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THE SCOPE AND EPISTEMOLOGIES OF POLITICAL SCIENCE
POS 6716/Fall, 2015
Professor Lawrence C. Dodd
University of Florida
PART ONE: THE INTELLECTUAL DEVELOPMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE
Class Organization: 8/25
Week One: On Being a Political Scientist: The Tradition and Developmental Patterns 9/1
Week Two: Why Study Politics Systematically? 9/8
Ungraded paper due Friday 9/11 at 5 pm
Week Three: Controversies in Political Science: Activism vs Inquiry/Observation vs Measurement 9/15
Week Four: The Epistemological Dialogue in Political Science 9/22
Week Five: The Rites of Passage 9/29 (No class: prepare first graded paper)
Class Potluck Date to be announced: Probably 9/30
First graded paper due Friday 10/2 at 5 pm
PART TWO: ‘HARD SCIENCE’ EPISTEMOLOGIES - SEEKING PREDICTIVE EXPLANATION
Week Six: Nomological-Deductive Knowledge 10/6
Week Seven: Formal Analysis and Chaos Theory 10/13
Week Eight: A Biological Perspective on Science: Evolutionary, Cybernetic, and Neuro-Biological Knowledge 10/20
Week Nine: Assessing ‘Hard Science’ Epistemologies 10/27 (No class: prepare second graded paper)
Second graded paper due 10/30
PART THREE: ‘SOFT SCIENCE’ EPISTEMOLOGIES - SEEKING EMPATHETIC UNDERSTANDING
Week Ten: Interpretive Knowledge 11/3
Week Eleven: Critical Theory and the Uses of Knowledge 11/10
Week Twelve: Phenomenological Knowledge and the Openness of History 11/17
Week Thirteen: Assessing ‘Soft Science’ Epistemologies 11/24 (No class: prepare third graded paper)
Third graded paper due Saturday 11/28 at 5 pm
PART FOUR: FINAL ASSESSMENTS
Week Fourteen: Final Perspectives, Assessments and Career Directions 12/1
Week Fifteen: Swing Date if Needed; Otherwise No Class/ Prepare Final Papers 12/8
Ithaka
As you set out for Ithaka
hope your road is a long one,
full of adventure, full of discovery,
Laistrygonians, Cyclops,
angry Poseidon—don’t be afraid of them:
you’ll never find things like that on your way
as long as you keep your thoughts raised high,
as long as a rare excitement
stirs your spirit and your body.
Laistrygonians, Cyclops,
wild Poseidon—you won’t encounter them
unless you bring them along inside your soul,
unless your soul sets them up in front of you.
Hope your road is a long one.
May there be many summer mornings when,
with what pleasure, what joy,
you enter harbors you’re seeing for the first time;
may you stop at Phoenician trading stations
to buy fine things,
mother of pearl and coral, amber and ebony,
sensual perfume of every kind—
as many sensual perfumes as you can;
and may you visit many Egyptian cities
to learn and go on learning from their scholars.
Keep Ithaka always in your mind.
Arriving there is what you’re destined for.
But don’t hurry the journey at all.
Better if it lasts for years,
so you’re old by the time you reach the island,
wealthy with all you’ve gained on the way,
not expecting Ithaka to make you rich.
Ithaka gave you the marvelous journey.
Without her you wouldn’t have set out.
She has nothing left to give you now.
And if you find her poor, Ithaka won’t have fooled you.
Wise as you will have become, so full of experience,
you’ll have understood by then what these Ithakas mean.
---C.P. Cavafy*
Instructor: Larry Dodd Course hours: 11:45-2:45 Tues.
Office: 201a Anderson email:
Office Hours: Thursday 1-2:30
and by appointment
Seminar Objectives
The purpose of this course is to introduce students to political science as a discipline of systematic inquiry. At least since Plato presented the allegory of the cave, analysts have realized that the perceived events of politics do not always mean what we think they mean – that one of the daunting tasks of political analysis is “knowing” that we really know what we think we know. Analysts have also realized that the process of knowing itself may be fraught with dangers and dilemmas. These include the possibility that sustained pursuit of political knowledge could so challenge existing societal beliefs and norms that it would produce widespread discontent and even fuel hostility towards the process of knowing. They also include potential tensions between a commitment to the pursuit of knowledge and a desire to act on knowledge.
