YORK UNIVERSITY
Faculty of Arts
Department of Political Science
AS/POLS 1000 6.0 / AK/PPAS 1000 6.0 / AK/POLS 2410 6.0
Section C
INTRODUCTION TO POLITICS:
EXPLORING THE DEMOCRATIC EXPERIENCE
Fall/Winter 2008-2009
Instructor: Professor Sergei Plekhanov
Prof. Plekhanov’s office hours: Thursdays, 12:30-14:30, and by appointment.
Office address: 383 York Lanes, phone: (416) 736-5156, email:
Website: http://www.yorku.ca/splekhan/
This course introduces students to the study of politics, covering the basic concepts and terms of political science, the various interpretations of democracy and human rights, and the real-world practices of states. It seeks to help students develop critical awareness of political problems and an understanding of how relations of power and authority permeate most aspects of our lives.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
- Attending two lectures and one tutorial seminar each week.
- Weekly readings from the assigned texts.
- Active participation in tutorial discussions.
- Preparation of 1 reading review and 2 short essays, on topics to be chosen from the lists provided by the instructors.
- One formally scheduled 3-hour exam after the conclusion of the course (in April 2009, date to be set by the University during the Winter term).
GRADE COMPONENTS
Reading Review, due date Oct.16 – 10%
Essay 1, due date Nov.20 – 20%
Essay 2, due date Mar.12 – 20%
Exam – 30%
Participation – 20% (10% - attendance, 10% - class activity)
Written assignments are to be handed in to the TAs during tutorials.
NOTE: before submitting the first written assignment, each student must complete the online Academic Integrity Tutorial, accessible at: http://www.yorku.ca/tutorial/academic_integrity/
Note: 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. Students with physical, psychiatric or learning disabilities may request reasonable accommodations in teaching style or evaluation methods, as outlined in Appendix A the Senate Policy on Students with Special Needs. They should advise the instructor 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.
Departmental E-mail list: Political Science majors are encouraged to subscribe to the Departmental E-mail list that will post announcements about job opportunities, special events, career information and scholarships and awards. To subscribe, follow the instructions on the Department website at: http://www.yorku.ca/polisci/undergrad_studies/window.html
REQUIRED READINGS
Brodie, Janine and Sandra Rein (Eds.). 2008. Critical Concepts: An Introduction to Politics. 4th edition. Pearson/Prentice-Hall.
McLean, Iain and Alistair McMillan (Eds.). 2003. The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Politics, 2nd edition, Oxford University Press.
RECOMMENDED REFERENCE
Scott, Gregory and Stephen Garrison. 2002. The Political Science Student Writer’s Manual. 4th edition. Prentice-Hall.
SCHEDULE OF CLASSES
The Fall Term
Sept. 4
INTRODUCTION TO THE COURSE
Sept. 9 and 11
POWER AND POLITICS
Required readings:
Brodie/Rein, Chapter 1
Oxford Concise Dictionary of Politics (further referred to as OCDP): “politics”, “political science”, “power”, “authority”
Additional readings:
Peter Bachrach and Morton Baratz, The Two Faces of Power.
http://campus.ru.ac.za/download.php?actionarg=2589
“Tragedy of the Commons”.
http://members.aol.com/trajcom/private/trajcom.htm
IMPORTANT DATE: Sept. 18 is the last day to enrol without instructor's permission.
Sept. 16 and 18
INDIVIDUALS, GROUPS, AND SOCIETY
Required readings:
“Individuals, Groups, and Society”, Lecture notes for 1000C, Prof. Plekhanov’s website
OCDP: “industrial society”, “capitalism”, “society”, “class”, “bourgeoisie”, “proletariat”, “working class”, “middle class”, “peasantry”
Additional readings:
Charles Horton Cooley, Conflict and Cooperation,
http://spartan.ac.brocku.ca/~lward/Cooley/Cooley_1918/Cooley_1918_04.html
John Locke, Second Treatise on Government, Chapter 8, On the Beginning of Political Societies,
http://jim.com/2ndtreat.htm#8CHAP
Thomas Hobbes, De Cive (The Citizen), Liberty, Chapter 1, Of the state of men without Civill Society,
http://www.constitution.org/th/decive01.htm
Sept. 23 and 25
THE ORIGINS OF THE STATE
Required readings:
“The Origins of the State”, Lecture notes for 1000C, Prof. Plekhanov’s website
OCDP: “state”, “sovereignty”, “property”, “legitimacy”, “authority”, “law”, “feudalism”, “American Revolution”, “French Revolution”, “Russian Revolution (1917)”
Additional readings:
Thomas Hobbes, State and Sovereignty,
http://radicalacademy.com/adiphilpolitics17es.htm
Max Weber, Politics as a Vocation,
http://www2.pfeiffer.edu/~lridener/DSS/Weber/polvoc.html
IMPORTANT DATE: Oct. 2 is the due date for the results of the Academic Integrity Self-Test.
