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Academic Year 2003/2004

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 include political philosophy, plays, 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"

EXAMINATIONS AND ASSIGNMENTS

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

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS and/or COMMENTS

"Students who wish to be eligible to register for the course during Drop/Add must add themselves to the enrollment request system during on-line registration. Enrollment request preference rankings will be one factor I will consider in making Drop/Add period registration decisions."

COURSE FORMAT: Lecture/Discussion

REGISTRATION INFORMATION

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

Prerequisites: NONE Links to Web Resources For This Course.

Last Updated on MAR-19-2004

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