Much of the history of political science as an academic discipline has centered on a debate over how best to address and resolve these and related issues of political inquiry. Part One of this course deals with the discipline’s historical development and with a general overview of what political science is like today as a discipline, as a personal career, and as an area for graduate work. During Part One we will also discuss different kinds of questions political scientists seek to address and consider in an introductory manner the different perspectives that exist within political science and the social sciences on how one ‘knows that one knows’ that one has a satisfactory answer to pressing questions. This latter issue – epistemology – will then be the central focus of the course.
Epistemology is, quite simply, the study of theories of human knowledge. Parts Two, Three and Four consider the epistemological debates and approaches that characterize modern political science. Our central concerns here will be to clarify the different theories of knowledge that predominate among political scientists; to assess the strengths and weakness of the different approaches; to identify the reasons why political analysts may pursue different forms of inquiry; to understand the systematic implications that different theories of knowledge have for our scholarly agendas and investigatory processes; and to consider the possibilities for an interplay among and synthesis of the various epistemological perspectives in our actual conduct of inquiry. In doing do we will identify two dominant epistemological perspectives in political science and several subsidiary approaches within each perspective.
a. Part Two of the course will look at what social scientists often call a “hard science” perspective; generally this perspective stresses logical-causal explanation of politics designed to provide predictive knowledge. Core examples will include empirically-based nomological deductive analysis and strict formal logical analysis. We also will discuss contemporary variants on “hard science epistemology” such as biological, evolutionary, cybernetic and chaotic knowledge; these variants seek some form of reasoned and empirical explanation but often without (or with limited types of) prediction.
b. Part Three will look at “soft science” epistemology; generally this perspective stresses contextual and experiential understanding designed to provide an empathic awareness or clarity. Core examples will include interpretivism and critical theory. We also will discuss phenomenological analysis and the possibility that the authentic search for an understanding of politics and human action may lead to an awareness that some forms of political experience are so incommensurable with our own that empathetic clarity may be limited or impossible in certain situations.
c. Part Four will conclude the course with a final discussion of the strengths and weaknesses of these various epistemologies; the possibility for informed interplay across and synthesis of differing epistemological strategies, and an assessment of their research implications.
d. In the end, each political scientist must make his or her own choice of epistemology, choosing among and integrating approaches as seems appropriate for different questions, intellectual goals, fields of study, and personal talents. It is my hope that by the end of this course you will have a more informed sense of the epistemologies that characterize political science and an awareness of how to draw on and combine these approaches to develop a satisfying analysis of politics.
It is the effort of each new generation of scholars to grapple with the issues of how best to know politics, and their invariable ability to generate new epistemological insights and approaches, that keeps political science a vibrant and lively field of inquiry. In entering the ongoing dialogue over the appropriate “logic of political inquiry” you help sustain the intellectual ferment that challenges current orthodoxy; thereby you help provide perhaps our most certain assurance that contemporary political science will not mistake momentary shadows for enduring truth. You help ensure the honest pursuit of political knowledge beyond the reach of momentary fads, insulated mindsets and entrenched powers – perhaps the greatest aspiration any of us can have as political scientists.
Seminar Readings
As an introduction to political science as a scholarly discipline, the reading for POS 6716 is necessarily heavy. The professor will make every effort to clarify the nature of assignments and has structured the core of the course around class presentations in a way that will facilitate student mastery of the broad range of issues raised by the reading. The ultimate success of the seminar, however, depends on the willingness of the students to make a good faith effort at reading all assigned material and entering wholeheartedly into class discussions. The final course grade will reflect the quality of involvement in class discussions.
The required books are available for purchase at local bookstores (and on Amazon.com, etc.), and all are on reserve in the Library. Other books used in the course (with major essays in them) may also be on reserve in the Library. The required books will be primarily used in the latter two-thirds of the course. Please be aware that, should you wait until then to buy the books, you risk the possibility that the bookstore will have returned unsold copies to the publisher.
The required books are as follows:
Kristen Monroe, editor, Perestroika! The Raucous Rebellion in Political Science, Yale U.
