The Twentieth Century was a time of sheer Hell — two world wars; civil war; fascist and communist totalitarianism, and myriad other forms of dictatorship; genocide; xenophobia; religious hysteria; political assassination; and terrorism. I define the Twentieth Century as the period between July 28, 1914 and September 11, 2001. We will explore this era by focusing on the following themes: 1) the experience of living through Hell; 2) the contending theories of Hell's origins; 3) the moral implications of the threat of going to Hell; and finally, 4) the problem of reckoning with Hell. We will use ten widely recognized images of Hell to address these themes.

My intellectual objective in this seminar is to familiarize you with four key concepts in the study of politics: description; explanation; analysis; and prescription.

My personal objective is to prepare you for life after Notre Dame. Every Notre Dame graduate should be a leader. Leadership is nothing more than the art of persuasion. To this end, we will concentrate on the four skills required to persuade others to follow you into battle: reading, writing, speaking, and arguing.

This is a demanding course. You must keep up with all of your assignments to avoid being left behind. Because this is a seminar, both your classmates and I will expect you to be a full participant in everything we do.

The section and requirements links are at the top of this page. You will find links to WebCT Vista and contact information below.

This Web site is the authoritative syllabus for the seminar. I will modify it as we move along. Therefore, you must consult it at least once a week throughout the semester. A link to the most recent updates is here.