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!1!GVPT 241 The Study of Political Philosophy: Ancient and Modern Summer Session I 2011 [3 Credits; GVPT Majors Only; Prerequisite: GVPT 100] Instructor: Jesse Kirkpatrick Email: jkirkpatrick(at)gvpt.umd.edu Course Description This course serves as an introductory survey of some of the key thinkers in the history of political thought. While such a survey can nowhere near capture the full breadth and depth of 2,500 years of political theory, this course examines key continuities and breaks between traditions in ancient and modern political philosophy. Particular attention is paid to figures that address the themes of liberty, freedom, and political obligation, including Plato, Niccolò Machiavelli, Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, J.S. Mill, and Karl Marx. Course Requirements 1) Discussion: 40% of final grade 2) Short Papers: 20% of final grade 3) Reading and Lecture Quizzes: 20% of final grade 4) Final Exam: 20% of final grade 1) Discussion Thread Posting and Participation This is a six-week online course. Given the asynchronous, condensed nature of this course, students will need to be organized, motivated, and able to access the online course space, ELMS, daily. Log in early, and become familiar with how ELMS functions. Students will be expected to be able devote sufficient time utilizing the online course space. Devotion to this online class time should be considered independent of the time that students will spend on the daily required readings. The majority of your course grade will be determined by participation in discussion. In order for a student to do well in the course they must log on and post to discussion daily, Monday through Friday. This means that you are required to post one entry every day (M-F) for a total of 5 entries per week. Depending upon the holiday schedule, paper submissions, and our pace with the readings, I have estimated that we will have at a minimum approximately 20-25 days that will require posting to the classroom discussion threads. Unless informed otherwise, you will be expected to post to the discussion thread according to the above schedule of five entries per week. How the posting format works (Online Classroom, Lectures, and Podcasts) Every day I will post discussion content. These posts will take one of three possible forms: written comments and questions, podcast-style lecture, video lecture. This content will serve as a start for the discussion of the day. The use of written comments and questions are relatively straightforward. In addition to written posts, once or twice a week I will post a short podcast or a pre-recorded video lecture. Viewing or listening to these short lectures!2!is mandatory. Within these posts I will pose questions and discuss content that will form the basis for that specific day’s discussion. In addition to the pre-recorded lectures and podcasts, I will occasionally give short live lectures in the virtual classroom, followed by a discussion. Viewing these lectures is mandatory, doing so live is not. I understand that not all schedules will permit students to attend and participate in these virtual classroom discussions. With this in mind, technology permits these live classroom sessions to be recorded in real time and then posted to ELMS, so students who cannot be present can still access the content. In an effort to accommodate as many students who may wish to participate in these virtual classroom discussions, I will try my best to vary the days and times at which they occur. This will, of course, reduce the predictability of the sessions, but this variation should give those the opportunity to attend who may otherwise be unable to. Irrespective of the format that I use to post questions, comments, and lectures, I will post the content by 11:00 a.m. eastern standard time. What counts as a post to the thread by you, the student? A posting must be between 200-350 words. This is meant to be a general guide, some days you may have more to say than others, but anything less than 200 words will not receive credit. This discussion should function more like an online conversation where students engage the material, each other, and the instructor. For this to be successful students will need to draw from the texts to support their analyses and claims, reference other students’ posts, and respond in an articulate, meaningful, and novel way to the questions and comments presented. Comments are to reference the text explicitly, using quotes (since we’re all using the same edition, author and page number is sufficient, e.g., Locke, 289), and adhering to conventional punctuation, grammar, and stylistic convention. Think of these as very short essays, not as tweets, text messages, or emails. Absent legitimate documentation, discussion posts that are not posted and time/date stamped by midnight will not receive credit for that day. In effect, these posts cannot be submitted late. 2) Short Papers Students will be assigned two short papers worth 10% each. The papers will be approximately 3 pages in length and offer an occasion for critical exegesis and reflection on one of the texts and/or key themes. The papers will be expected to articulate a thoughtful analysis of a specific passage or thematic element that we have discussed in the text(s). Paper 1: Due 6/19 Paper 2: Due 6/27 3) Reading and Lecture Quizzes Over the course of the term, there will be four short quizzes on the week’s assigned reading and lecture. These quizzes will be administered randomly and based upon factual elements!3!of the text. For example, a question may be, “What are the names of two people that brought charges against Socrates in the Apology?” The quizzes are worth 5% each. 4) Final Exam The final exam will be a cumulative exam, consisting of short answer and essay questions. I will post the exam by 9:00 a.m. eastern standard time and it will be due by midnight. The exam will be available for access and completion during the duration of this prescribed time, but it will be designed to only take 2-3 hours to complete. Other Course Policies Late Submissions Unless otherwise specified, all written work is due before midnight on the relevant due date. Papers that are late without a documented excuse will be penalized at the rate of a full letter grade per day. For the purpose of this policy, each day runs from midnight to midnight. This means, for example, that an assignment turned


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UMD GVPT 241 - Syllabus

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