The purpose of this assignment is to assess one of EFSC’s Core Abilities: Critical Thinking.  This assessment essay is given college-wide to students in HUM 2249 and must be submitted through the TurnItIn drop box found in Lesson 6.  The essay should be written using MLA style, format, and citation/documentation standards.  The paper should be a thesis-driven critique and contain no fewer than 700 words and no more than 1000 words in the body of the paper.  A copy of the topic below and the rubric that will be used to assess the essay is included in Course Information section of the course.  You will need to paste your paper into this assignment's text box.  I recommend writing it in MS Word and then pasting it into the assignment text area after you have created your best effort.

The paper is NOT optional.  Failure to complete this MANDATORY essay will result in an “F” in the course. Any paper including ANY plagiarized material with little or no attempt to cite the material’s origin will receive a “0.” 

  Enlightenment Assessment Essay Topic

The centuries between the 17th century and our contemporary world began with an early, optimistic outlook of hope and promise of a better future, exemplified by movements like The Enlightenment, The Scientific and Industrial Revolutions, culminating in the Information Age, Environmental awareness and Globalization.

However, the period is also scarred with false starts and failures, violent schisms, world wars, imperialism, terrorism, irrational nationalism, extreme religious fervor, information overload, pollution and the threat of nuclear annihilation that indicate a failure of the rational model promised by the Enlightenment.

Students should consider this dichotomy of hope and failure, of promise and disappointment, and compose a critique of the Enlightenment project, identifying a specific, modern example to evaluate its success or failure.  Examples can be political, economic, social, or artistic.