2009 Fall POLSCI 123D-04D
Bulletin Course Description Same as Political Science 123 except instruction is provided in two lectures and one small discussion meeting each week. Instructor: Staff
(Instructor named in bulletin description above may not be current. For current instructor, see listing below.)
Title INTRO TO POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY Department POLSCI Course Number 2009 Fall 123D Section Number 04D Primary Instructor Spragens,Thomas A Prerequisites
Synopsis of course content
In this course we will engage some of the most enduring works in the western tradition of political philosophy, among them some of the most famous texts of Plato, Hobbes, Condorcet, John Stuart Mill, Marx, Freud, and Marcuse. One goal of the course will be to familiarize the students with the influential arguments made there about the nature of the central problems of political life and the best way of dealing with them - and the assumptions behind those arguments. A second goal will be to use these texts as points of departure for critical discussions about fundamental issues such as freedom, equality, authority, human nature,and the relationship between knowledge and power. A final course goal is to improve the student's abilities to formulate and communicate a political argument.
Textbooks
Reading will begin with a short introductory text, UNDERSTANDING POLITICAL THEORY, written by the instructor. The rest of the assignments will come from the original texts of the theorists mentioned above - such as Plato's REPUBLIC, Hobbes's LEVIATHAN, Mill's ON LIBERTY, Marx's COMMUNIST MANIFESTO, and Freud's CIVILIZATION AND ITS DISCONTENTS.
Exams
A standard final exam.
Term Papers
Students will be expected to write three essays of around 1500 words on topics arising out of the reading.
Grade to be based on
Each paper and the final exam will contribute equally to the final grade. In addition, consideration will be given where appropriate to student contributions to their discussion sections.
