Political Philosophy/Thought PLSI/PHIL 333, Spring 2012
TR 12:20 to 2:30pm Office: BDC (COB) 239
Dr. Michael Ault Email: mault@csub.edu
Office Hours: TR
11:00 to 12:20, Phone:
661.654.2022
2:30 to 3:00pm, and by appointment
Website: www.csub.edu/~mault/classes.htm
Teaching Assistant:
Dirk Horn (dhorn83@gmail.com)
Office: BDC 243
T: 2:30 to 4:30
R: 2:30 to 4:00
The contents of this document will affect your performance in this class and ultimately your academic career. To ensure that you understand the classroom policies, the course requirements, and my professional expectations, please read the entire document carefully. You are responsible for any changes that may occur during the course of the quarter and you will be held responsible for all announcements that are made in class.
Course Description
In this course, we will learn to read the works of political and social philosophy, both ancient and modern.
Course Objectives
To read closely and actively with a pen, a dictionary, and a critical but open mind;
To understand the questions political philosophy raises;
To understand philosophers’ answers to these questions and issues;
To understand how these answers provide a beginning point for new inquiries rather than answers that halt inquiry;
To explore the proposition that political philosophy provides an opportunity to assess one’s self and one’s political association;
To identify current political and social issues within an analysis of justice;
Specifically, in this course we will explore the following questions:
What issues does political philosophy address?
How is political philosophy different and similar to the study of political science and philosophy?
Why is philosophy necessary?
How can philosophy address the fundamental problems of human association?
Why have books been considered dangerous?
What is a social contract?
What is a racial or gender contract?
How do contracts reflect an underlying power relationship?
What is liberalism?
What are the arguments against liberalism?
What are the alternatives to liberalism?
Why does it matter how “power relationships” are organized?
How does living in the present era affect our experience of the world and reality?
Required Texts
Classics of Moral and Political Philosophy. Steven M. Cahn. Oxford University Press. 2002. ISBN 0195140915. Buy it here.
Mandragola. Niccolo Machiavelli, translated by Mera Flaumenhaft. Waveland Press. 1981. ISBN 0917974573. Buy it here.
The Bhagavad Gita. Buy it here.
Recommended Texts
M.C. Howatson and Ian Chilvers. The Oxford Dictionary of Classical Literature. Oxford University Press. 1993. ISBN 0192827081. Buy it here.
Extended course bibliography: Click here.
Course Requirements
Mid-term Exam 30%: The test format is short answer and essay, and will cover both the course readings and classroom lectures. If you have an excused absence for the midterm, a makeup exam will take place on the last day of class. If you have an unexcused absence for your midterm, you will receive a 0 for that test -- this means you will fail the course.
Final Exam 30%: Your final exam will be comprehensive and will count for 30% of your total grade. The test format is short answer and essay, and will cover both the course readings and classroom lectures. If you have an unexcused absence for your final exam, you will receive a 0 for that test -- this means you will fail the course.
Unannounced Quizzes and Reading Reflections 30%: It is impossible to do well in this course if you just simply read the material without thinking about it. The quizzes and class assignments are designed to engage you with the text. One way to try to make sense of the readings is by asking yourself questions. For example, What is the author saying? What are the major and minor points? Does it make sense? What problems does it raise? The quizzes are designed to test: 1) whether or not you have read, and 2) whether or not you understand what you have read. There will be no advance notice of quizzes and there will be no make-up quizzes. For the class assignments, you will be asked to review an argument presented in class or the readings. You will have to explain the argument, assess its merits, and identify its shortcomings. These assignments range in length from 1-6 pages.
Class Participation 10%: I expect all students to come to class prepared to engage in discussion and critique of the assigned material. I consider this to be a critical part of the educational journey - learning requires that you become actively engaged in your own educational development. This means when reading the material, you should take notes and you should come to class each day with at least two questions concerning the readings.
