http://www.willamette.edu/~sbasu/poli305/poli305f05syllabus.htm

POLITICS 305 MODERN POLITICAL THEORY Fall 2005 MWF 1240-140pm SML B18

Sammy Basu Office: Sml 322 Hours: TTH 100-230pm Or by appointment 503.370.6264 mailto:sbasu@willamette.edu

COURSE SUMMARY

In this course we will reflect on modernity and examine selected modern political theorists. Emphasis is placed upon evaluating the assumptions, cogency, and contemporary relevance of their respective philosophical systems or 'isms'. Topics to be addressed include human nature, ethical judgement, and the purposes of politics.

COURSE OBJECTIVES

In addressing the above subject-matter, the objectives of this course include improving the student's abilities to:

think: "Man is only a reed, the weakest thing in nature; but he is a thinking reed."
Blaise Pascal (1623-1662), Pensées (1670, vi.347).

read: "Read not to contradict and confute, nor to believe and take for granted, nor to find talk and discourse, but to weigh and consider."
Francis Bacon (1561-1626), 'Of Studies,' Essays, (1597).

write: "Then, rising with Aurora's light, The Muse invoked, sit down to write; Blot out, correct, insert, refine, Enlarge, diminish, interline." Jonathan Swift (1667-1745), On Poetry (1733, I.85). speak: "'The time has come,' the Walrus said, 'To talk of many things: Of shoes -- and ships -- and sealing wax -- Of cabbages -- and Kings -- And why the sea is boiling hot -- And whether pigs have wings.'" Lewis Carroll (1832-1898), Through the Looking Glass (1872) research: "Know then thyself, presume not God to scan, The proper study of mankind is man, Plac'd on this isthmus of a middle state, A being darkly wise, and rudely great: With too much knowledge for the sceptic side, With too much weakness for the stoic's pride, He hangs between: in doubt to act or rest, In doubt his mind or body to prefer; Born but to die, and reas'ning but to err; Alike in ignorance, his reason such, Whether he thinks too little or too much." Alexander Pope (1688-1744), An Essay on Man (1733, Epistle, ii.1.1).

The French Revolution 1789

PEDAGOGY

"Let the tutor make his charge pass everything through a sieve and lodge nothing in his head on mere authority and trust: let not Aristotle's principles be principles to him any more than those of the Stoics or Epicureans. Let this variety of ideas be set before him: he will choose if he can; if not he will remain in doubt."
Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592), Essays, 'Of the education of children.'

COURSE EVALUATION CRITERIA

All four components of this course must be passed in order to complete the course:

(1) Regular participation in class discussions (25%) - to engage with the readings, and one another. You should complete assigned reading before the class. In addition to general participation, you will be assigned responsibility for leading class discussion on readings on a rotating basis throughout the semester.

(2) Essay paper (30%) - to write a research paper involving a modern political theorist, concept, or issue of your own choosing. 20-25 double-spaced pages (5000-7500 words) in length.

(3) Mid-term Examination (15%) - to demonstrate your understanding of crucial themes and differences between various modern political theorists.

(4) Final Examination (30%) - to demonstrate your understanding of crucial themes and differences between various modern political theorists.

REQUIRED COURSE READINGS

It is important that the student complete the assigned reading and take the time to reflect on the meaning of the reading before coming to class. The required texts listed below are available for purchase at the WU Bookstore. Copies of the additional required readings will be available on electronic reserve through the Hatfield Library website.

Immanuel Kant. 1991. Political Writings. New York: Cambridge UP.
Mary Wollstonecraft. 1988. A Vindication of the Rights of Woman. New York: WW Norton.
Georg W F Hegel. 1991. Elements of the Philosophy of Right. New York: Cambridge UP.
Karl Marx. 1994. Early Political Writings. New York: Cambridge UP.
Friedrich Nietzsche. 1994. On the Genealogy of Morals and Other Writings. New York: Cambridge UP.

COURSE SCHEDULE Day Date Topic Aug 31 W Introduction Sept 2 F Charlie Chaplin's Modern Times (1936) trailer fbi file Henry Ford French Revolution, Events, LEF Sept 5 M Labor Day - No class Sept 7 W Modern Political Theory and Isms David Held. 1991. "Editor's Introduction," in Political Theory Today. Stanford: SUP. Pp. 1-21 Sept 9 F Modern Political Theory and Isms David Held. 1991. "Editor's Introduction," in Political Theory Today. Stanford: SUP. Pp. 1-21 What is political philosophy? What is liberalism?

[ 1 ] IMMANUEL KANT (1724-1804) COSMOPOLITANISM

Recommended Reading
Hans Reiss, 1991. "Introduction," in Writings, 1-40.
Wolfgang Kersting. 1992. "Politics, freedom, and order: Kant's political philosophy," in The Cambridge Companion to Kant. Ed. Paul Guyer. New York: Cambridge UP, 342-66.

