The Heart of Democracy: Rediscovering the American Soul

(WSP 161)

America is an experiment whose meaning is continually being lost and having to be rediscovered. What vision of the human does America offer the world? What vision of community? This workshop offers a journey toward the roots of American democracy— into the elusive essence of the American mind and heart. Readings will be drawn from Jacob Needleman’s The American Soul, complemented by selections from Whitman, Lincoln, Douglass, and the Iroquois founding myth of democratic government.

Gail Needleman will complement Jacob Needleman’s philosophical perspectives with her own drawn from a lifetime studying American folk music. We will listen to and learn some remarkable songs from Appalachia and the African-American South, preserved in field recordings by the Library of Congress. Together, we will explore how this extraordinary music sustained the spirit of people through unimaginable injustice and suffering, and helped celebrate the power of community. Our aim in this workshop is to explore the power of conversation and shared musical experience in the work of reconciliation and mutual respect that is at the practical heart of the American ideal.

Jacob Needleman, Professor of Philosophy, San Francisco State University

Jacob Needleman is an eminent philosopher and author of more than a dozen bestselling books, including The American Soul and Why Can’t We Be Good?. A frequent commentator on current cultural issues, he was featured on Bill Moyers’ acclaimed PBS television series, A World of Ideas.

Gail Needleman, Lecturer in Music, Holy Names University

Gail Needleman received a Parsons Fellowship from the Library of Congress for research in American folk music. She is the co-creator of the American Folk Song Collection website.