Sept. 30 and Oct. 2
DEMOCRACY
Required readings:
Brodie/Rein, Chapter 4
OCDP: “democracy”, “human rights”, “bill of rights”, “equality”, “justice”, “equal opportunity”, “freedom of association”, “freedom of information”, freedom of religion”, “freedom of speech”, “majority rule”, “common good”, “representation”, “elitism”, “iron law of oligarchy”, “pluralism”. “accountability”, “consent”, “democratic deficit”, “democratization”, “industrial democracy”, “direct democracy”
Additional readings:
Roger D. Rothenberger, Beyond Plutocracy: True Democracy for America.
http://www.beyondplutocracy.com/
Christopher Chase-Dunn, Global Democracy: a world-systems perspective.
http://www.irows.ucr.edu/cd/courses/181/globdemo.htm
Oct. 7, 9, 14, and 16
POLITICAL IDEOLOGIES
Required readings:
Brodie/Rein, Chapters 2, 3, and 5
OCDP: “ideology”, “liberalism”, “conservatism”, “neoliberalism”, “statism”, “nationalism”, “socialism”, “social democracy”, “communism”, “Marxism”, “fascism”, “National Socialism”, “left”, “right –(wing)”, “New Left”, “New Right”, “extreme-right parties”, “anti-Semitism”, “fundamentalism, Christian and Islamic”, “feminism”, “libertarianism”, “anarchism”, “propaganda”
Additional readings:
“The Political Compass. Find Your Own Place on the Political Spectrum”.
http://www.politicalcompass.org/
IMPORTANT DATES:
Oct.16 is the due date for the Reading Review.
Oct. 17 is the last day to enrol with instructor's permission.
Oct. 21 and 23
THE MODERN STATE
Required readings:
Brodie/Rein, Chapters 6, 9
OCDP: “state”, “public goods”, “public administration”, “public interest”, “welfare state”, “market”, “legislature”, “parliament”, “executive”, “head of government”, “head of state”, “president”, “prime minister”, “cabinet”, “judiciary”, “federalism”, “interest groups”
Additional readings:
“Canadian Government Information on the Internet”
http://cgii.gc.ca/index-e.html
Murray Rothbard, The Anatomy of the State
http://www.la-articles.org.uk/roth.htm
“Crisis of the Modern Welfare State”
http://www.coursework.info/i/150.html
Oct.28 and 30
REGIMES
Required readings:
Brodie/Rein, Chapter 7
OCDP: “liberalism”, “pluralism”, “democracy”, “authoritarianism”, “totalitarianism”, “despotism”, “tyranny”, “dictatorship”, “revolution”, “one-party states”, “competitive party systems”, “consensus”, “consent”, “democratic deficit”, ”power elite”, “corporatism”, “Big Brother”, “civil liberties”
Additional readings:
Mehran Kamrava, Revolutionary Politics
http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=42434820 (requires subscription to Questia.Com)
Daniel Nelson, After Authoritarianism: Democracy or Disorder? Introduction, Chapter 1
http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=26294777 (requires subscription to Questia.Com)
IMPORTANT DATE: Nov. 7 is the last day to drop the course without receiving a grade
Nov. 4 and 6
CONSTITUTIONS AND THE RULE OF LAW
Required readings:
Brodie/Rein, Chapter 8
OCDP: “law”, “common law”, “statute law”, “natural law”, “constitutional law”, “Roman law”, “Napoleonic law”, “norm”, “constitution”, “judiciary”, “jurisprudence”, “rights”, “habeas corpus”, “human rights”, “punishment”, “rule of law”, “due process”, “equal protection”, “prerogative”, “separation of powers”, “corruption”, “impeachment”, “judicial activism/judicial restraint”, “judicial review”, “Supreme Court”, “ombudsman”, “martial law”, “coup d’etat”
Additional readings:
John Sterling (ed.), Rule of Law
http://www.lawandliberty.org/rulelaw.htm
The Developing Rule of Law in China
http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~asiactr/haq/200004/0004a007.htm
IMPORTANT DATE: Nov. 20 is the due date for the Essay 1.