Academic Expectations and Attendance: I expect that every student is taking this class because s/he is interested in pursuing the study of important ideas and the analysis of our social and historical conditions. Until proven otherwise, I’ll assume that every student in the class will receive an “A”. Failure to complete any of the assignments, or assignments that in the estimation of the instructor represent minimal effort on the part of the student, will lead to deductions from that grade, as will a failure to attend class regularly and participate in class discussion. It is impossible for you to do well in this class without attending regularly and your participation is required.
Personal Conferences: I have office hours and I encourage you to take advantage of them to come and discuss any problems you may be having with this course or with University life in general. If you cannot see me during my scheduled office hours, please feel free to come by my office or schedule an appointment.
Additional Information
The following points are intended to enhance the classroom environment. Some of them are pre-existing regulations determined by the university, and others describe the basic expectations for anyone prepared to embark on an educational journey.
1. You are expected to work two (2) hours out of class for every unit (credit) received for this class, thus a total of approximately eight to ten (8-10) hours per week. If you are working less than this, and find you are having trouble understanding the material, you need to spend more time reading, taking notes, asking questions, and visiting me during office hours.
2. All writing submitted must be typed; double spaced; 1” margins; type size no bigger than 12 point. Please do not attach cover sheets or plastic bindings.
3. This is not a composition class. I expect that all students have a basic proficiency in reading and writing. I encourage all students who are concerned about their writing ability to contact The CSUB OASIS Writing Center for information regarding free tutorial services and writing assistance labs. They are open Monday through Friday and offer a variety of services to CSUB students.
4. Please come to class on time, prepared to engage in attentive and active listening and respectful commentary. Please turn off all electronic communications equipment (cell phones, etc.) which would provide a distraction to others in the class.
5. Students are expected to do all work assigned to them without unauthorized assistance. Plagiarism—the misuse of published or unpublished works of another by claiming them as one’s own -- is a serious offense and will lead to a grade of “F” for the class and disciplinary action by the university.
I have office hours and I strongly encourage you to take advantage of them to come and discuss any problems you may be having with this course or with University life in general. If you cannot see me during my scheduled office hours, please drop by my office any time, or call to see if I am there. If not, leave a message and I’ll be back with you shortly to arrange a time to meet. You may contact me through email, as well.
Students with demonstrated disabilities are encouraged to speak with me as soon as possible in order to identify any ways in which your disability may be accommodated.
Class Schedule
Topic One: What is political philosophy?
Week One: (4/3 - 4/5) Introduction to the class.
Week Two: (Tuesday 4/10 and Thursday 4/12). The Apology of Socrates (Text is located here)
Thursday 4/12: In-class Assignment #1
Topic Two: What is ancient political philosophy?
Week Three: (Tuesday 4/17). The Republic Book 1.
Week Three: (Thursday 4/19). The Republic. Books 2-3.
Week Four: (Tuesday 4/24). The Republic. Books 4-6.
(**Republic Outline**)(Text is located here)
Recommended Readings:
Plutarch’s Lives.
The Ancient City: A Study on
the Religion, Laws, and Institutions of Greece and Rome. Numa Denis
Fustel de Coulanges. John Hopkins University Press.
1980.
The Oxford Dictionary of Classical Literature. M.C. Howatson
and Ian Chilvers. Oxford University Press. 1993.
Topic Three: What is modern political philosophy?
Week Four: (Thursday 4/26). La Mandragola – Machiavelli (all).
Week Five: (Tuesday 5/1). La Mandragola
(cont.) and Midterm Review
**Midterm Question
Study Guide**
Week Five: (Thursday 5/3). Midterm Exam
Week Six: (Tuesday 5/8 and Thursday 5/10). Leviathan – Hobbes (Introduction to Chapter 14)
Week Seven: (Tuesday 5/15 and Thursday 5/17). Second Treatise Concerning Government – (Chapter 1-12 and Chapter 19)
Week Eight: (Tuesday 5/22 and Thursday 5/24)
Discourse on the Origin of Equality – Rousseau all)
Recommended Readings:
Thoughts on Machiavelli. Leo Strauss. University of Chicago Press. 1995.
Politics and the Arts. Jean-Jacques
Rousseau. Edited and translated by Allan Bloom. Cornell University Press. 1991.
