1 GVPT 100: Introduction to Government and Politics Fall 2007 Instructor: Dr. Orhan Office: Tydings 1140D Office Hours: Mon-Wed 2-3pm (or by appointment) E-mail: [email protected] Course Website: https://elms.umd.edu/ Teaching Assistants: Rabih Helou (Sections 0101, 0102, 0104) [email protected] Steven Moore-Sanchez (Sections 0103, 0105, 0107) [email protected] Aaron Hanna (Sections 0106, 0108, 0109) [email protected] Neither our knowledge nor our insight will ever be increased to any great extent by a comparison and discussion of what has been said by others; for this is always merely like pouring water from one vessel into another. Only through our own contemplation of things themselves can insight and knowledge be really enriched; for it alone is the living source that is always ready and at hand. Schopenhauer Course Description and Objectives This course introduces the fundamental philosophers, scholars, concepts, ideologies, issues, and debates in political science. The main objective is to provide students with a general literacy of the conceptual tools utilized by political scientists and political actors to understand and explain the major dynamics of the political world. A variety of themes such as political culture, authority, power, legitimacy, citizenship, political ideologies, political economy, and political violence will be covered. Particular emphasis will be put on the primary sources of the Western intellectual tradition whose ideas have shaped the contemporary debates in both political science and the political world. The lectures will go over the main problems, themes, and arguments in these classic texts. We will often examine how different authors’ ideas relate to one another, and try to grasp their significance for contemporary political events. In addition to Political Theory, sufficient attention will be given to the other subfields of political science, namely, International Relations and Comparative Politics. This course encourages you to think for yourselves, raise critical questions, express your thoughts coherently through writing, and evaluate current political events and debates. It also aims to enhance your political judgment for civic occasions such as voting or other venues of civic participation and help you navigate through the political world with hope and prudence.2 Required Texts To benefit from this course, you need to do the readings in a timely and careful manner. You are expected to read about 30-40 pages per class. If you find some passages hard-going, refer to the study questions that will be provided on the course website. These questions can help you think through the significant passages and critical themes in the text. It will be easier to follow along in class if you use the “authorized” editions listed below. The books by Aristotle, Weber, Schmitt, and Lynch can be purchased in the campus bookstore. The books by Plato and Mansfield as well as the “GVPT 100 Reader” (a selection of readings) are available for download on the Blackboard course website (in the “Course Material” section on the Course Menu). Plato, Alcibiades (Available in Blackboard) Aristotle, Politics, translated by C.D.C. Reeve (Hackett Publishing). Max Weber, The Vocation Lectures (Hackett Publishing) Carl Schmitt, The Concept of the Political: Expanded Edition (Univ. Of Chicago Press). Marc Lynch, Voices of the New Arab Public (Columbia University Press) Harvey Mansfield, A Student’s Guide to Political Philosophy (Available in Blackboard) GVPT 100 Reader (Available in Blackboard) Recommended Websites and Videos: Frontline/World: A national public TV series that turns its lens on the global community, covering countries and cultures rarely seen on American television. Most of the freely available videos on this website are relevant to our course topics. There is also an enormous wealth of political information in the form of interviews, charts, facts, and links. http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/ Commanding Heights: The three-part PBS documentary, “Commanding Heights: The Battle for the World Economy,” is based on the book of the same name by Daniel Yergin, Pulitzer Prize winning author of The Prize, and Joseph Stanislaw, a leading expert on the global marketplace. The documentary is related to our classes on political ideologies, international relations and globalization. All of it is available online. Click the “Storyline” link, and then select the “See the Chapter Menu” option for any of the three Episodes. There are also numerous interviews, essays, and other types of information. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/commandingheights/ Recommended Websites for Writing Skills: The Nuts and Bolts of College Writing: http://nutsandbolts.washcoll.edu/ University of Texas Writing Center: http://projects.uwc.utexas.edu/virgil/3 Assignments and the Grade Distribution - Midterm Exam (25%): The midterm exam is scheduled for October 8th and will consist of 25 multiple-choice questions. There will be some bonus questions in addition. - Final Exam (30%): The final exam will be cumulative and consist of 50 multiple-choice questions. There will be some bonus questions in addition. - Four Briefs (25%): You will respond to the study questions which will be posted to the course website incrementally. The required length for each brief is 500-750 words which corresponds to one-and-a-half to two double-spaced pages with normal margins and font size. There will be more than one question to choose from for each class day. To get full credit for this requirement, you need to submit four briefs in total. Each brief must be written on one of the following authors: Plato, Aristotle, Rousseau, Kant, Tocqueville, Marx, Weber, and Schmitt. You may submit one extra in which case I will count your highest four grades towards the final course grade. The briefs will be submitted both electronically (i.e., through the Digital Dropbox which is on the Course Menu in Blackboard) and handed in as a hard copy to your TA the Monday following the week of the reading you will be writing your brief on. If you will