Benjamin Franklin's "Civil Engineering": What Education for Civility Looks Like
Location
Beaman A&B
Presentation Type
Presentation
Start Date
25-9-2012 1:00 PM
Description
Even before Benjamin Franklin became involved in the project of creating the United States of America, he had given a lot of thought to what a civil society looks like and how people would have to be educated in order to bring that about. He undertook a number of ‘public education projects’ in Philadelphia—including publishing newspapers and almanacs, starting circulating libraries, and drawing up plans for a public assembly hall and what eventually became the University of Pennsylvania—that were shaped by and in turn shaped his ideas about how human societies should function. After serving in diplomatic roles before and during the decidedly uncivil American Revolution, he turned his attention more fully to the ways in which language can be employed to create and to destroy civility. In this talk, I’ll explore Franklin’s most important ideas about education for a civil society and speculate about whether they might extend any wisdom to us.
Recommended Citation
Curtis, David, "Benjamin Franklin's "Civil Engineering": What Education for Civility Looks Like" (2012). Humanities Symposium. 25.
https://repository.belmont.edu/humanities_symposium/2012/2012/25
Benjamin Franklin's "Civil Engineering": What Education for Civility Looks Like
Beaman A&B
Even before Benjamin Franklin became involved in the project of creating the United States of America, he had given a lot of thought to what a civil society looks like and how people would have to be educated in order to bring that about. He undertook a number of ‘public education projects’ in Philadelphia—including publishing newspapers and almanacs, starting circulating libraries, and drawing up plans for a public assembly hall and what eventually became the University of Pennsylvania—that were shaped by and in turn shaped his ideas about how human societies should function. After serving in diplomatic roles before and during the decidedly uncivil American Revolution, he turned his attention more fully to the ways in which language can be employed to create and to destroy civility. In this talk, I’ll explore Franklin’s most important ideas about education for a civil society and speculate about whether they might extend any wisdom to us.
Comments
Convo: AL