Political Writings. Sept 12 M Kant and the History of Cosmopolitanism Sept 14 W Being Presumptuous "Idea for a Universal History," pp. 41-53. "What is Enlightenment," pp. 54-60. "On the Common Saying," pp. 73-92. UN Today Sept 15 Th “Orphaned by AIDS: The AIDS epidemic in Africa and the Children Determined to Survive.” Video with introduction by Prof. Joyce Millen, Anthropology in Hatfield Room Sept 16 F Peace-Making "Perpetual Peace," pp. 93-130. 3pm Dr. Barbara Taylor of the University of East London will present "The Many Faces of Mary Wollstonecraft." Alumni Lounge, third floor of the UC Sept 19 M Sovereignty and International Community "The Metaphysics of Morals," pp. 131-175. The Joe and Noelle Show

The Contemporary Debate

Sept 21 W
LP Pojman. 2005. “Kant's Perpetual Peace and Cosmopolitanism.” Journal of Social Philosophy, 36, 1, 62-71.
Argues that Kant should have gone farther, namely endorse a republican form of world government.
v.
David Parker. 2003. “Diaspora, Dissidence And The Dangers Of Cosmopolitanism.” Asian Studies Review, 27, 2, 155-179.
Discusses the genealogy of the cosmopolitanism in transnationalism and diaspora. Overview of contemporary cross-culturalism; Criticisms against the rights associated with cosmopolitanism; Translocational identities of diasporic communities.

Sept 23 F
Beck, Ulrich, 2004. “Cosmopolitical Realism: On the Distinction between Cosmopolitanism in Philosophy and the Social Sciences.” Global Networks, 4, 2, 131-156.
Distinguishes a ‘normative’ or ‘philosophical’ cosmopolitanism on the one hand from an analytical-empirical social science cosmopolitanism, and defends the latter.
v.
David Harvey, 2000. “Cosmopolitanism and the Banality of Geographical Evils.” Public Culture, 12, 2, 529-564.
Suspicious of the actual content of the actual geographical and anthropological knowledges collected in the name of cosmopolitanism.

Due Self-evaluation of Participation

[ 2 ] MARY WOLLSTONECRAFT (1759-1797) FEMINISM

Recommended Reading
Carolyn W. Korsmeyer. 1988. "Reason and Morals in the early Feminist Movement: Mary Wollstonecraft," in Vindication, 285-97.
Elissa S. Guralnick. 1988. "Radical Politics in Mary Wollstonecraft's A Vindication of the Rights of Woman," in Vindication, 308-17.

A Vindication of the Rights of Woman. Sept 26 M Wollstonecraft and the History of Feminism Sept 28 W Feeling Inferior "Introduction," pp. 3-11. "The Rights and Involved Duties," pp. 11-19. "Observations," pp. 50-77. Skim: "The Prevailing Opinion," pp. 19-49. "Animadversions," pp. 77-115. Sept 30 F Morality and Demoralization "The Effect," pp. 115-120. "Modesty," pp. 121-30. "Morality undermined," pp. 131-139. "Of the Pernicious Effects," pp. 140-49. The Noelle and Alexis Show Oct 3 M Talking about Revolution "Parental Affection," pp. 150-2. "Duty to Parents," pp. 152-7. "On National Education," pp. 157-78. "Some Instances," pp. 178-194. The Noelle and Rudy Show

The Contemporary Debate

Oct 5 W
Elizabeth Wingrove. 2005. “Getting Intimate with Wollstonecraft: In the Republic of Letters.” Political Theory, 33, 3, 344-369.
v.
Brace, Laura. 2000. “'Not empire, - but equality': Mary Wollstonecraft, the marriage state and the sexual contract', Journal of Political Philosophy, 8, 4, 433-55.

Oct 7 F First Draft Due

Oct 10 M
Iris Marion Young. 1993. "Impartiality and the Civic Public: Some Implications of Feminist Critiques of Moral and Political Theory." In Paradigms in Political Theory, (Ed.) Steven Jay Gold. Ames: Iowa State UP, pp. 139-62.
v.
Allan Bloom. 1987. “Relationships,” in The Closing of the American Mind. New York: Simon and Schuster, pp. 97-137.

[ 3 ] GEORG WILHELM FRIEDRICH HEGEL (1770-1831) COMMUNITARIANISM

Recommended Reading
Allen W. Wood. 1991. "Editor's Introduction," in Elements, vii-xxx.
Z.A. Pelczynski. 1984. "Political Community and individual freedom in Hegel's philosophy of state," in The State and Civil Society. Ed. Z.A. Pelczynski. New York: Cambridge UP, 55-76.

