Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies POLS 2900A 6.0
Perspective on Politics: An Introduction to Political Theory
Fall/Winter 2019/2020
Course Director: Prof. Stephen L. Newman
Office: S659 Ross
E-mail: snewman@yorku.ca
Web site: https://snewman.info.yorku.ca/
Office Hours: Tuesday, 12:30 p.m. – 1:30 p.m..; Thursday, 1:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. (subject to change)
The web site for POLS 2900A may be accessed from my web page. Students will be able to download copies of the syllabus and assignments as they become available. I now have Moodle for this course. I will use it to send announcements to the class. Students will also be required to submit their term papers to Turnitin on Moodle before submitting a hard copy to their TAs.
Course Description: This full-year course introduces students to the study of political theory. Political Theory at York is a broadly defined sub-field of the discipline of Political Science. It encompasses the history of political ideas (including the relationship between political theory and historical politics) as well as critical and analytical approaches to a variety of enduring theoretical problems (like the nature of justice, the extent of political obligation, and the tension between liberty and equality). In this course, students are asked to read a selection of classic works from the history of western political thought. Your education as a political theorist begins with your attempt to come to terms with the ideas and arguments you will discover in these books.
Pre-requisites: None
Goals of the Course: The assigned readings were chosen to familiarize students with a representative sample of classic texts from the history of western political thought. Course assignments are designed to develop interpretive, analytical and critical skills that will prove valuable to students taking advanced courses in political theory and other subjects.
Course Format: LECTURES Tuesdays and Thursdays from 11:30 a.m. – 12:20 p.m. in SLH A. In addition, students are required to enrol in a TUTORIAL that meets once a week for one hour. Regular attendance at both lectures and tutorials is expected. Please note that 15% of your final mark has been allocated to tutorial participation.
Required Texts: The following books are for sale at the York University Bookstore. You may be able to find less expensive, used copies in second-hand bookstores or online. Alternate editions having different editors, translators or publishers are acceptable for use in the course, but avoid abridged versions of the texts.
Plato, Republic, trans. C.D.C. Reeve, Hackett Publishing Co., 2004
Aristotle, Politics, trans. C.D.C. Reeve, Hackett Publishing Co., 1988
Aristotle, Ethics, trans. Terence Irwin, Hackett Publishing Co., 1999
Machiavelli, Selected Political Writings, ed. and trans. David Wooten, Hackett Publishing Co., 1995
Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan, ed. E. Curley, Hackett Publishing Co., 1994
John Locke, Second Treatise of Government, ed. C.B. Macpherson, Hackett Publishing Co., 1980
John Locke, A Letter Concerning Toleration, ed. James H. Tully, Hackett Publishing Co. 1983
Jean-Jacques Rousseau, The Basic Political Writings, trans. D. A. Cress, Hackett Publishing Co., 1987
John Stuart Mill, On Liberty, ed. E. Rapaport, Hackett Publishing Co., 1978
Karl Marx, Selected Writings, ed. L.H. Simon, Hackett Publishing Co., 1994
Course Requirements: Mid-Year Examination: 25%
First Term Paper: 15%
Second Term Paper: 20%
Final Examination: 25%
Tutorial Participation: 15%
Examination Dates: Mid-Year and Final Examinations will be scheduled by the Registrar during the official examination periods. The dates will be announced when they become available. Students are encouraged to check York’s Web site for the latest information.
Due dates for terms papers will be announced at the time the assignments are distributed Term papers as well as any written work assigned by your TA should be handed in during tutorial. The Department drop box (opposite the Undergraduate Office) is only to be used for late papers. Papers must be submitted electronically to Turnitin on Moodle prior to being submitted in hard copy to your TA.
** No late papers will be accepted and no make-up examinations will be administered without a documented medical excuse or some equally compelling reason. Students who encounter extenuating circumstances during the term which may interfere with the successful completion of exams or other course assignments should discuss the matter with their tutorial leader or course instructor as soon as possible. **
Grading Scale: A+ 90-100; A 80-89; B+ 75-79; B 70-74; C+ 65-69; C 60-64; D+ 55-59; D 50-54; E 40-49; F 0-39.
York University does not use minus grades for undergraduates. Please understand that the letter grade is the official grade. If numerical scores are shown on papers and exams, these are merely to indicate the relative strength of the effort.
About Grade Appeals: If you are dissatisfied with the grade you receive on any piece of written work or an examination, or if you would like to have the evaluation explained to you, first consult your TA. If you still have questions, or are not satisfied with the TA's judgment, ask your TA to pass the material along to the course director. Your final grade in the course may be appealed through the department’s formal grade appeals process.
