Professor
Stephen Engelmann
1108-B
BSB, ph. 3-3781
email:
sengelma@uic.edu
Office
Hours: Mondays 1-4 and by appointment
INTRODUCTION
TO POLITICAL THEORY
Political
Science 120, Fall 2003
COURSE
DESCRIPTION
Political
theory investigates how we should and how we do live together. It is an inquiry into some of the
fundamental problems and priorities of collective life: liberty, authority,
equality, justice, and governance.
There is fairly broad agreement that these are necessary or even good
things, but much less agreement about what these concepts mean. How do they relate to one another? And which ones are the most important? This course is designed to introduce
students to the practice of thinking systematically about these and related
political phenomena. We will do so by
reading, speaking, and writing about freedom and order. We'll see that freedom and order can be seen
as complementary and antagonistic, and that each can be seen as good and
bad. The syllabus is structured around
a series of questions. If you get
disoriented, think about how a particular reading addresses the questions of
the course.
COURSE
PACKET
Readings
required for this course are collected in a required course packet available
for purchase at the Political Science undergraduate office, BSB 1102, during
the first week of class.
COURSE
FORMAT AND REQUIREMENTS
This
course is a reading, lecture, writing, and discussion course. These four elements will set us on our way
toward thinking--and by that I mean thinking critically--about freedom and
order. Participation in class
discussions is an essential element of this course. Assigned materials must be read by the day they are assigned
and consistent attendance is mandatory.
Poor attendance and attending class unprepared will seriously affect
your participation grade and overall performance.
The
written work for this course will consist of two 5-7 page papers in which you
will be asked to analyze and/or synthesize themes from the readings, and two
exams. Paper topics will be assigned
and late papers will be penalized.
Your work must be your own. Any sources you consult must be cited. I recommend that you avoid sources outside the reading list and
especially sources on the internet, which is not a useful tool for critical
essay writing.
SUMMARY OF
COURSE REQUIREMENTS AND GRADING PERCENTAGES:
---Participation
10%
---Two 5-7
page papers, 25% each, for a total of 50%
(See "Schedule of Assignments"
below for due dates)
---Midterm
exam 20% (in class 10/10)
---Second
term exam 20% (in class 12/5)
COURSE
OUTLINE AND SCHEDULE OF ASSIGNMENTS
I. What do we already think and know about
freedom and order?
M-8/25:
Course introduction
W-8/27:
Handout: Adam Gopnik, "The Unreal Thing," The New Yorker (May
19, 2003)
F-8/29:
Discussion section
M-9/1: No
class, Labor Day
II. What do their opposites tell us about
freedom and about order?
W-9/3:
Douglass, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
F-9/5:
Discussion section
M-9/8:
Arendt, "On Violence"
W-9/10:
Sophocles, Antigone
F-9/12:
Discussion section
M-9/15:
Dostoevsky, "The Grand Inquisitor"
III. What is freedom and what are its sources?
W-9/17:
Thucydides, "Pericles' Funeral Oration"
**Paper
topic one assigned: due in class Friday 10/3
F-9/19:
Discussion section
M-9/22:
Paine, Common Sense, pp. 65-71, 81-100
W-9/24: Declaration
of Independence; the familiar letters of Abigail and John Adams; Seneca Falls Declaration; Douglass, North
Star "Editorial"; and Sojourner Truth, "Ain't I a
Woman?"
F-9/26:
Discussion section
M-9/29:
Malcolm X, "The Ballot or the Bullet"
IV. What is order and what are its sources?
W-10/1:
Hobbes, Leviathan, chs. 13-14 and 17-18
F-10/3:
Hobbes, Leviathan, chs. 13-14 and 17-18, continued
**papers
due at beginning of class!!
M-10/6:
Federalist 10 and Federalist 51
W-10/8: Constitution
of the United States; Marbury v. Madison (recommended)
F-10/10:
MIDTERM EXAM (in-class)
M-10/13:
Tocqueville, Democracy in America, pp. 39-55, 112-28
W-10/15:
Tocqueville, Democracy in America, pp. 198-209, 217-220
F-10/17:
Discussion section
V. What do freedom and order require from
individuals?
M-10/20: Minersville
School District v. Gobitis; Board of Education v. Barnette; Texas
v. Johnson (recommended)
W-10/22:
Plato, Apology
F-10/24:
Discussion section
M-10/27:
Plato, Crito
W-10/29:
King, "Letter from a Birmingham Jail"
F-10/31:
Discussion section
M-11/3:
Melville, "Billy Budd"
W-11/5:
Melville, "Billy Budd," continued
F-11/7:
Discussion section
VI. What do freedom and order require from
societies?
M-11/10:
Marx, "On the Jewish Question"
**Paper
topic two, assigned: due in class Wednesday 11/26
W-11/12:
Marx, "Wage Labour and Capital"
F-11/14:
Discussion section
M-11/17:
Rodriguez, The Hunger of Memory, "Prologue," chs. 1 and 2
W-11/19:
Anzaldua, excerpts from Borderlands
F-11/21:
Discussion section
M-11/24:
Rubin, "The Traffic in Women"
W-11/26:
Rubin, "The Traffic in Women," continued
**papers
due at beginning of class!!
F-11/28:
No class, Thanksgiving break
M-12/1:
Berger, Ways of Seeing, Ch. 3
W-12/3:
Berger, Ways of Seeing, Ch. 7
F-12/5:
SECOND HALF TERM EXAM (in-class)
THERE IS
NO FINAL EXAMINATION FOR THIS COURSE