Melissaschwartzberg.files.wordpress.com



Introduction to Political TheoryPOL-UA 100-001Professor Melissa SchwartzbergMs268@nyu.edu19 W. 4th, 225Office Hours: Monday 2-4Teaching assistants: Arina Cocoru (acc591@nyu.edu)Alessandro Vecchiato (alessandro.vecchiato@nyu.edu)When is political authority justified in coercing us? How might we distinguish between legitimate and illegitimate regimes? Is obedience to the law morally required, or can we justly engage in civil disobedience? How should we judge the institutions of political society – and when are ordinary citizens capable of making these judgments? Why should a majority be able to rule over a minority? This course will help us to address these questions through the study of key texts in the history of political thought, from ancient to modern.Texts (to purchase and bring to class when assigned):Please ensure you have the proper edition of these texts. We will frequently turn to these books to analyze passages, and different translations or editions make it difficult to work together as a class. All are available at the NYU Bookstore, via your preferred e-purveyor, or in used bookstores throughout the city. Other readings will be made available via the NYU Classes site.Plato. The Trial and Death of Socrates. Ed. John M. Cooper. Indianapolis: Hackett. Third Edition. 2000.?Plato, Republic. Trans. G.M.A. Grube; revised by C.D.C. Reeve. Indianapolis, IN: Hackett, 1992.Aristotle, Politics. Trans. C.D.C. Reeve. Indianapolis, IN: Hackett, 1998. Hobbes, Thomas.?Leviathan. Ed. J.C.A. Gaskin.?Oxford: Oxford World Classics, 2009.Locke, John. Second Treatise of Government. Indianapolis, IN: Hackett, 1980.Rousseau, Jean-Jacques. Basic Political Writings, Second Edition. Trans. Donald A. Cress. Indianapolis, IN: Hackett, 2012. Mill, John Stuart.?On Liberty and Other Essays. Eds. Mark Philp and Frederick Rosen. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2015.Rawls, John. Justice as Fairness: A Restatement. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2001. No Laptops: Laptops, e-readers, and phones are generally banned both in lecture and in recitation. Surfing the web or checking e-mail doesn’t just interfere with your own capacity to learn, but demonstrably affects the education of the students sitting around you. Moreover, there is ample research in support of the retention benefits associated with taking notes by hand. If you have a disability that prevents you from handwriting your notes, please contact the Moses Center, and we will work with them to accommodate your needs. (Please do not use any device to record the class, unless pre-arranged with the Moses Center.) For meetings relying on NYU Classes material, you may bring your laptop or tablet, but please do not access the Internet during class. We may lower your grade if you violate these policies. Participation: Please read the assignments carefully and be prepared to defend arguments in class. As a means of ensuring participation and of equally distributing the burdens and benefits of class participation, we may randomly call on students in lecture and recitation to discuss the assigned texts for that class. Grading: Your grade is based on the following: Two 1500-word take-home essays: 30% of grade (15% each)In-class Midterm: 25% of gradeIn-class Final: 30% of gradeParticipation in Lecture: 5% of gradeParticipation in Recitation: 10% of gradeAssignments: The essays will be handed in via NYU Classes on your Recitation Classes page (the teaching assistants will show you where that is during your first recitation). Formatting: Please name your essays Lastname FirstInitial – Assignment Name.docx (so Schwartzberg M – Essay 1.docx). Please double space your essay, using a legible 12-point font with 1-inch margins. Late Assignments: An assignment is late when you submit it more than 10 minutes after the prescribed deadline. An assignment is penalized one grade-step (from an A to an A-) when it becomes late, and an additional letter grade for every 24 hours thereafter. Extensions: If you anticipate needing an extension because of multiple simultaneous deadlines, please email your teaching assistant before the essay prompt is distributed. We will not grant extensions after the deadline has passed except in documented medical emergencies. Plagiarism: Please familiarize yourself with the rules governing academic integrity at NYU: . Violations will be treated with utmost severity under College procedures. If you have any question about proper citations or the appropriate use of source material, please do not hesitate to contact Professor Schwartzberg or your teaching assistant.Exams: The two in-class exams will include passage and/or term IDs and essays. Religious holidays: If you anticipate being absent from lecture, recitation, or an exam because of any religious observance, please notify us in advance. Schedule of Readings and LecturesMon., Jan. 25: Introduction.Wed., Jan. 27: Plato, Apology.Mon., Feb. 1: Plato, Crito.Wed., Feb. 3: Plato, Republic, Books I-III.Mon., Feb. 8: Plato, Republic, Books IV-VII. Wed., Feb. 10: Plato, Republic, Books VIII-X. Mon., Feb. 15: Presidents’ DayWed., Feb. 17: Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics (excerpt on NYU Classes); Politics, Book I.1-7, 12-13; Book II.1-5.Mon., Feb. 22: Aristotle, Politics, Book III.1-13, IV.9. [Take-home essay distributed, due 9 a.m. on Feb. 29]Wed., Feb. 24: Putney Debates (on NYU Classes)Mon., Feb. 29: Hobbes, Leviathan, chs. 11, 13-18.Wed., Mar. 2: Hobbes, Leviathan, chs. 19-22, 26, and 30.Mon., Mar. 7: Locke, Second Treatise, chs. 1-9. Wed., Mar. 9: Locke, Second Treatise, chs. 10-19. Mon., Mar. 14: Spring BreakWed., Mar. 16: Spring BreakMon., Mar. 21: Hume, “Of the Original Contract” and excerpts from Treatise of Human Nature (on NYU Classes)Wed., Mar. 23: MidtermMon., Mar. 28: Rousseau, Discourse on the Origin of Inequality (“Second Discourse”)Wed., Mar. 30: Rousseau, Social Contract, Book I and II, chs. 1-7.Mon., Apr. 4: Rousseau, Social Contract, Book III, chs. 1-6, 11, 15, 18; Book IV, chs. 1-3. Wed., Apr. 6: Kant, “On the Proverb: That May Be True in Theory, But Is Of No Practical Use” (on NYU Classes)Mon., Apr. 11: Mary Wollstonecraft, Vindication of the Rights of Women (excerpt, on NYU Classes) [Take-home essay #2 distributed, due April 18]Wed., Apr. 13: Mill, On Liberty (excerpt)Mon., Apr. 18: Mill, Utilitarianism (excerpt)Wed., Apr. 20: Dewey, Public and Its Problems (excerpt, NYU Classes)Mon., Apr. 25: DuBois, Souls of Black Folk (excerpt, on NYU Classes); Martin Luther King, Jr., “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” (On NYU Classes).Wed., Apr. 27: Rawls, Justice as Fairness: A Restatement, Part IMon., May 2: Rawls, Justice as Fairness: A Restatement, Parts II and III.Wed., May 4: Conclusion/reviewMon., May 9: Final exam ................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download