Introduction to Political Philosophy
Fall Semester 2008
45.206 MWF 12:30-1:20
(general education arts, humanities, and ethics)

Professor Eric Sean Nelson                                 Email: Eric_Nelson  at  uml.edu
Office: Olney 101b                                             Telephone: 978-934-3996

My Office Hours are at Olney 101b on Mon: 1:35-300pm, Wed: 1:35-4:00pm, and by appointment
My Homepage: http://faculty.uml.edu/enelson/index.html

Course Description
Political philosophy is concerned with basic questions about community, public life, and social organization. This course will address issues such as the rights of the individual in relation to the power of the state and society; the nature and legitimacy of political authority and democracy; the significance of power, economics, justice and equality in social life; and the duties and responsibilities of citizens. We will also consider the philosophical meaning of communitarianism, liberalism, and republicanism, individualism, capitalism, and socialism, as well as the role of class, race, and gender in politics.

Prerequisites for the course: None
Students for whom course is intended: All levels

Course Goals and Objectives
1. The goals of this course are to promote:
(a) Familiarity with a wide-range of political positions and arguments from antiquity to today, and
(b) Critical reasoning and reflection through considering a variety of social and political issues.

2. The objectives of this course are for students to develop their ability and skills in:
(a) Interpreting texts by accurately and fully describing concepts and arguments
(b) Reasoning about ideas by (i) evaluating the content, structure, and strategies of political works and (ii) applying concepts and arguments to contemporary issues and their own lives, and
(c) Collaborating with other students, and presenting and supporting their ideas in public through class participation.

Course Requirements
Students are required to:
1. Complete all assigned readings
2. Maintain regular attendance
3. Participate in class discussion and in discussion groups
4. Complete all written assignments on-time

Course Assignments
1. Four Exams = 80% of final course grade.
2. Attendance, participation, in-class (individual or group) assignments = 20% of final grade. Note that beginning with the fourth absence, each additional absence will lower the grade by 0.3/0.4 out of a 4.0 scale. There will be oral and written, individual and group, in-class assignments based on the readings and class-discussion.

Instructional Rationale
Assignments are intended to familiarize you with the readings, encourage you to develop your skills in reasoning, and reflect on social-political issues in different contexts and from a variety of perspectives. It is better to do this directly than use unreliable sources on the internet. For example, you can look at sites such as wikipedia to gain an initial impression of the average public understanding of a topic or figure but your own thinking and writing should be more critical, engaged, rigorous, and it should be your own on the basis of the text and the class lectures and discussions.

Special Instructions for Assignments
1. Exams will cover the assigned readings and class discussions of them, and will involve describing, explaining, and evaluating texts, concepts, and arguments.
2. In-class group discussion assignments will engage questions from the reading and discussion for that day of class. They will require that groups of students debate the meaning and validity of arguments, formulate possible alternatives, and arrive at a solution to be turned in at the end of class.
3. Students are expected to attend class regularly, and attendance will be taken daily. Attending class and actively participating will improve your final grade by 20%.

Need help? Feel free to talk with me after class, during office hours, or by arrangement. Also check out the following resource: Guide to the Study of Philosophy, http://www.philosophypages.com/sy.htm

Click here for Further Description of Policies and Procedures

Required Texts (available at the UML North Campus Bookstore)

1. Steven M. Cahn (Editor); Political Philosophy: The Essential Texts. Oxford University Press , 2004, ISBN: 0195177088
2. Sophocles; Antigone. Translated, with Introduction and Notes, by Paul Woodruff. Hackett Publishing, ISBN: 0-87220-571-1