Nov. 11 and 13
POLITICAL PARTIES AND ELECTIONS
Required readings:
Brodie/Rein, Chapters 10 and 11
OCDP: “representation”, “voting”, “participation, political”, “electoral system”, “proportional representation”, “party organization”, “party system”, “party identification”, “mass media”, “majoritarianism”, “majority rule”, “minority government”, “opinion polls”, “referendum”
Additional reading:
“Electoral Systems Index”, Administration and Cost of Elections (ACE) Project
http://www.aceproject.org/main/english/es/
Nov. 18 and 20
CITIZENSHIP AND COMMUNITY
Required readings:
Brodie/Rein, Chapters 12 and 13
OCDP: “citizenship”, “civic culture”, “obligation”, “patriotism”, “activist”, “community”, “community power”, “obedience”, “civil disobedience”, “paternalism”, ”social movements”, “labour movement”, “trade unions”, “masses”, “mass society”, “new social movements”
Additional readings:
“Civil Rights”, from Stanford Encyclopaedia of Philosophy
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/civil-rights/
“Communitarianism”, from Stanford Encyclopaedia of Philosophy
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/communitarianism/
Nov. 25 and 27, Dec. 2
CULTURE
Required readings:
Brodie/Rein, Chapter 15
OCDP: “political culture”, “political socialization”, “citizenship”, “civic culture”, “mass media”, “class consciousness”, “consensus”, “race and politics”, “theocracy”, “secularization”
Additional readings:
“Political Culture”, Thomson-Nelson Archive
http://polisci.nelson.com/intropc.html
“Political Culture of Canada”, Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_culture_of_Canada
The Winter Term
Jan. 6 and 8
GENDER AND POLITICS
Required readings:
Brodie/Rein, Chapter 14
OCDP: “gender and politics”, “personal as political”, “feminism”, “matriarchy”, “patriarchy”, “suffrage”, “suffragette”, “sexism”
Additional readings:
“Gender, Sexuality, and Politics”, Thomson-Nelson Archive
http://polisci.nelson.com/gender.html
“Gender Gap”, by gendergap.com
http://www.gendergap.com/
Jan. 13 and 15
ENVIRONMENTAL POLITICS
Required readings:
Brodie/Rein, Chapter 18
OCDP: “environmentalism”, “ecology”, “anthropocentrism”, “ecocentrism”
Additional readings:
“Fourth Assessment Report”, Intergovernmental Commission on Climate Change, 2007
http://www.ipcc.ch/pdf/assessment-report/ar4/wg3/ar4-wg3-frontmatter.pdf
Sustainable Energy and Economy Network (SEEN) – explore this site
http://www.seen.org/
Jan. 20 and 22
POLITICAL VIOLENCE
Required reading:
Brodie/Rein, Chapter 19
OCDP: “violence”, “terrorism”, “ethnic cleansing”, “genocide”, “coup d’etat”, “revolution”, “non-violence”
Additional readings:
Martin Shaw, Political Mass Killing
http://www.sussex.ac.uk/Users/hafa3/slaughter1.htm
Clive Stafford Smith, Torture: An Idea for Our Time
http://www.opendemocracy.net/conflict-terrorism/torture_2749.jsp
Jan.27 and 29
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
Required reading:
Brodie/Rein, Chapter 22
OCDP: “international relations”, “realism”, “real politik”, “sphere of influence”, “strategy”, “diplomacy”, “war”, “empire”, “sovereignty”, Westphalian state system”, “balance of power”, “empire”, “imperialism”, “secession”, “international law”, “international society”, “realism”, “geopolitics”, “globalization”, “migration”.
