attitude, purpose, and significance as a man and as a writer for his own time and for ours; taken separately, they provide valuable insights into what Franklin was and wrote. The first group of essays deals with Franklin's life. The second group of essays treats Franklin as a writer. The last two essays concern Franklins reputation and influence.




American Philosophy


Book Description

This anthology demonstrates the richness and diversity of the American intellectual heritage. In it we see how Jonathan Edwards grapples with the problem of how to reconcile freedom and responsibility with Calvinist religious beliefs; how Franklin and Jefferson exemplified American enlightenment thought; and how the Transcendentalists, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau, formulated their particular romantic idealist beliefs. A second and significant portion of the anthology is devoted to Pragmatism. Substantive excerpts from Peirce, James and Dewey, as well as Royce, are collected here. A third part is devoted to other Twentieth-Century American philosophies. No other collection of writings in this field includes the breadth of coverage that this one does. Among the chapters in this third part of the book are those on early Process Philosophy, Phenomenology, Positivism, and Language Philosophies. Selections from such philosophers as Whitehead, Weiss, Buchler, Gurwitsch, Sellars, Quine, Davidson, and Rawls, along with many others are included in this part. A final chapter is devoted to twentieth-century American Moral Philosophy. The book is specifically designed to be used as a text for courses in American philosophy. A substantive introduction that emphasizes the historical setting as well as major interests and ideas of the philosophers accompanies each chapter. Extensive bibliographies and study guide questions follow each chapter. The selections include more than any one course will cover, but in their completeness also allow individual teachers and readers to select what they want.







From Vienna to Chicago and Back


Book Description

Spanning both the history of the modern West and his own five-decade journey as a historian, Gerald Stourzh’s sweeping new essay collection covers the same breadth of topics that has characterized his career—from Benjamin Franklin to Gustav Mahler, from Alexis de Tocqueville to Charles Beard, from the notion of constitution in seventeenth-century England to the concept of neutrality in twentieth-century Austria. This storied career brought him in the 1950s from the University of Vienna to the University of Chicago—of which he draws a brilliant picture—and later took him to Berlin and eventually back to Austria. One of the few prominent scholars equally at home with U.S. history and the history of central Europe, Stourzh has informed these geographically diverse experiences and subjects with the overarching themes of his scholarly achievement: the comparative study of liberal constitutionalism and the struggle for equal rights at the core of Western notions of free government. Composed between 1953 and 2005 and including a new autobiographical essay written especially for this volume, From Vienna to Chicago and Back will delight Stourzh fans, attract new admirers, and make an important contribution to transatlantic history.




America's Indomitable Character Volume II


Book Description

Volume II of America's Indomitable Character has information on: A synopsis of Volume I. A preview concerning the content of Volume II with the sub-themes of Nature, human nature, society, the social contract, and education and how they weave into American character identity. American character identity and its Colonial connection to the philosophy of Jean-Jacques Rousseau. The historical personage Michel Guillaume (J. Hector St. John) de Crèvecoeur, a French, British, American Colonial citizen, and the America farmer par excellence who posed the famous question: What is an American? Benjamin Franklin's contributions to the developing American character identity. Thomas Paine's revolutionary views on American character identity. Thomas Jefferson's philosophical contributions to American character identity. John Dickinson, America's soldier and founding father. Hugh Henry Brackenridge, American publisher and author who educated Colonial Americans in politics. The literary group the Connecticut Wits who were both for and against America's independent development. The role of Colonial Religion and early attitudes concerning the American Colonial Theater as they relate to American character identity. The American dramatist and jurist Royall Tyler and his play The Contrast (A Comedy in Five Acts) in which the newly developing American consciousness of independence, including female independence, vis-à-vis English foppery and buffoonery are presented. Further, the use of the Native American's chanson du mort, in this case the Song of Alknomook and the dramaturgical presentation of Yankee Doodle are of utmost importance in understanding The Contrast and how they interplay with American character identity. The Albany Plan of Union. The Declaration of Independence written by the Founding Fathers. The Articles of Confederation (and Perpetual Union). A chronology of theatrical events between 1600 and 1800.




Executing Democracy


Book Description

Executing Democracy: Capital Punishment & the Making of America, 1683-1807 is the first volume of a rhetorical history of public debates about crime, violence, and capital punishment in America. This examination begins in 1683, when William Penn first struggled to govern the rowdy indentured servants of Philadelphia, and continues up until 1807, when the Federalists sought to impose law-and-order upon the New Republic. This volume offers a lively historical overview of how crime, violence, and capital punishment influenced the settling of the New World, the American Revolution, and the frantic post-war political scrambling to establish norms that would govern the new republic. By presenting a macro-historical overview, and by filling the arguments with voices from different political camps and communicative genres, Hartnett provides readers with fresh perspectives for understanding the centrality of public debates about capital punishment to the history of American democracy.




An Introduction to Intercultural Communication


Book Description

“One of the best textbooks in intercultural communication for undergraduate students” —Mo Bahk, California State University, San Bernardino How does the Syrian refugee crisis, the election of Donald Trump, and the increasing number of “walls” being built to control immigration affect our ability to communicate and function across cultures? The highly anticipated Ninth Edition of An Introduction to Intercultural Communication prepares today’s students to successfully navigate our increasingly global community by integrating major current events into essential communication skills and concepts. To spark student interest, award-winning professor and best-selling author Fred E. Jandt offers unique insights into intercultural communication, at home and abroad, through an emphasis on history, culture, and popular media. Each chapter integrates material on social media, as well as extensive new examples from recent international news and events. Throughout the text, Jandt reinforces the important roles that our own stories, personal experiences, and self-reflection play in building our intercultural understanding and competence. New to the Ninth Edition New material on religion and identity, gender identity, and gender expression enables readers to explore the most current coverage on modern theories. Focus on Skills boxes have been expanded to include more activities that provide students with additional practice of intercultural communication skills. Focus on Technology boxes illustrate the impact of the newest communication technology on intercultural encounters. The popular map program provide students with additional context for discussion of cultures and regions across the globe and dynamic data displays that are popular with students. Give your students the SAGE edge! SAGE edge offers a robust online environment featuring an impressive array of free tools and resources for review, study, and further exploration, keeping both instructors and students on the cutting edge of teaching and learning. Learn more at edge.sagepub.com/jandt9e