Political Science 41 Introduction to Political Theory

Political Science 41
Introduction to Political Theory
Section A: 11:30 – 12:45, T & Th, 400 Lafayette
Fall, 2012
Professor Neal, 502 Old Mill
Phone: office: 656-4316
home: 878-3752
Office hours: "Officially" Monday and Wednesday, 2:15 – 4:00, or by arrangement. However, you
are welcome to come by the office at any time, and I am generally there a good part of every day.
Just speak to me before or after class if you want to arrange a specific time.
Course Description
This course is designed to introduce you to some important issues in the field of political
theory, and to encourage and stimulate you to think seriously about them. The course
presupposes no prior knowledge of political theory. The only "prerequisites" are an interest in the
philosophical questions that lie at the heart of political life, and a willingness to read and think
seriously about them. This semester, we will address questions like these: Can the state enforce
morality? If not, why not? If so, how is that morality to be determined? What are the limits of
individual liberty? What duties do we owe to the political community? Is it ever legitimate to
disobey the law? When? What are the appropriate principles for justly distributing goods in a
political community? Do these principles allow, or perhaps even require, taking from some and
giving to others? What does the demand for cultural recognition mean in contemporary society?
Should liberal-democratic states act to protect, or perhaps even to promote, the flourishing of
cultural groups? The means of addressing these questions will be the close and critical
examination of various texts by both contemporary and classical writers.
Course Texts
All required readings will be available to you online. There are two inexpensive paperbacks that
you might want to buy for convenience. They are listed below. Remember, though, that both of
these texts are available online, and so you are not required to purchase them.
1. John Stuart Mill, On Liberty
2. Plato, “Apology” and “Crito”, both in The Trial and Death of Socrates.
Non-Electronic Classroom
No electronic devices are allowed in the classroom. This includes laptop computers – they
cannot be used in class. Please try and remember to silence your cell phones, etc. before class
begins.
A note on e-mail: I read e-mail during the day at work, not in the evening or on the
weekend. Please do not expect immediate replies to e-mails – I have an overwhelming number to
reply to.
Course Requirements
The Basic Grading Scheme
Quizzes………………………………………...…….……….…15%
Essays and Exams (best 4 scores averaged)……………….85%
(1) Class Participation and Attendance
I expect you to attend each class, to come having done the assigned reading in advance,
and to come prepared to intelligently discuss and analyze these readings. Chronic failure to meet
these expectations will result in the lowering of your final mark. (Absences from class become
"chronic" when they exceed two.) Please remember as well to always bring to class the relevant
reading material for that day.
(2) Quizzes: During the term, there will be a number of occasions when we will have a brief quiz,
based upon the assigned reading, to open the class. Occasionally, the quizzes may be take-home,
requiring you to write a page or two.
Grading of Quizzes: Everyone can miss one quiz with no penalty (or drop the lowest grade if you
take them all); for other missed quizzes, your lowest quiz grade will be repeated. It is thus very
much in your interests to attend class and take all quizzes. There are no make-up quizzes.
(3) Essays
There will be three occasions during the term when I will hand out questions for essays of
approximately 5 pages. The essays will be devoted to the analysis and criticism of the material we
are reading and discussing in class.
Tentative Essay Dates
#1 – Tuesday, September 25
#2 – Tuesday, October 23
#3 – Thursday, November 29
(4) Exams
There will be two exams in the class. The first exam will be held in October (tentatively:
Thursday, October 11) and will cover the material we have read and discussed up to that point.
The final exam will be held on Friday, December 7, at 1:30. The exams will be a mixture of short
explanation questions, requiring a paragraph or so in response, and essay questions.
Please note that everyone must take the final exam at the required time.
Make-up Exams: Make up exams will be given only in cases of emergency. If a make-up exam is
given, the format of the make-up exam will not necessarily be the same as the format of the regular
exam.
Late Essays: I’ll explain my policy regarding late essays in the class.
You must do a total of four essays/exams combined. One of these must be the final exam. The
other three may be the mid-term and two essays, or you can do three essays and avoid the
midterm. If you do all five assignments, only the best four will count toward your grade.
Course Outline
Specific reading assignments will be made each week in class. It is important that you be in
attendance to receive them.
(BB = on Blackboard)
INTRODUCTION (1 session)
I. POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY & DEMOCRATIC POLITICS (3-4 sessions)
Reading:
Michael Walzer, "Philosophy and Democracy," (BB)
Richard Rorty, “The Priority of Democracy to Philosophy,” (BB)
John Dewey, “Philosophy and Democracy,” (BB)
Plato, “Allegory of the Cave,” from Republic (BB)
II. PATRIOTISM (about 2-3 sessions)
Reading:
Alisdair MacIntyre, “Is Patriotism a Virtue?” (BB)
George Kateb, “Patriotism and other Mistakes” (BB)
III. THE TRIAL OF SOCRATES (4-5 sessions)
Reading:
Plato, “Apology of Socrates”
Plato, “Crito”
Leo Strauss, “On Plato’s Apology of Socrates and Crito” (BB)
IV. MILL AND THE LIMITS OF LIBERTY (5-6 sessions)
Reading:
John Stuart Mill, On Liberty
Patrick Devlin, “Mill on Liberty in Morals” (BB)
Patrick Devlin, “Morals and the Criminal Law” (BB)
James Fitzjames Stephen, “Mill’s Fallacies” (BB)
V. CONCEPTIONS OF FREEDOM (about 3 sessions)
Reading:
Isaiah Berlin, “Two Concepts of Liberty” (BB)
Charles Taylor, “What’s Wrong with Negative Liberty?” (BB)
Philip Pettit, “Republican Liberty” (BB)
VI. CONCEPTIONS OF POLITICS (about 4-5 sessions)
Reading:
Max Weber, “Politics as a Vocation” (BB)
Carl Schmitt, “The Concept of the Political” (BB)
Hannah Arendt, “Freedom and Politics” (BB)
Michael Oakeshott, “Rationalism in Politics” (BB)
FINAL EXAM – Friday, December 7 at 1:30 pm.
CLASSROOM PROTOCOL
The Department of Political Science requires that this classroom protocol, defining
minimum standards of conduct, be included in all syllabi.
1.
Students are expected to attend and be prepared for ALL regularly scheduled
classes.
2.
Students are expected to arrive on time and stay in class until the class period ends.
If a student knows in advance that he/she will need to leave early, he/she should
notify the instructor before the class period begins.
3.
Students are expected to treat faculty and fellow students with respect. For
example, students must not disrupt class by leaving and reentering during class,
must not distract class by making noise, and must be attentive to comments being
made by the instructors and by peers.