Freemasonry: Enlightenment secret societies and conspiratorial politics
History 195.003 - Fall 1997 - Ian F. McNeely
Course description
From the capital cities of Europe to the smallest Midwestern American towns, and in places as far apart as Mexico and China, freemasonry aimed to “build” a better society, taking its inspiration from masonry, the craft of bricklaying. Freemasons have been credited with helping to spread the progressive ideals of the Enlightenment. They have also been charged with conspiring to undermine religion and plot revolution. They formed private clubs, met in lodges, used arcane symbols, and conducted secret rituals behind closed doors. Yet their members made an enormous impact outside, in public life: Wolfgang Mozart, George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Isaac Newton, and the inventor of the guillotine were all freemasons.
This course will use freemasonry as a vehicle to study several large themes in European and American history, ca. 1600-1820, including: the connections between Enlightenment thought and political activism, the importance of voluntary association to “civil society,” the conflicts between science and religion, issues of gender and masculinity, and recurrent fears of conspiracy and secret associations as threats to democracy. You will learn how to read and analyze primary sources and historians’ own writings. In-class workshops will prepare you for college-level writing and critique. As a final project, you will research a primary document on freemasonry (whether an actual text, a visual image such as a sundial, an interview with a living Freemason, or a Web site on freemasonry) and prepare a 10-12 page research paper. The reading load is 75-85 pp. per week, and tapers off as students begin research projects.
Schedule and weight of course requirements
· Three written exercises (2-3 pp. each), due in class on these dates
Tues., Sep. 16 assessing a monograph’s use of sources 8.33%
Tues., Sep. 23 analyzing a primary source document 8.33%
Tues., Sep. 30 grasping a book’s argument 8.33%
· Short (5-6 pp.) revision of one of the first three exercises
Tues., Oct. 14 response to a class discussion 10%
· Research paper on a masonic text or other primary source
Tues., Oct. 28 research proposal and source description
Thurs., Nov. 13 introductory and concluding paragraphs 15%
Thurs., Nov. 20 rough draft due in class (7-10 pp.)
Week of Dec. 2-9 presentation on research project 10%
Mon., Dec. 15 final draft due (10-12 pp.) 25%
· Class participation (see below) 15%
TOTAL 100%
You will receive a short midterm progress report, together with my comments on your research proposal, on October 30. Note that there is no midterm or final exam!
Schedule of class meetings and reading assignments
Starred (*) items are in the coursepack
Th. Sep. 4 Introduction to the class
1. Freemasonry: occult sect or benign brotherhood?
Tu. Sep. 9 Gnosis issue on freemasonry, 12-16, 18-23, 32-45 (but skim all!)
Stevenson, Origins of Freemasonry, 5-25, 77-96
Th. Sep. 11 Stevenson, Origins of Freemasonry, 96-124
2. The importance of voluntary association to democracy
First exercise due on Tuesday in class (2-3 pp.)
Tu. Sep. 16 Stevenson, Origins of Freemasonry, 125-165
Selections from Early Masonic Catechisms (handout)
Th. Sep. 18 *Putnam, “Bowling Alone,” 65-78
Stevenson, Origins of Freemasonry, 166-189
3. “Living the Enlightenment”: changing meanings of membership
Second exercise due on Tuesday in class (2-3 pp.)
Tu. Sep. 23 *Hutchinson, Spirit of Masonry, 82-109
*Im Hof, Enlightenment, 105-122
Th. Sep. 25 Jacob, Living the Enlightenment, 20-22, 143-161
*Im Hof, Enlightenment, 122-149
4. Practicing civil society: the European lodges in action
Third exercise due on Tuesday in class (2-3 pp.)
Tu. Sep. 30 Jacob, Living the Enlightenment, 30-51
Th. Oct. 2 Jacob, Living the Enlightenment, 120-142
5. A gentleman’s club? Elitism, fratnernalism, masculinity
Tu. Oct. 7 Bullock, Revolutionary Brotherhood, 50-84
Jacob, Living the Enlightenment, 179-202
Th. Oct. 9 Bullock, Revolutionary Brotherhood, 85-108
6. Freemasonry, politics, and revolution
Critique and response paper due on Tuesday in class (5-6 pp.)
Tu. Oct. 14 Bullock, Revolutionary Brotherhood, 109-136
Th. Oct. 16 Mini-workshop: planning your research project
*Roberts, Mythology of the Secret Societies, 146-167, 188-202
Sa. Oct. 18 Field trip to masonic lodge in Detroit (optional)
7. Women, gender, and public values
Tu. Oct. 21 Bullock, Revolutionary Brotherhood, 137-183
Th. Oct. 23 *Crocker, A Series of Letters, 1-24
*Lipson, Freemasonry in Federalist Connecticut, 187-200
8. Anti-masonic thought and politics
Research proposal & source description due on Tuesday in class
Tu. Oct. 28 Bullock, Revolutionary Brotherhood, 278-319
Th. Oct. 30 *Davis, Fear of Conspiracy, 73-84
*Davis, “Some Themes of Countersubversion,” 205-224
Midterm evaluations will be handed out in class on October 30
9. Historians and their sources
Tu. Nov. 4 Research methods workshop in class
*Curl, Art and Architecture of Freemasonry, 79-105
Th. Nov. 6 *Roberts, Mythology of the Secret Societies, 118-134
*de Barruel, Memoirs…of Jacobinism, I, ix-xxiv; III, v-xviii
10. Conspiracy theory in historical perspective
Tu. Nov. 11 Final research prospectus assignment due
*Robertson, New World Order, 1-14, 35-37, 67-73, 167-185
*Radner, “New World Order, Old World Anti-Semitism,” 844-849
Th. Nov. 13 Introductory and concluding paragraphs due in class
Read handout on research and sample research paper
11. Drafting and revision
Tu. Nov. 18 Selections from Pipes, Conspiracy (handout)
Th. Nov. 20 Rough drafts due in class (7-10 pp.)
Writing and revision workshop
Tu. Nov. 25 Class cancelled
Th. Nov. 27 Thanksgiving—no class meeting
12. Practicing history
Tu. Dec. 2 Student presentations
Th. Dec. 4 Student presentations
13. Wrap-up
Tu. Dec. 9 Student presentations and party
Simpsons “Stonecutters” episode (no promises)
END OF CLASSES
Mo. Dec. 15 TERM PAPERS DUE (10-12 pp.)