Additional readings:
International Conflict and Cooperation Data – explore this site
http://garnet.acns.fsu.edu/~phensel/intlconf.html
International Environmental Data Page – explore this site
http://garnet.acns.fsu.edu/~phensel/intlenv.html
United Nations and Global Security – explore this site
http://www.un-globalsecurity.org/
IMPORTANT DATE: Feb. 6 is the last day to drop the course without receiving a final grade.
Feb. 3 and 5
GLOBAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
Required reading:
Brodie/Rein, Chapters 24 and 27
OCDP: “North”, “West”, “South”, “Third World”, “centre-periphery politics”, “colonialism”, “decolonization”, “post-colonial state”, “dependency”, “development”, “multinational corporation”,
Additional reading:
Thomas I. Palley, From Keynesianism to Neo-Liberalism
http://www.fpif.org/papers/2004keynesianism.html
“Global Injustice and Inequality”, at Global Policy Forum
http://globalpolicy.igc.org/socecon/inequal/
UC Atlas of Global Inequality – explore this site
http://ucatlas.ucsc.edu/
Feb. 10 and 12
THE WEST AND THE REST
Required readings:
Brodie/Rein, Chapter 20
Additional readings:
Amartya Sen, What Clash of Civilizations? – Slate, March 29, 2006
http://www.slate.com/id/2138731/
“Alliance of Civilizations” website, the United Nations
http://www.unaoc.org/
Feb.16 - 20
READING WEEK
Feb. 24 and 26, Mar. 3 and 5
GLOBAL (DIS)ORDERS, GLOBAL CONFLICT
Required reading:
Brodie/Rein, Chapter 21
OCDP: “Cold War”, “superpower”, “hegemony”, “empire”, “democratic peace”, “multilateralism”, “NATO”, “rogue state”, “terrorism”, “sanctions”, “peace-keeping”, “self-determination”, “secession”, “war”, “militarism”, “military-industrial complex”, “humanitarian intervention”, “just war”, “war crimes”, “refugee”, “democratic peace”, “NATO”
Additional readings:
Mark E. Pietrzyk, Explaining the Post-Cold War Order: An International Society Approach
http://www.ciaonet.org/isa/pim01/
“Our Global Neighborhood”, Report of the Commission on Global Governance
http://www.sovereignty.net/p/gov/gganalysis.htm
Martin Shaw, Democracy and Peace in the Global Revolution
http://www.sussex.ac.uk/Users/hafa3/democracy.htm
William Hartung, The Military-Industrial Complex Revisited
http://www.fpif.org/papers/micr/index.html
IMPORTANT DATE: Mar. 12 is the due date for Essay 2.
Mar.10 and 12
ARMS AND DISARMAMENT
Required reading:
“Arms and Disarmament”, Lecture notes for 1000C, Prof. Plekhanov’s website
OCDP: “arms races”, “arms control”, “disarmament”, “deterrence”, “SALT”, “START”, “nuclear proliferation”, “Cuban Missile Crisis”
Additional readings:
“Bulletin of Atomic Scientists” - http://www.thebulletin.org/
“Arms Control Association” - http://www.armscontrol.org/
Center for Defense Information” - http://www.cdi.org/
Mar. 17 and 19
INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
Required reading:
Brodie/Rein, Chapter 23
OCDP: “multilateralism”, “United Nations”, “Security Council”, “Bretton Woods”, “IMF”, “World Bank”, “free trade”, “free trade area”, “World Trade Organization”, “trade war”, “G7/G8”, “NAFTA”
Additional readings:
Global Policy Forum – explore the website
http://www.globalpolicy.org/
Mar.24 and 26, April 2
LOCAL-REGIONAL-GLOBAL DYNAMICS
Required readings:
Brodie/Rein, Chapters 25 and 26
OCDP: “globalization”, “regionalism”, “local politics”, “anti-globalization”
Additional readings:
“Global Cities”, by Tate Modern, 2007
http://www.tate.org.uk/modern/exhibitions/globalcities/default.shtm
“Global City Migration Map”, by Migration Policy Institute
http://www.tate.org.uk/modern/exhibitions/globalcities/default.shtm
APRIL 2005 - FINAL EXAM
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