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This political science introductory course has
four (4) main goals:
1. To introduce students to some of the main
thinkers and ideas that have influenced contemporary political
thought;
2. To attempt to justify political institutions such as
governments, executive and legislative bodies, and legal codes;
3. To explain the grounds upon which different philosophers have
chosen to base such justifications; and
4. To apply some of these ideas to real world situations.
The central theme will be force
versus freedom--the conflict between individual freedom
and society's right to control its members.
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TEXTS:
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- Plato: Five Dialogues: Euthryphro, Apology, Crito, Meno, Phaedo, 2nd edition, G.M.A. Grube, translator. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Co., Inc, (2002)
- Sophocles: Antigone, Paul Woodruff, Translator. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Co., Inc, (2002)
- Niccolo Machiavelli: The Prince, David Wooton, ed. and translator. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Co., Inc, (1995).
- Thomas Hobbes: Leviathan Edwin Curley, ed. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Co., Inc, (1994)
- William Golding: Lord of the Flies, Putnam (1954).
- John Locke: Second Treatise of Government, C.B. Mcpherson, ed.. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Co., Inc, (1980).
- Aldous Huxley: Brave New World and Brave New World Revisited, New York: Harper and Rowe (1932).
- Jean-Jacques Rousseau: Rousseau's Political Writings, Alan Ritter and Julia Conaway Bondanella, eds. New York: W.W. Norton and Company (1988).
- Albert Camus: The Stranger; Alfred A. Knopf, Inc, (1946).
- Karl Marx: Selected Writings Lawrence Simon, ed. Hackett Publishing Co., Inc, (1994).
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RECOMMENDED
READING (Highly Recommended): |
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- William Ebenstein, Great Political Thinkers: Plato to the Present,
Fort Worth, Texas:: Holt, Reinhart and Winston, 1991
- G. Sabine: A History of Political Theory. Illinois: Dryden Press,
1973
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COURSE
REQUIREMENTS: |
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1. Three Take-Home Exams--11 per cent each
2. Four In-Class Exams—15 per cent each
3. Attendance and Class participation--7 per cent.
NOTE: ANYONE WITH MORE THAN TWO UNEXCUSED ABSENCES FORFEITS THIS FRACTION OF HIS/HER GRADE
Assignments and Due Dates
- 1st Take Home Exam, July 14th
- 2 nd Take Home Exam, July 17th
- First in-class Exam: July 22nd
- Second in-class Exam: July 29th
- Third in-class Exam: August 4th
- 3 rd Take Home Exam: August 5th
- Fourth in-class Exam: August 11th 8-11 a.m.
NOTE: Take Home Exams Are Due at the Beginning of Class—NO EXCEPTIONS!!!! |
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SCHEDULE OF TOPICS AND REQUIRED
READINGS |
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| 7/08/08 |
Course Overview: Politics, Philosophy, Political Philosophy and the Role of Myth—An Analysis of Key Perennial Questions.
Reading : The Stranger(L’etranger) by Albert Camus |
| 7/10/08 |
Existentialism versus Purposive Living in The Philosophy of Personal Freedom by Jean-Paul Sartre. Documentary.
Reading: The Stranger(L’etranger) by Albert Camus
1st Take Home Exam handed out (The Stranger) |
| 7/14/08 |
1st Take Home Exam Due at BEGINNING OF CLASS
Conflicting Loyalties: custom versus religion—Positive Law versus Natural Law
Reading : Antigoneby Sophocles
Question: What are the myths upon which Theban society rests and what role do they play among the protagonists?
Recommendation: View film, Oedipus the King , available in Media Center, DH Hill Library
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| 7/15/08 |
The tension between authority and freedom;
Reading: The Crito by Socrates in Plato: Five Dialogues.
Question: What are some of the principles that Socrates articulates in this dialog?
2nd Take Home Exam HANDED OUT (Antigone and the Crito) |
| 7/17/08 |
2nd Take Home Exam Due at BEGINNING OF CLASS
Human Nature. Are humans good or evil?
Reading :The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli |
| 7/21/08 |
Human Nature. Are humans good or evil?
Reading: The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli
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| 7/22/08 |
First In Class Exam on The Prince
Human Nature: Is Government Necessary or Optional?
Reading: The Leviathan by Thomas Hobbes
Reading : The Lord of the Flies by William Golding |
| 7/24/08 |
3rd Home Exam Handed Out (Leviathan and Lord of the Flies)
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| 7/28/08 |
Human Nature: Is Government Necessary or Optional?
Reading :The Leviathan by Thomas Hobbes
Reading : The Lord of the Flies by William Golding |
| 7/29/08 |
Second In-Class Exam on The Leviathan
Human Nature: Naturally Equal or Naturally Unequal?
The Doctrine of Limited Government.
Reading: The Second Treatise on Civil Government by John Locke.
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| 7/31/08 |
Human Nature: Naturally Equal or Naturally Unequal?
The Doctrine of Limited Government.
Reading: The Second Treatise on Civil Government by John Locke. |
| 8/04/08 |
Third In-Class Exam on the Second Treatise on Civil Government |
| 8/05/08 |
3rd Take-Home Exam Due AT BEGINNING OF CLASS
Human Nature: Naturally Free or Naturally Un-free?
What is the Origin of Inequality Among Humans?
Reading: Rousseau’s Political Writings , pp. 3-57. |
| 8/07/08 |
Human Nature: Naturally Free or Morally Free?
Why Do Humans Sign a Social Contract?
Reading: The Social Contract in Rousseau’s Political Writings , pp. 84-173 |
| 8/11/08 |
Fourth In-Class Exam on The Discourse and the Social Contract |
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August 11 : Final exam, 8-11 a.m.
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