GOVT159 - The Moral Basis of Politics

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Academic Year 2001/2002

The Moral Basis of Politics
GOVT 159 SP

An introduction to upper-division courses in political theory, the course considers the basic moral issues that hedge government and politics: Under what, if any, circumstances ought one to obey the laws and orders of those in power? Is there ever a duty to resist political authority? By what values and principles can we evaluate political arrangements? What are the meanings of terms like freedom, justice, equality, law, community, interests and rights? How is our vision of the good society to be related to our strategies of political action? What is the role of organization, leadership, violence, etc., in bringing about social change? Readings will be among political philosophers, utopian works, novels, contemporary social criticism and modern social science.

MAJOR READINGS

Plato, CRITO and APOLOGY
Sophocles, ANTIGONE
Thoreau, "Civil Disobedience"
Martin Luther King, Jr., "Letter from Birmingham City Jail"
Marx, "Communist Manifesto"
Wolff, IN DEFENSE OF ANARCHISM
Locke, ESSAY [ON] CIVIL GOVERNMENT
Rousseau, SOCIAL CONTRACT and "Discourse on Inequality"
Machiavelli, THE PRINCE
Dostoevsky, "The Grand Inquisitor"
Weber, "Politics As A Vocation"
Bondurant, CONQUEST OF VIOLENCE
Walzer, JUST AND UNJUST WARS
Arendt, EICHMAN N IN JERUSALE

EXAMINATIONS AND ASSIGNMENTS

Bi-weekly short essays, mid-term paper, and a final exam.

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS and/or COMMENTS

Section 01 will meet in lecture twice a week and in a discussion section on Fridays.

Unless preregistered students attend the first class meeting or communicate directly with the instructor prior to the first class, they will be dropped from the class list. NOTE: Students must still submit a completed Drop/Add form to the Registrar's Office.

COURSE FORMAT: Lecture/Discussion

REGISTRATION INFORMATION

Level: UGRD Credit: 1 Gen Ed Area Dept: SBS GOVT Grading Mode: Student Option

Prerequisites: NONE

SECTION 01

Instructor(s): Schwartz,Nancy L.

Times: .M.W.F. 10:00AM-10:50AM; Location: PAC104

Reserved Seats: (Total Limit: 20)

SR. major: X Jr. major: X

SR. non-major: X Jr. non-major: X SO: X FR: 20

Special Attributes:

Curricular Renewal: Ethical Reasoning, Writing

FYI: First Year Initiative:Seminar

Links to Web Resources For This Course.

Last Updated on MAR-19-2002