GVPT241 The Study of Political Philosophy Ancient and Modern Fall 2009 3 Credits GVPT Majors Only Prerequisite GVPT 100 Tuesday and Thursday 3 30pm 4 20pm 2203 Art Sociology Building INSTRUCTOR Professor Ian Ward 1147 Tydings Hall Office Hours Tuesdays and Thursdays 4 30pm to 5 30pm by appointment Office Phone 301 405 0427 iward umd edu Graduate Teaching Assistants Maria Dimitriu Jesse Kirkpatrick Sung Wook Paik Benli Schechter mdimitriu gvpt umd edu jkirkpatrick gvpt umd edu swpaik gvpt umd edu bmshechter gvpt umd edu 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 ethical and political education of the young Authors to be considered in this light include Plato Niccol Machiavelli William Shakespeare 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 The course readings lectures assignments and discussion sessions are all designed with these two skills in mind COURSE REQUIREMENTS 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 Writing Assignments 1 3pp due October 1 10 of final course grade 2 7pp due November 5 20 of final course grade 3 10pp due December 14 30 of final course grade 1 7 1 Lectures Regular attendance is a necessary but not sufficient condition for success in this course While I will not be taking attendance at lecture per se all the other requirements of the course i e participation in discussion sessions oral presentations and short papers presuppose strong familiarity with what is discussed in lectures Without this familiarity students will not be able to satisfy these requirements 2 Discussion Sections 20 The texts we will be reading are intensely demanding in their complexity In texts of this kind there is always more to be understood than can be grasped by a single reader in isolation While reading the course texts and writing your short papers will be solitary activities discussion sections are regular occasions for you and your fellow students to work together toward more adequate understanding of the week s readings 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 failing grade for that session Legitimate excuses include the observance of religious holidays please notify me in writing by September 14 and issues of a medical nature Please notify me if possible of legitimate absences in advance Campus senate policy also requires that students who are absent due to illness injury present written documentation verifying the illness injury on the first day of class that you return to class 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 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 3 Oral Presentations 20 Starting in the second week of class each section meeting will begin with a 5 10 minute oral presentation addressing the readings for that session 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 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 2 7 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 Writing Assignments worth 10 20 and 30 respectively These writing exercises are short but very challenging Each follows the same format 1 approximately two weeks prior to the relevant due date two highly specific questions about difficult passages from the course reading will be posted on the ELMS course website 2 You will choose one of these questions and compose an answer that is as complete and precise as possible within the allotted length 3 pages for the paper due October 1 7 pages for the paper due November 5 10 pages for the paper due December 14 The increasing length and percentage value of each assignment reflects the increasing complexity of the questions you will be asked as well as your increasing skill in answering them The exercises have a very specific point to gauge and develop your ability to grasp nuanced complex and multi layered ideas and to explain them as clearly and precisely as possible They are not personal reaction pieces research papers or literature reviews Instead they are occasions for you to develop and refine the basic skills presupposed by these more complex forms of writing which are important components of other GVPT courses More specific instructions for the writing assignments will be posted on the ELMS course