OCC CIV REVIEW SESSION

Diaz: the conquest of new spain
written several decades after the conquest
-praises the conquest, non-critical view

Las Casas: a short account of the destruction of the indes
critical look at the conquest
-spanish weren't acting in accordance with their faith
-feared divine retribution
-critic of the conquests
-also critic of the encomendero system
-but NOT opposed to african slaves
-argued against sepulveda
-follow pope's dicates

machiavellli: The Prince and Discourses
the prince
-written for the medicis
-not quite "the ends justify the means" but close
-avoid the image of wickedness
-princes shouldn't be benevolent, that leads to their demise
-wars MUST be fought, but fought with CITIZEN ARMIES
-you must have 'virtu'
-manliness, skill, doing what is necessary to survive (or for the survival of the state)
-fortuna
-female, goddess, dispenses glory, honor, is essentially like chance
discourses
-written about an ideal 'republic'
-republic is mixed between monarchy, aristocracy, and democracy
-monarchy can become tyrannical
-aristocracy can become an oligarchy
-democracy can become anarchy
-mix them all together, you fix the problems with all of them
-makes very similar arguments to the prince
-citizen armies, virtu
-you need a paternalistic religion, but NOT christianity, but a CIVIC religion
-republic must be unified, must have solidarity

More: utopia
More himself
-lawyer, advisor, chancellor, to king Henry VIII
-persecuted protestants and argued against protestantism
-canonized
-refused to swear to the supremacy of Henry VIII, because it would have encroached upon supremacy of pope
-didn't like henry VIII's church of england
-was eventually executed
Book One
-vita activa vs vita contempletiva
-hythloday is for vita activa
-poverty vs equality
-more defends private property in BOOK ONE
-makes it very difficult to understand who the character actually is
Book Two
-description of a 'mythical society'
-island looks distinctly like england itself
-geography-wise, anyways
-no private property
-rotation of houses
-kids were moved around from house to house based on the professional wishes of the individual
-huge degree of control of the individual
-you need permission to travel, take days off, etc
-'pleasure is their guiding principle'
-there is religious diversity on the island, but no persecution
-there are key features of religion, though
-immortality of the soul
-also very intellectual society
-they pick up classics very quickly, also languages, etc
-divorce is necessary

Ginzburg: night battles
secondary source, not primary
about the persecution of the benandanti
-benandanti were 'called to fight witches'
-born w/caul
-set in boonies of italy, essentially
-when they weren't fighting witches, they were healers
-their spirits rode animals to the fight
-fought for the harvests, found out if they won a long time later
-inquisition ended up interviewing them
-inquisition- this 'judicial' body with authority from the church to investigate all sorts of non-orthodox beliefs and practices
-part of the counter-reformation
-inquisition believed that they were just straight witches
-over time, the benandanti ended up modifying their beliefs to become the witches the church said they were

Montaigne: essays
on cannibals is the important one here
-most people brand cannibals as inhuman and barbaric, but montaigne says to hold a mirror up to society
-look, european society is also barbaric...
-writes this in the context of the wars of religion
-montaigne decides to remove himself from these wars, moved to his country estate
-flips the idea that the cannibals are barbaric on its head
-says that the real barbarians are the europeans
-says that anything that goes against your own thoughts, etc is barbaric, but you're blind to your own faults
-basis for ethnocentrism
-very easy to point out the faults of others, much more difficult to look at yourself critically
-this theme is continued in on the custom of wearing clothes
-methods of how we dress distinguish culture groups
-dressing one way or another is not exactly indicative of barbarity
-'comparative anthropology'

Fontenelle: conversations on the plurality of worlds
old motherfucker
'salon society'
-they're at the marquis' house
-the woman wants to learn (very interesting, cause women aren't exactly held in the highest esteem at this point)
-dialogue between a philosopher and a marquis in which they discuss natural society and the shifts in worldview over the last few hundred years
-fontenelle is essentially a popularizer, not a scientist himself
-attempts to popularize descarte's philosophy AND method
-space travel also discussed, the idea of aliens, moon men, etc
-women can and should participate in natural philosophy
-even though the woman (marquis) lacks formal education, she's actually intelligent, and capable of understanding

Putney Debates & True Law of Free Monarchy & Agreement of the People
James I/VI argues against resistance
-fancied himself a philosopher-king
-compares monarchy to the head of a body, or the father of a family
putney debates were set immediately after the revolution (1647)
-discussion about the "agreement of the people"
-agreement of the people was drawn up by the levelers
-first outline for a constitution based on rights in english history
-outlined native rights- equality, universal male suffrage, no forced war, more frequent parliament meetings, freedom of religion
-LEARN ABOUT THIS
-main actors: Ireton & Cromwell on the side of the army (no redistribution of property) and Rainsborough and Sexby on the other side (redistribution of property?)
-cromwell doesnt want universal suffrage, but rainsborough does

Locke: Second Treatise on Government and A Letter Concerning Toleration (1685)
men have natural rights in the state of nature, men are sovereigns
-in state of society, they defer their sovereignty to society
-they still have the rights, but they're now political rights and not natural rights
-three branches of govt, executive, legislative, and federative
in 1685- edict of nantes is revoked (for toleration of huegenots), ALSO james II comes to the throne, he's catholic
-argues for separation of church and state
-religions have absolute freedom, unless they step across boundaries laid by secular law

Aphra Behn: Oroonoko
first female novelist
about an enslaved african prince
challenges some sorts of slavery
-challenges the idea that all slaves are taken because they're defeated in an unjust war
-depicts oroonoko as pretty european, romanesque
-this was so the europeans could identify with oroonoko

Voltaire: candide
really hated the nobles, was thrown in jail by them, beaten (whipped) by noblemen
-was exposed to england, lives in exile
-also a long-lived motherfucker
criticized the nobility in general, not only french or british
-pangloss made a mockery of leibniz
-somehow they figure out how to reconcile determinism and free will
-mocks the notion that the world is the best of all possible worlds
-the events of the worlds are predetermined, and therefore god would not create an imperfect world??
candide just gets shanked over and over again
-throughout the entire book he remains an optimist
-absurdity is the message of the book
-the injustice is just part of the absurdity
-also kind of underhandedly critiques slavery
-tend to your garden is the end of the book, various interpretations
-its possible that voltaire meant it as another absurdity
-also possible that he meant it as the world is so absurd that all you can possibly do is to tend to your own garden