Press, 2005
Robert Putnam, Making Democracy Work, Princeton U. Press, 1993
Charles F. Gattone, The Social Scientist as Public Intellectual
Jonathon W. Moses and Torbjorn L. Knutsen, Ways of Knowing
Thomas Kuhn, The Structure of Scientific Revolution
Bent Flyvbjerg, Making Social Science Matter
Carl Hempel, Philosophy of Natural Science
Morris Fiorina, Congress: Keystone to the Washington Establishment
Rebecca Morton, Methods and Models
George E. Marcus, Russell Neuman and Michael B. MacKuen, Affective Intelligence and
Political Judgment
Max Weber, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism
Benedict Anderson, Imagined Communities
Anthony Pagden, European Encounters with the New World: Available in the Library and at Amazon.com
Ernst Mayr, One Long Argument: Charles Darwin and the Genesis of Modern Evolutionary Thought
Chris Argyris and Donald A. Schon, Organizational Learning II: Theory, Method, and Practice
Robert Jervis, System Effects
Edward Gibson, Boundary Control: Subnational Authoritarianism in Federal Democracies
Virtually all required essays for the course are available for purchase in two packets for this course sold at Target Copy, located at 1412 W. University Avenue. Students are encouraged to share Packets and books in order to keep costs down. On the other hand, students committed to a scholarly career in political science will want to begin now to build a professional library. The required reading of this course includes a vast array of classic books, articles and essays that could form the core of such a library.
Virtually all books required for this course will also be available for short-term check out through at the Reserve Desk in Library West. Many of the assigned essays also are available in books on Library Reserve; just check the book out at library reserve and read the essay from it. Some can also be accessed by ‘googling’ them.
In addition, aside from accessing assigned articles through J-STOR, most articles can be accessed through electronic reserve. The process for accessing assigned articles that are available through electronic reserve is as follows:
To use Electronic Library Reserve:
1. Log into ARes using your Gatorlink username and password. You can access ARes athttp://ares.uflib.ufl.edu, or by clicking Course Reserves on the UF Libraries homepage.
2. Under the Student Tools menu on the left side of the page, select Search Courses.
3. Use the third search option: Search by Course. Search for Course Number POS 6716.
4. The results page should list only this course, POS 6716 Section 5651, Scope & Epistemology of Political Science. The first column should offer the option to "Add" the course for immediate access in the future.
5. All readings not included in the course packet are listed here. To sort by author, simply click the header in the Author column. Clicking on book titles will direct you to the call number information needed to obtain the book from the main desk on the 2nd floor of Library West.
6. Clicking on article titles will link you directly to articles available via electronic databases. If you are on campus, these links will allow you immediate full access to the articles. If you are off campus, you must first either connect to the UF network via the VPN client (http://net-services.ufl.edu/provided_services/vpn/anyconnect/)or log in to the library site using the Off-Campus Access link at http://www.uflib.ufl.edu and search for the journals and articles yourself.
Seminar Policies:
1. Do not use a cell phone, Blackberry or any other electronic device during class. Turn them off and put them away. You can use laptops to take notes provided that you follow the no-cell phone rule.
2. Assignments. The dates for all weekly assignments are provided in the syllabus. Please advise me in advance if you need to discuss an extension for a paper.
3. Incompletes will not be given for this class. The only exceptions will be for dire and unavoidable emergencies or special conditions that are discussed with Professor Dodd in advance. Should a student fail to complete the course, any effort to complete the course thereafter will be subject to a grade reduction to be determined by Professor Dodd in consultation with the student.
4. Honor Code and Plagiarism: In enrolling as a UF student you have agreed to follow the UF Honor Code, which includes neither giving nor receiving authorized aid in doing your graded assignments and final papers. Any student who violates UF’s Honor Code will be referred immediately to appropriate departmental and University authorities for disciplinary action.
5. Matters of accommodation: I will make every effort to provide for accommodations for students with disabilities. Please see me at the start of the semester to alert me to issues of accommodation and we will address them in a discrete manner according to university guidelines.
6. Office Hours: I welcome students coming by office hours to discuss issues with the course or with their graduate training and career preparation. I make every effort to keep office hours, and will stay in my office beyond the scheduled hours as long as students are waiting to see me, insofar as I can, considering other scheduled commitments. In addition, I will arrange meetings by appointment at other times, when necessary. I enjoy talking with students immensely, and value meeting with you. But do note: I will be traveling to various conferences this semester, and also will be involved in department and university affairs at times that I cannot easily control, so that students with pressing issues should take care to arrange with me a time-certain, during office hours or at other times when I am available, so that I can guarantee attention to their issues. I am also available by email: , and can be reached in emergencies at my home phone: 352 485 1971.