Liberalism, Pluralism, and Education

Political Science106

Introduction to Political Theory: Concepts in Contemporary Political Thought

Fall 2015, Tuesdays and Thursdays, 4 – 5.30pm

Simon Hall 1

Professor Ian MacMullen

Office Hours: Thursdays, 10.30am –12 noon, in Seigle 244

E-mail:

***Plus, you are all very welcome to bring your dinner and talk political theory with Professor MacMullen in the South 40 Private Dining Room (near Bear’s Den) every Wednesday any time between 6 and 7.30pm!***

Course Description

This courseintroduces and analyzes key concepts in political theory – democracy, justice, liberty, rights, obligation, and authority – through texts written during the last sixty years. Our goal is to probe the assumptions, implications, ambiguities, complexities, and conflicts that attend the use of familiar terms. Students should emerge better able both to understand the underlying logic of political issues and to engage in critical examination of political rhetoric. Although the course is focused on elucidation of relatively abstract concepts, frequent references will be made to practical examples and contemporary cases.

Assessment

Most class sessions will start with a short quiz that tests your comprehension of the readings assigned for that day’s class as well as those assigned for the immediately preceding class. A little more than half of your course gradeis determined (in the precise manner detailed on page four of this syllabus) by your performance on these short quizzes. Students are therefore advised and expected to maintain a perfect or near-perfect attendance record and to carefully complete each session’s assigned readings before coming to class.

In order to take the quizzes, you MUST check out an i>clicker from Olin Library, register your clicker through this course’s Blackboard page online, and bring your clicker to class. The clicker MUST be returned to Olin Library by Friday, December 4. The clicker comes with two AAA batteries, which should not need to be replaced during the semester. However, if batteries do need to be replaced, you are responsible for replacing them.

One sixth of your course grade is determined by your performance on the midterm exam (in class on Tues, Oct 13) and the remaining quarter by your performance on the final exam (from 6 to 8pm on Weds, Dec 16). Again, full details are on page four of this syllabus.

Required Text

Goodin & Pettit, eds., Contemporary Political Philosophy: An Anthology (Wiley-Blackwell, second edition, 2006) – contains the readings you will need for 12 of our class sessions

All other readings are available online throughBlackboard and WU Libraries’ Ares system (password is “concepts”).

Class Meetings, Exams, and Required Surveys

1. Introduction: What is political theory? Why study it?

Tuesday, Aug 25No reading

During the first week of classes, you must complete a brief online survey

2 – 6. Democracy

Thursday, Aug 27Schumpeter, “Two Concepts of Democracy” in Quinton, ed.,

Political Philosophy (pp. 153 – 188)

Tuesday, Sep 1Dahl, “Procedural Democracy” (pp. 107 – 125)

Thursday, Sep 3Elster, “The Market and the Forum” (pp. 144 – 158)

Tuesday, Sep 8Cohen, “Deliberation and Democratic Legitimacy”: secs. II – IV

(pp. 161 – 170)

Thursday, Sep 10Anderson, “The Epistemology of Democracy” in Episteme vol. 3 no. 1-2

(pp. 8 – 22)

7 – 14. Justice

Tuesday, Sep 15Bentham, An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation:

ch. I (pp. 65 – 69)

J.S. Mill, Utilitarianism, ch. 5 (pp. 41 – 63)

Thursday, Sep 17Rawls, A Theory of Justice: pp. 3–30

Tuesday, Sep 22Rawls, A Theory of Justice: pp. 52–78, 130 – 135

Thursday, Sep 24Parfit, “Equality and Priority” (pp. 462 – 472)

Tuesday, Sep 29Nozick, “Distributive Justice”: part 1 (pp. 201 – 215, 224 – 227)

Thursday, Oct 1Nozick, “Distributive Justice”: part 2 (pp. 215 – 224, 227 – 228)

Tuesday, Oct 6Barry, “Chance, Choice and Justice” (pp. 229 – 238)

Thursday, Oct 8Walzer, “Complex Equality” (pp. 484 – 500)

Tuesday, Oct 13Midterm Exam

16 – 19. Liberty

Thursday, Oct 15Berlin, “Two Concepts of Liberty” in his Four Essays on Liberty

(pp. 166 – 217) – do NOT use version in course reader!

Tuesday, Oct 20Taylor, “What's Wrong with Negative Liberty?” (pp. 387 – 397)

Thursday, Oct 22MacCallum, “Negative and Positive Freedom” in

Philosophical Reviewvol. 76 no. 3 (pp. 312 – 334)

Tuesday, Oct 27Pettit, “Liberty as Non-domination” in his Republicanism (pp. 51 – 78)

20 – 22. Rights

Thursday, Oct 29Shue, “Basic Rights” (pp. 302 – 316)

Tuesday, Nov 3Lyons, “Utility and Rights” in Nomos XXIV (pp. 107 – 138)

Thursday, Nov 5Dworkin, “Taking Rights Seriously” (pp. 289 – 301)

23 – 27. Obligation & Authority

Tuesday, Nov 10Dworkin, “Civil Disobedience and Nuclear Protest” in his

A Matter of Principle (pp. 104 – 116)

Thursday, Nov 12Smith, “Is there a Prima Facie Obligation to Obey the Law?” in

Yale Law Journalvol. 82 no. 5 (pp. 950 – 976)

Tuesday, Nov 17Connolly, The Terms of Political Discourse: pp. 86 – 116

Thursday, Nov 19Raz, The Morality of Freedom: pp. 23 – 53

[No class on Nov 24 or 26 – Thanksgiving week]

Tuesday, Dec 1Raz, The Morality of Freedom: pp. 53 – 80

Duringthe last week of classes, you must complete a brief online survey.

28. Conclusions: Political Theory for Scholars and for Citizens

Thursday, Dec 3No reading

Final Exam: Wednesday, Dec 16, 6 – 8pm

Grading

The midterm exam will have ten (multiple-choice) questions and the final exam fifteen (multiple-choice) questions. Each correct answer on these exams is worth three points.

Each class (other than the first and last meetings of the semester and the day of the midterm exam) will start with a five-question, multiple-choice quiz that tests your comprehension of the readings assigned for that day’s class as well as those assigned for the immediately preceding class. Each correct answer on these quizzes is worth one point.

We will disregard the four quizzes on which you score lowest. (Absence translates into a score of zero on that day’s quiz, regardless of the reason for your absence.) Your course grade is determined bythe total number of points you accrue on the 21 remaining tests plusthe points you earn on the midterm and final exams.

Students who elect to take this course under the credit/no-credit (or pass/fail) grading option receive a grade of credit (or pass) if their performance would have earned them a course grade of C+ or above. Students who would have earned a course grade of C or below will fail (no credit).

Academic Integrity Policy

All tests (quizzes and exams) are closed book. This means that you are not permitted to consult any texts, notes, electronic devices, etc. All books, papers, and devices (other than your clicker) should remain in your bag and out of sight until the test is over. You are not permitted to consult or otherwise communicate with other students during a test. And, of course, you may not look at (or use!) another student’s clicker. Any violations of these rules will be treated as failures of academic integrity and will be referred to the College of Arts and Sciences’ Academic Integrity Officer, Dean Sean McWilliams. Penalties for such violations can be severe and enduring.

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