GVPT%241%Political%Philosophy,%Ancient%&%Modern%%Draft,'final'version'to'be'distributed'on'First'Day'of'Class''!Alison!Staudinger!Office:!5115!Tydings!Hall!Phone:!206‐412‐7456!Email:[email protected]!T,Th!9:00‐12:30!am!Office!Hour:!T,!Th!12:30‐3:00pm,!&!by!appointment!!!Course%Objectives%&%Description%This!course!introduces!students!to!major!themes!and!figures!in!political!philosophy,!approaching!the!history!of!discourse!about!politics!as!an!ongoing!conversation,!where!thinkers!of!the!past!can!teach!us!about!their!own!times!and!open!up!our!conceptions!of!current!political!problems.!We!will!begin!with!a!discussion!of!political!obligation!through!the!lens!of!Sophocles’!Antigone:!how!can!citizens!sort!our!their!duties!to!self,!family!and!state?!!!We!will!then!move!to!selections!from!Plato’s!Republic,!taking!up!the!questions!of!citizenship!from!a!different!angle,!and!asking!what!the!limits!are!or!should!be!on!the!reach!of!the!state.!Is,!for!example,!the!state!justifying!in!censoring!art!or!poetry,!and!why!might!a!state!wish!to!control!or!ban!poetry?!How!can!citizens!respond!to!these!demands?!!!This!interest!in!the!relationship!between!the!people!and!the!government!is!reformulated!in!Machiavelli’s!Prince,!through!which!we!will!attempt!to!tease!out!the!development!of!constitutional!thinking,!as!well!as!understand!shifts!from!ancient!to!modern!theorizing.!From!Machiavelli!and!his!nascent!view!as!the!people!as!check!on!the!state!we!will!take!up!the!social!contract!theorists,!asking!how!Hobbes!&!Locke!attempt!to!solve!problems!of!political!legitimacy.!We!will!ask,!among!other!things,!how!well!there!theories!explain!our!own!relationships!to!each!other,!society!and!the!nation!state.!Rousseau!will!help!us!in!this!questioning,!providing!a!radical!liberalism!with!a!divergent!view!of!political!citizenship!&!belonging.!!!Rousseau!also!ushers!in!a!discussion!of!the!potential!for!political!systems!to!become!totalizing,!a!problem!which!will!enchant!the!political!theorists!of!the!19th!&!20th!century,!especially!in!the!wake!of!mass!violence.!Tocqueville!will!help!us!think!about!majority!tyranny!and!the!potential!for!democratic!systems!to!eviscerate!political!life,!and!Hannah!Arendt!will!ask!whether!political!life!is!already!dead,!a!concern!shared!by!the!work!of!critical!theorists!and!conservatives!alike.!After!a!brief!discussion!of!some!of!these!critics!of!modernity,!we!will!close!the!class!reflecting!on!the!changing,!or!enduring,!models!of!citizenship,!legitimacy!and!tyranny!explored!by!all!the!political!theorists!we’ve!encountered!over!the!semester.!!!Required%Texts%The Burial at Thebes: A Version of Sophocles' Antigone, Sophocles, trans.Seamus Heaney, ISBN: 0374530076 The Republic Of Plato: Second Edition, Plato, trans. Allen Bloom, ISBN: 0465069347 The Prince, Machiavelli, trans. Harvey Mansfield, ISBN: 0226500446 Leviathan, Hobbes, with C.B Macpherson, ISBN: 0140431950 Second Treatise of Government, Locke, with C.B Macpherson, ISBN: 0915144867Basic Political Writings, Rousseau, (Hackett), ISBN: 0872200477 The Human Condition¸ Hannah Arendt, ISBN: 0226025985 All Other Readings will be available via. Electronic Course Reserve Class Policies Participation- Speaking with others about political problems is part of a political science education, therefore, attendance and participation are necessary. It is highly unlikely that anyone will be able to pass this class without regular attendance and participation. I expect you to come to seminar having read the material, hopefully twice, prepared to discuss both its content and possible connections to the course themes or other works. If it appears that students are not prepared, I reserve the right to use draconian measures like pop quizzes or shame. Participation grades can also be raised through meeting with me at office hours and occasional group work, so that shy students are not overly disadvantaged. Presentations- On the first day of class, each student will choose two readings for which he or she is responsible. Each member of the class must still do the reading and come prepared to discuss; the presenter’s job is to begin the class with questions of interest to him or her. The goal of this requirement is to develop our ability to speak publicly about complex topics, as well as isolate interesting themes in the text. Feel free to work with me closely on your presentation. Essays- Writing is an essential part of both a liberal arts education and this course. There will be three short (4-5 pages) essays; I will distribute a list of questions prior to each assignment, and you will need to answer the question of your choice in an argumentative style, utilizing textual evidence. We will also frequently use writing exercises in class to stimulate thinking. I will distribute details and a grading rubric for each assignment as the date nears. Papers will be graded for grammar and style as well as content; I expect writing that is polished, communicative and even beautiful and am happy to work with students on their papers. The Writing Center is also a great on-campus resource. Please consult university policies on academic integrity, disability services, & religious observation, all of which apply fully to this course. Grading: 10% Participation/In class exercises 20% Presentations 15% Essay 1 25% Essay 2 30% Essay 3 A+ 98 A 93 A- 90.0 B+ 88 B 83 B- 80.0 C+ 78 C 73 C- 70.0 D+ 68 D 63 D- 60.0Course Schedule Week 1- The Limits of Political Obligation July 14th Sophecles The Burial at Thebes July 16th Plato The Republic Books 1-2 Week 2- The Limits of State Action July 21st Plato The Republic Books 3-6 July 23rd Plato The Republic Books 7-10 Week 3- Princes & Peoples July 28th Machiavelli The Prince FIRST PAPER DUE July 30th Machiavelli The Prince, Discourses on Livy* Week 4- Legitimacy & Fear August 4th Hobbes Leviathan (selections) August 6th Locke Second Treatise of Government Week 5- Legitimacy & Popular Sovereignty August 11th Rousseau Discourse on the Sciences and the Arts, Discourse on the Origins of Inequality SECOND PAPER DUE August 13th Rousseau On the Social Contract Week 6- Tyranny & Totalitarianism August 18th Hannah Arendt’s The Human Condition (selections) August 20th Sheldon Wolin “Inverted Democracy”* August 21st FINAL PAPER DUE *to be distributed in