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GOVT359
Theories of Rights
GOVT359 SP
| Section | Class Size | *Available | Times | POI | Prereq |
|---|
| 1 | 15 | 4 | Times: ...T... 1:10PM-4:00PM; | No | No |
*The number of spaces listed as available is based on class seats open for
the Blue Add phase of registration. Some seats may be taken in previous
phases while others may be held out for subsequent phases of registration.
(Last Updated on Tue Aug 10 05:00:21 EDT 1999
)
What are rights? Do your rights make you free? What are the
differences among political rights, civil rights, human
rights, natural rights, individual rights, group rights,
cultural rights, and constitutional rights? What are the
philosophical foundations for these different kinds of
rights, and what ends do they serve? What do they assume or
imply about human identity and human reason? How do
different conceptions of rights influence the structure of
political society, and how do they reflect different
understandings of the purposes of politics? Although some
concept of rights is common to all theories of liberalism,
not all theories of rights are the same. This course
surveys four different conceptions of rights within the
tradition of classical liberalism, including those of (a)
Hobbes and Locke, (b) Kant, (c) Montesquieu and Tocqueville,
and (d) J.S. Mill. In addition, we will consider several
different treatments of rights from the current political
theory literature, and evaluate them in relation to several
contemporary debates in American public life.
MAJOR READINGS
Aristotle, POLITICS (selections)
Thomas Hobbes, LEVIATHAN (selections)
John Locke, SECOND TREATISE ON GOVERNMENT
Immanuel Kant, GROUNDING FOR THE METAPHYSICS OF MORALS,
"Theory and Practice," "Perpetual Peace"
Montesquieu, THE SPIRIT OF THE LAWS (selections)
Alexis de Tocqueville, DEMOCRACY IN AMERICA (selections)
J.S. Mill, ON LIBERTY, THE SUBJUGATION OF WOMEN
Robert Nozick, ANARCHY, STATE AND UTOPIA (selections)
George Kateb, "Democratic Individuality and the Meaning of
Rights"
Will Kymlicka, MULTICULTURAL CITIZENSHIP (selections)
Charles Taylor, "The Politics of Recognition"
Iris Marion Young, JUSTICE AND THE POLITICS OF DIFFERENCE
(selections)
Lani Guinier, THE TYRANNY OF THE MAJORITY (selections)
Mary Ann Glendon, RIGHTS TALK (selections)
Additional readings will be placed on reserve.
EXAMINATIONS AND ASSIGNMENTS
One five page paper in
conjunction with a 20 minute class presentation. A 20 page
term paper.
ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS and/or COMMENTS
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: Seminar
REGISTRATION INFORMATION
Level: UG Credit: 1.00
Gen Ed Area & Dept: SBS GOVT
Prerequisites:
None
- Section 01
- Krause, S
- Times: ...T... 1:10PM- 4:00PM;
- Grading Mode: A/F
- Registration Preference (1 high to 6 low, 0=Excluded) Sr: 1, Jr: 2, So: 0, Fr: 0
- Major Preference Given
Last Updated on MAR-22-1999
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