Caution re Academic Honesty: Students are assumed to be familiar with the university's regulations concerning academic honesty. If in doubt, please consult the summary of regulations appended to this syllabus, or go to the Academic Integrity web site at York University (http://www.yorku.ca/academicintegrity) and read the section ‘For Students.’ Anyone suspected of violating the rules and regulations concerning academic honesty will be brought to the attention of the Associate Dean, who is empowered to impose penalties in such cases.
Religious Accommodation: Students who miss classes or exams on account of a religious observance will be offered reasonable accommodation. It is recommended that students who miss classes for any reason ask to borrow notes from friends who were in attendance. As necessary, summaries of lectures given on religious holidays will be made available online.
Accommodations for Special Needs Students: Students with physical, psychiatric or learning disabilities may request reasonable accommodations in teaching style or evaluation methods, as outlined in Appendix A of the Senate Policy on Students with Special Needs. They should advise the course director at the earliest opportunity, so that appropriate arrangements may be with the assistance of the Office for Persons with Disabilities, the Counselling Development Centre or the Learning Disabilities Program.
Course Outline
Every attempt will be made to keep the following schedule. Please keep up with the readings.
First Term Topics and Readings
**Wednesday Sept. 4 is the first day of classes
1. Plato
Week 1 (Sept. 5): Introduction
Week 2 (Sept.10 & 12): The Socratic Elenchus
reading: Plato, The Republic, Books I and II
** Sept. 17 is the last date to enrol in fall/winter courses w/o permission of the instructor**
Week 3 (Sept.17 & 19): The Kallipolis
reading: Plato, The Republic, Books III and IV
Week 4 (Sept. 24 & 26): Philosophy and Politics
reading: Plato, The Republic, Books V, VI and VII
Week 5 (Oct. 1 & 3): Cities and Souls
reading: Plato, Republic, Books VIII, XI and X
Suggestions for further reading on Plato:
Natalie H. Bluestone, Women and the Ideal Society: Plato’s Republic and Modern Myths about Gender
Leon Craig, The War Lover: A Study of Plato’s Republic
C.D.C. Reeve, Philosopher-Kings: The Argument of Plato’s Republic
Recommended histories of western political thought:
George Klosko, History of Political Theory, 2 Vols.
Susan Moller Okin, Women in Western Political Thought
Quentin Skinner, The Foundations of Modern Political Thought, 2 Vols.
Sheldon Wolin, Politics and Vision
2. Aristotle
Week 6 (Oct. 8 & 10): Aristotle on happiness, virtue and friendship
reading: (i) Aristotle, Nichomachean Ethics, Book I [Happiness]; Book II [Virtues of Character]; Book III, sections 6, 7, & 9 [Bravery]; Book VI [Virtues of Thought]; Book VIII, sections 1, 2, 3, 7, 8, 9, & 11[Friendship]; Book IX, section 9 [Why Are Friends Needed?]; Book X, sections 7, 8 & 9 [Whether the best life is one of theoretical study or practical action]
(ii) Aristotle, the Politics, Book VII, chapters 1 – 3; 13
**Saturday Oct. 12 – Friday 18 is Fall Reading Week. No classes are held. The University remains open, except on Thanksgiving, Oct. 14, when the University is closed.**
Week 7 (Oct. 22 & 24): Aristotle on the polis and citizenship
reading: (i) Aristotle, Politics, Book I; Book II, chapters 2 through 5
(ii) Aristotle, Politics, Book III
** Oct. 22 is the last date to enrol in fall/winter courses with the permission of the instructor**
Week 8 (Oct. 29 & 31): Aristotle on the different kinds of states and revolution
reading: Politics, Book IV; Book V, Chapters 1 through 9; Book VI
Suggestions for further reading on Aristotle:
John Madison Cooper, Reason and the Human Good in Aristotle
Alasdair MacIntyre, After Virtue, 2nd ed. (1984), chapter 12
Bernard Yack, The Problems of a Political Animal: Community, Justice and Conflict in Aristotelian Political Thought
3. Machiavelli
Week 9 (Nov. 5 & 7): Machiavelli’s realpolitik
reading: Machiavelli, The Prince, entire, in Machiavelli, Selected Political Writing, pp. 1-80
Week 10 (Nov. 12 & 14): Machiavelli’s republicanism
reading: Machiavelli, selections from the Discourses, in Machiavelli, Selected Political Writing, pp. 81-135; 139-140; 150-158; 158-165; 187-189; 189-195; 198-200
Suggestions for further reading on Machiavelli:
G. Bock, Q. Skinner, and M. Viroli, eds., Machiavelli and Republicanism
Quentin Skinner, Machiavelli
Maurizio Viroli, From Politics to Reason of State
4. Hobbes
Week 11 (Nov. 19 & 21): Hobbes’ theory of human nature
reading: Hobbes, Leviathan, Part I (pp. 1-105), entire, but especially chapters i-vii, x-xii, and xiv-xvi.