Elements of the Philosophy of Right. Oct 12 W Hegel and the History of Communitarianism Oct 14 F Individuality "Introduction," "Abstract Right," pp. 9-23, 67-80, 102-6, 135-42, 185-6. Oct 17 M Civil Society "Ethical Life," pp. 189-200, 206-7, 219-226, 250-73. The Joe and Bill Show Oct 19 W The State "The State," pp. 275-313, 359-71. Oct 21 F Mid-Semester Day – No class

The Contemporary Debate

Oct 24 M
Talk about your first draft and Review

Oct 26 W
Deranty, Jean-Philippe. 2005. "Hegel's Social Theory of Value." The Philosophical Forum, 36, 3, 307-331.

Etzioni, Amitai.  2002. "Are Particularistic Obligations Justified? " The Review of Politics, 64, 4, 573-598. 

Due Self-evaluation of Participation

Oct 28 F MIDTERM EXAM

[ 4 ] KARL MARX (1818-1883) SOCIALISM

Recommended Reading
Joseph O' Malley, 1994. "Editor's Introduction," in Writings, vii-xxiv.
K. Löwith. 1990. "Man's Self-Alienation in the Early Writings of Marx," in Karl Marx's Social and Political Thought: Critical Assessments. Eds. Bob Jessop and Charlie Malcolm-Brown. New York: Routledge, 572-92.

Early Political Writings. Oct 31 M Marx and the History of Socialism Nov 2 W Demystifying Hegel "From the Critique of Hegel's Philosophy of Right," pp. 1-27. "A Contribution to the Critique of Hegel's Philosophy," pp. 57-91. "Critical Marginal Notes on 'The King of Prussia and Social Reform. By a Prussian," pp. 97-115. Jen and Rudy Show Nov 4 F Guest Speaker: Noah Pickus 1020-1120 Hatfield Room Associate Director of the Kenan Institute for Ethics at Duke University and an Adjunct Associate Professor of Public Policy at the Sanford Institute of Public Policy, http://www.pubpol.duke.edu/people/faculty/pickus/ Nov 4 F Review midterm and course Nov 7 M Finding Ourselves "On the Jewish Question," pp. 28-57. "From the Paris Notebooks," pp. 71-97. Nov 9 W Communism Eventually "On Feuerbach," pp. 116-8. "From the German Ideology," pp. 119-81.

The Contemporary Debate

Nov 11 F
Michael Harrington. 1986. "What Socialists Would Do in America -- If They Could," in Essential Works of Socialism. Third Ed. (Ed.,) Irving Howe. New Haven: Yale UP, 480-503.
Friedrich Hayek. 1944. "Planning and Democracy," and "Economic Control and Totalitarianism" in The Road to Serfdom. Chicago: U of Chicago Press, pp. 56-71, 88-100.

Nov 14 M
Steven Lukes. 1991. "Equality and Liberty: Must they Conflict?" in Political Theory Today. Stanford: SUP. pp. 48-66.
Robert Nozick. 1974. "Distributive Justice," in Anarchy, State, and Utopia. New York: Basic Books, pp. 149-82.

[ 5 ] FRIEDRICH NIETZSCHE (1844-1900) POSTMODERNISM

Recommended Reading
Keith Ansell-Pearson. 1994. "Editor's Introduction," in Genealogy, ix-xxxvi.
Arthur C. Danto. 1988. "Some Remarks on The Genealogy of Morals," in Reading Nietzsche. Eds. Robert C. Solomon and Kathleen M. Higgins. New York: Oxford UP, 13-28.

On the Genealogy of Morals Nov 16 W Nietzsche and the History of Postmodernism Nov 18 F Masters and Slaves "Preface," pp. 3-10. "First Essay," pp. 11-37. "Supplementary Material," pp. 131-41, 155-68. Nov 21 M Bad Conscience "Second Essay," pp. 38-71. "Supplementary Material," pp. 142-54, 169-75. Nov 23 W The Ascetic Ideal "Third Essay," pp. 72-128. Nov 25 F Thanksgiving – No Class

The Contemporary Debate

Nov 28 M
Michel Foucault. 1984. "Nietzsche, Genealogy, History," pp. 76-100; "Panopticonism," pp. 206-213; and "On the Genealogy of Ethics: An Overview of Work in Progress," pp. 351-372, in Foucault Reader. New York: Pantheon.
Sheldon Wolin. 1988. "On the Theory and Practice of Power," in After Foucault. (Ed.) Jonathan Arc. New Brunswick: Rutgers UP, 179-201.

Nov 30 W
Jean-Francois Lyotard. 1984. The Postmodern Condition. Minneapolis: U of Minnesota P, pp. xxiii-xxv, 3-17, 71-82.
Morton G. Wenger. 1994. "Idealism Redux: The Class-Historical Truth of Postmodernism." Critical Sociology, 20, 53-78.

Student Presentations of Research Papers Dec 2 F Rudy, Jen, Alexis, Bill Dec 5 M Derek, Sarah, Matthew, Joe Dec 7 W, Noelle, Travis, Justin, Dec 9 F Samantha, Josh Dec 10 S 10-12am Review for Final Exam FINAL EXAM, Monday, Dec. 12, from 2-5 pm