The Oxford Dictionary of Classical Literature. M.C. Howatson and Ian
Chilvers. Oxford University Press. 1993.
Topic Four: Are there alternatives?
Week Nine: (Tuesday 5/29) - Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844 – (all)
Week Nine: (Thursday 5/31) - The Bhagavad Gita – (Chapters 1-11 and 14)
Recommended Readings:
The Sutras of Patanjali. Translation and commentary by Sri Swami
Satchidananda. Integral Publications. 1978.
The Upanishads. Penguin Classics. 1965.
The Marx-Engels Reader. Edited by Robert Tucker. W.W. Norton and
Company.
Beyond Good and Evil: Prelude to a Philosophy of the Future. Freidrich
Neitzsche. Translated by Walter Kaufmann. Vintage Books.
The Revolution of Everyday Life. Raoul Vaneigem.
The Theory of Communicative Action, Two Volumes. Jurgen Habermas. Beacon
Press. 1984.
Empire. Michael Hardt and Antonio
Negri. Harvard University Press. 2000. Click here to download a copy.
Week Ten: (Tuesday
6/5) – Final Exam Review
***(Final Exam Study Guide)***
Week Ten: (Tuesday 6/7) Final Exam
Excellent
Addresses the assignment thoughtfully and analytically, setting a challenging task.
Displays awareness of and purpose in communicating to an audience.
Establishes a clearly focused controlling idea.
Demonstrates coherent and rhetorically sophisticated organization; makes effective connections between ideas.
Provides clear generalizations with specific detail, compelling support, and cogent analysis.
Cites relevant sources and evaluates their validity, effectively integrating them into text when appropriate.
Displays superior, consistent control of syntax, sentence variety, word choice, and conventions of Standard English.
ESL/Dialect Guideline: Grammatical errors are rare and do not interfere with overall effectiveness of the paper; occasional imprecision in word choice and usage may occur.
Strong
Addresses the assignment clearly and analytically, setting a meaningful task.
Addresses audience needs and expectations.
Establishes a clearly focused controlling idea.
Demonstrates clear and coherent organization.
Provides clear generalizations and effective support and analysis.
Cites relevant sources, effectively integrating them into text when appropriate.
Displays consistent control of syntax, sentence variety, word choice, and conventions of Standard English.
ESL/Dialect Guideline: Some grammatical errors may occur throughout the paper, but do not interfere with overall effectiveness; occasional inappropriate word choice or incorrect usage may occur.
Adequate
Addresses the assignment with some analysis.
Addresses most audience needs and expectations.
Establishes a controlling idea.
Demonstrates adequate organization.
Provides support for and some analysis of generalizations.
Cites appropriate sources, adequately integrating them into text.
Displays adequate control of syntax, sentence variety, word choice, and conventions of Standard English; errors do not slow the reader, impede understanding, or seriously undermine the authority of the writer.
ESL/Dialect Guideline: Grammatical errors, inappropriate word choice or incorrect usage may occur throughout the paper but rarely interfere with effective communication.
Seriously Flawed
Addresses the assignment inadequately.
Shows insufficient audience awareness.
Strays from the controlling idea, or the idea is unclear.
Displays formulaic, random, or confusing organization.
Lacks generalizations, or provides generalizations with inadequate support or analysis.
Fails to cite sources or cites and/or integrates them inappropriately.
Shows deficient control of syntax, sentence variety, word choice, and conventions of Standard English; errors impede understanding.
ESL/Dialect Guideline: Serious and frequent errors in grammar, word choice, or usage hinder communication.
Fundamentally Deficient
Fails to address assignment.
Demonstrates a lack of audience awareness.
Lacks a controlling idea.
Lacks organization or organizes illogically.
Displays inability to generalize, analyze, or support ideas.
Fails to use outside sources or misuses the texts of others.
Shows inadequate control of syntax, sentence variety, word choice, and conventions of Standard English.
ESL/Dialect Guideline: An accumulation of serious and frequent errors in grammar, word choice, or usage prevents communication.
Adopted from University of California, Santa Cruz