Week 12 (Nov. 26 & 28): Hobbes on human nature and the commonwealth
reading: Hobbes, Leviathan, Part II (pp. 106-244), entire, but especially chapters xvii-xxiv and xxix-xxxi
Week 13: (Dec. 3): The secular state and the unread last half of Leviathan
reading: Hobbes, Leviathan, Part II, chapter xxxi (233-244); Part III, chapters xxxii (pp. 245-250), xxxv (pp. 271-278), xliii (pp. 397-410); Part IV, chapters xlvi (pp. 453-468), xlvii (pp. 477-484); and ‘A Review and Conclusion’ (pp. 489-497)
Suggestions for further reading on Hobbes:
Deborah Baumgold, Hobbes’ Political Theory
Eldon Eisenach, Two Worlds of Liberalism: Religion and Politics in Hobbes, Locke and Mill
Quentin Skinner, Reason and Rhetoric in the Philosophy of Hobbes
** Fall Classes end on Dec. 3. Dec. 4 is a Study Day. Examinations run Dec. 5 to Dec. 20. Check the Registrar’s Web site for the date of our exam. Classes resume Jan. 6, 2020 **
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Second Term Topics and Readings
5. Locke
Week 14 (Jan. 7 & 9): Locke’s state of nature
reading: Locke, Second Treatise of Government, chapters I through IX.
Week 15 (Jan. 14 & 16): The Lockean commonwealth
reading: Locke, Second Treatise of Government, chapters X through XIX
Week 16 (Jan. 21 & 23) Liberalism and the politics of tolerance
reading: Locke, A Letter Concerning Toleration, entire
Suggestions for further reading on Locke:
Richard Ashcraft, Revolutionary Politics and Locke’s Two Treatises of Government
Ruth Grant, John Locke’s Liberalism
E. J. Harpham ed., John Locke’s Two Treatises of Government
6. Rousseau
Week 17 (Jan. 28 & 30): Rousseau on human nature
reading: Discourse on the Origin of Inequality (The Basic Political Writings, pp. 1-109)
** Feb. 3 is the last date to drop the course w/o receiving a grade **
Week 18 (Feb. 4 & 6): Rousseau’s social contract
reading: The Social Contract, Book I and II (The Basic Political Writings, pp. 140-172)
Week 19 (Feb. 11 & 13): Rousseau’s theory of the state
reading: J.J. Rousseau, The Social Contract, Books III and IV (The Basic Political Writings, pp. 141-227)
Suggestions for further reading on Rousseau:
Asher Horowitz, Rousseau, Nature and History
Jim Miller, Rousseau: Dreamer of Democracy
Judith Sklar, Men and Citizens: A Study of Rousseau’s Social Theory
**Saturday, Feb. 15 through Friday, Feb. 21 is Winter Reading Week. Classes do not meet. The University is open.**
7. Mill
Week 20 (Feb. 25 & 27): Mill on the scope of individual liberty
Mill on freedom of thought and expression
reading: J. S. Mill, On Liberty (Chapts. 1 & 2, pp. 1-52)
Week 21 (Mar. 3 & 5): Mill on freedom of thought and expression
Mill on individuality
reading: J. S. Mill, On Liberty (Chapts. 2 & 3, pp. 15-71)
Suggestions for further reading on Mill:
Alan Ryan, The Philosophy of J.S. Mill
John Skorupski, Why Read Mill Today?
C.L. Ten, Mill on Liberty
Week 22 (Mar. 10 & 12): Mill on the authority of society over the individual
reading: Mill, On Liberty (Chapts. 4 & 5, pp. 73-113.)
8. Marx
Week 23 (Mar. 17 & 19): Marx’s critique of bourgeois rights
reading: Marx, “On the Jewish Question” (Selected Writings, pp. )
Week 24 (Mar. 24 & 26): Marx’s critique of capitalism
reading: “Alienated Labour” (Selected Writings, pp. 58-79)
Week 25 (Mar. 31 & Ap. 2): Marx’s Historical Materialism
reading: The Communist Manifesto (Selected Writings, pp. 157-186)
Suggestions for further reading on Marx:
Shlomo Avineri, The Social and Political Thought of Karl Marx
Jon Elster, An Introduction to Karl Marx
David McLellan, The Thought of Karl Marx, 2d ed.
** April 5 is the last day of classes. April 6 is a study day; there will be no classes and no exams.**
Exams begin on April 7 and end on April 25. Check the Registrar’s Web site for the date of our final exam.
