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- HEROIC IMAGINATION UNIT RESPONSE
Humanities/Spring Semester 2013
In class, we’ve been discussing the idea that we all have the capacity for evil and the capacity for heroism. How we deal with the many social influences we’ve addressed in class often determines how we will behave when confronted with this choice.
For this (your first) unit response, please respond to the following with a one- to two-page essay. Your response must include information from our class discussions; for this response, conducting your own outside research is optional. If you’d like to further explore the information we’ve been discussing in class, the Heroic Imagination Project website is a good place to start.
Your Task:
Choose one of the four quotes below. Please write a one- to two-page essay in which you reflect on the meaning of the quote and how it relates to the topics we’ve been discussing in class during this unit. You may want to consider the following questions (but you are not required to answer them all):
· Do you agree or disagree with the quote? Why?
· What meaningful connections can you make between the quote and this unit?
· What meaningful connections can you make between the quote and your knowledge of history? Current events? Your own experiences?
· What meaningful connections can you make between the quote and violations of human rights? The defense of human rights?
THE QUOTES:
"When the historian of the future assembles the black record of our days, he will find two things unbelievable: first, the crime itself; and second, the reaction of the world to that crime."
-Chaim Weizmann
“The greatest menace to freedom is an inert people.”
–Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis
"One must think like a hero to behave like a merely decent human being.”
–May Sarton
"Nurture your mind with great thoughts. To believe in the heroic makes heroes."
- Benjamin Disraeli (British prime minister)
“The line between good and evil is permeable and almost anyone can be induced to cross it when pressured by situational forces.”
–Philip Zimbardo
Your essay should be typed in 12-point font with one-inch margins around all sides. Cite any outside sources using MLA format (again, additional research is optional for this assignment). You must make connections to our Heroic Imagination unit in order to receive a passing grade on this assignment!
This unit response will be due on Thursday, February 14.