University of Maryland College Park Department of Government and Politics GVPT241 The Study of Political Philosophy Ancient and Modern Fall 2011 3 Credits GVPT Majors Only Prerequisite GVPT 100 Monday Wednesday 1pm 1 50pm 2205 LeFrak Hall I INSTRUCTOR Professor Ian Ward 1153 Tydings Hall Office Hours Monday 2pm 4 30pm Wednesday 2pm 3 30pm Office Phone 301 405 0427 iward umd edu Teaching Assistants Stephen Arves Ashley Gorham Jason Stonerook Robinson Woodward Burns sarves umd edu agorham umd edu stonja01 umd edu rwoodwar umd edu II COURSE DESCRIPTION This course examines key continuities and breaks between traditions in ancient and modern political philosophy Special attention is given to figures addressing a recurring theme in the history of political thought the relationship between the individual and the community Authors to be considered include Eric Arthur Blair a k a George Orwell Plato Niccol Machiavelli William Shakespeare Thomas Hobbes Jean Jacques Rousseau Ralph Waldo Emerson and Ralph Waldo Ellison The principal goal of the course aside from the attainment of introductory knowledge of these figures is the development of two skills essential to serious undergraduate training in Government and Politics 1 slow scholarly reading and 2 clear analytical writing In the context of political inquiry these skills are both foundational and difficult to acquire The course readings lectures assignments and discussion sessions are all chosen and designed with these skills in mind III COURSE REQUIREMENTS Slow careful reading of all course materials including this syllabus Regular Attendance at Lectures Responsible Participation in Discussion Sections 20 of final course grade Oral Presentations in Discussion Sections 20 of final course grade Three Short Essays 1 3pp due October 3 2011 10 of final course grade 2 7pp due November 14 2011 20 of final course grade 3 10pp December 16 2011 30 of final course grade denotes a Major Scheduled Grading Event for the purposes of the University s Medical Excuse Policy Please see the Course Policies section of this syllabus below 1 Lectures Regular attendance at lectures is a necessary but not sufficient condition for success in this course While I do not keep formal attendance records for lectures given the size of our class this would take up too much valuable lecture time all the other requirements of the course i e careful reading of the course materials responsible participation in discussion sessions oral presentations and short essays presuppose a strong familiarity with what is discussed in lectures that can only be acquired through regular and attentive attendance Without this familiarity students will not be able to satisfy these requirements or succeed in the course Formal attendance is taken for discussion sections see below 2 Discussion Section Participation 20 of final course grade The texts we will be reading are intensely demanding in their complexity In texts of this kind there is always more going on than can be grasped by a single reader in isolation Discussion sections are regular occasions for you and your fellow students to work together toward more adequate understanding of the week s readings This means that albeit to a lesser degree than in upper level GVPT seminars you are acting as peer educators to each other about the week s readings In discussion sections we are not merely judging whether you have done the week s readings or attended the week s lectures but also your developing skill in being peer educators Accordingly students are expected to attend discussion sections regularly to do the reading carefully in advance and to participate responsibly A student who fails to attend section without a legitimate excuse receives a grade of F for that session For information concerning what constitutes a legitimate excuse and associated procedures please see the Course Policies section of this syllabus below Attending section without participating counts as borderline performance D The first week s session does not count toward the grade Oral contributions in discussion sections will be judged according to the following criteria the degree to which they manifest genuine attention to and understanding of the material being discussed the degree to which they succeed in advancing the discussion by responding meaningfully to what others have said and the degree to which they articulate coherent interesting thoughtful plausible and original claims questions and arguments To earn an A for this component of the course a student needs to participate regularly in the discussion and satisfy the above criteria in exceptionally high degree Regular participation by itself does not guarantee a high grade For example a student who participates regularly and seems to have read the assigned material but does not demonstrate a good grasp of the ideas and arguments being discussed and therefore does not contribute much of value to the discussion would earn a C for seminar performance Behavior that is disruptive or disrespectful of other students is considered de facto non attendance F and may be reported to the Office of Student Conduct 3 Oral Presentations 20 of final course grade Starting in the second week of class each discussion section meeting will begin with a 5 10 minute oral presentation addressing the readings for that week The presenter is expected to articulate a careful and interesting claim about the readings in a way that elicits thoughtful responses from other students Each student will be responsible for 1 presentation during the term Due to scheduling and enrollment constraints some discussion sections may feature more than one presenter In such cases presenters are expected to co ordinate their efforts beforehand so as to avoid duplication during group discussion The most important criterion for evaluating oral presentations is the quality of the section discussions they generate Generally speaking presentations that refer explicitly to specific passages of the text s under discussion and raise specific questions about the week s reading fare better on this score than those that do not Presentations are also evaluated in accordance with the criteria for oral contributions given above 4 Three Short Essays worth 10 20 and 30 of the final course grade respectively These essays are short but highly challenging Each follows the same format 1 Approximately two weeks prior to the relevant due date two highly specific questions about