Schedule
1. Sept. 3, 2008: Introduction to the course and to political philosophy
I. Authority, Community, and the Individual in Ancient Greece
Take a visual tour of Ancient Athens at: http://www.stoa.org/athens/sites.html
2. Sept. 5: Sophocles, Antigone. Reading: Sophocles, pages 1-20
3. Sept 8: Sophocles, Antigone. Reading: Sophocles, pages 20-40
4. Sept. 10: Sophocles, Antigone. Reading: Sophocles, pages 40-58, 63-65
5. Sept. 12: Thucydides, Pericles' Funeral Oration. Reading is available On-Line at: http://faculty.uml.edu/enelson/pericles.htm
6. Sept. 15: Plato, Defence of Socrates. Reading: Cahn, pages 5-13
7. Sept. 17: Plato, Defence of Socrates. Reading: Cahn, pages 13-22
8. Sept. 19: Plato, Crito. Reading: Cahn, pages 22-30
9. Sept. 22: Introduction to Aristotle's moral and political philosophy, Aristotle, Politics, Book I, pages 133-138
10. Sept. 24: Aristotle, Politics, Book II Selections. Reading: Cahn, pages 138-143
11. Sept. 26: (In-Class) Exam I (covers readings and class discussions from Sophocles to Aristotle)
II. Power, Equality, and the Social Contract
12. Sept. 29: Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan. Read pages 224-231 (chapters 13-15)
13. Oct. 1: John Locke, Second Treatise of Government. Reading: Cahn, pages 246-256
14. Oct. 3: John Locke, Second Treatise of Government. Reading: Cahn, pages 256-265
15. Oct. 6: John Locke, Second Treatise of Government. Reading: Cahn, pages 265-273
16. Oct. 8: What did John Locke have to do with the Native Americans? Colonies, Settlers, Property. Read Black Elk Speaks at: http://faculty.uml.edu/enelson/blackelk.htm  Do such different ways of experiencing nature, property, and spiritually still persist? Recommended Movie: In the Light of Reverence (2001)
17. Oct. 10: Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Discourse on the Origin of Inequality. Reading: Cahn, pages 278-285
Oct. 13 Monday *Columbus Day (University Closed)
18. Oct. 15: Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Discourse on the Origin of Inequality. Reading: Cahn, pages 285-293
19. Oct. 17: No Class!
20. Oct. 20: Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Of the Social Contract. Reading: Cahn, pages 293-301
21. Oct. 22: (In-Class) Exam II (Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau)
III. The New Economy and the New Society: Capitalism and Federalism
22. Oct. 24: Adam Smith, The Wealth of Nations. Reading: Cahn, pages 334-341
23. Oct. 27: Adam Smith, The Wealth of Nations. Reading: Cahn, pages 341-349
24. Oct. 29: Alexander Hamilton and James Madison, The Federalist Papers. Reading: Cahn, pages 354-362
25. Oct. 31: Alexander Hamilton and James Madison, The Federalist Papers. Reading: Cahn, pages 362-368
26. Nov. 3: Alexander Hamilton and James Madison, The Federalist Papers. Reading: Cahn, pages 368-376
IV. Cosmopolitanism, History, and the State
27. Nov. 5: Immanuel Kant, Perpetual Peace. Reading: Cahn, pages 379-388
28. Nov. 7: G. W. F. Hegel, Philosophy of Right. Reading: Cahn, pages 392-397
29. Nov. 10: G. W. F. Hegel, Introduction to the Philosophy of History. Reading: Cahn, pages 397-406
30. Nov. 12: (In-Class) Exam III (Smith to Hegel)
V. History and Revolution
31. Nov. 14: Karl Marx and Frederick Engels, Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts. Reading: Cahn, pages 410-417
32. Nov. 17: Karl Marx and Frederick Engels, The German Ideology. Reading: Cahn, pages 417-423
33. Nov. 19: Karl Marx and Frederick Engels, Communist Manifesto. Reading: Cahn, pages 423-430
34. Nov. 21: Karl Marx and Frederick Engels, Communist Manifesto. Reading: Cahn, pages 430-436
VI. The Possibilities and Limits of Democracy: Contemporary Debates
35. Nov. 24: John Rawls, A Theory of Justice. Read Cahn, pages 477-485
36. Nov. 26: John Rawls, A Theory of Justice. Read Cahn, pages 485-491
THANKSGIVING BREAK (no classes)
37. Dec. 1: Michel Foucault, Power/Knowledge. Reading: Cahn, pages 511-516
38. Dec. 3: Jürgen Habermas, Three Normative Models of Democracy. Reading: Cahn, 527-534
39. Dec. 5: Jürgen Habermas, On the Internal Relation Between the Rule of Law and Democracy. Reading: Cahn, pages 534-540
40. Dec. 8: Martha C. Nussbaum, The Feminist Critique of Liberalism. Reading: Cahn, 545-554
41. Dec. 10: Martha C. Nussbaum, The Feminist Critique of Liberalism. Reading: Cahn, 554-563
42. Dec. 12: Conclusions, Course Evaluations and (Take-Home) Exam IV

December 19: (Take-Home) Exam IV Due by 4pm at my office Olney 101b!