PHI105, Fall 2017 Politics and Society

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1 PHI105, Fall 2017 Politics and Society Instructor: Erik Bormanis Office Hours: Harriman Hall TBD: Tuesday/Wednesday Course Description:This is a course on social and political philosophy. Philosophy, as a discipline, is concerned with the way we think about pressing human questions, and social and political philosophy is concerned with such questions as they specifically pertain to our living together with other human beings. Some of the topics we will be concentrating on are: the relationship between the individual and their society, the justification of political authority, freedom, cosmopolitanism, outsiders, and the use and justification of violence. Course Objectives: As a course in political philosophy, we will aim to develop our basic philosophical skills: our ability to critically evaluate arguments, our ability to write clearly and effectively, and the capacity to read difficult texts with precision and care. The content of the course will focus on a variety of problems in political philosophy, such as the relationship between the family and the state, forms of political organization, the justifications for the state, cosmopolitanism, and violence. As such, we will make it our goal to achieve a broad understanding of the authors who write on these issues throughout the history of philosophy, including both canonical and contemporary texts. Degree Requirements: SBC: HUM: Critical Analysis and Methods of the Humanities, CER: Practical and Respect Critical & Ethical Reasoning; DEC: G. Course Prerequisites: There are no prerequisites for this course. Required Texts: Social and Political Philosophy. Edited by John Somerville and Ronald E. Santoni. New York: Anchor, All other texts will be posted as PDFs on Blackboard. Assignment Policy: Late assignments are subject to a 2% deduction per day. Extensions will not be granted except in cases of exceptional personal circumstances or illnesses documented by a doctor s note or equivalent. All assignments are due by 11:59pm on the date specified. Grade Scale: A (93-100%), A- (90-92%), B+ (87-89%), B (83-86%), B- (80-82%), C+ (77-79%), C (73-76%), C- (70-72%), D+ (67-69%), D (63-66%), D- (60-62%), F (>60%) Assignments and Grading: *** Two Responses to Non-Philosophical Texts (10% & 10% = 20%): We will look at three texts not from the canon of philosophy in this class, including Antigone, various representations of the state of nature, and I Am Not Your Negro. You must write a short, one page (doublespaced) in response to two of these, though you may write on all three and count your only two best towards your final grade. Short Paper (20%): You are required to write one 400 word paper in response to a specific prompt. I will provide a rubric for this paper under the Assignments tab in Blackboard.

2 Final Exam (20%): There will be a final exam that will feature at least one question on each subject we have covered. You will be required to write a short response on three of these. The questions will be provided beforehand, and you are allowed to bring notes, books, and printouts from the class. Quizzes (4x5% = 20%): There will be a total five multiple choice quizzes on the readings. Only the four highest scores will count, however, making each quiz worth 5% of the final grade. Participation and Attendance (20%): Your active participation in class is not only necessary for making the class dynamic and interesting, but also crucial to your own learning. Therefore, I expect you to show up to class and actively participate in the class discussion. If, however, participating in often fast-paced class discussions is something you find difficult for any reason, you may me your questions or attend my office hours as a way to participate in the course. I will take attendance, and you will lose points off your final grade for any unexcused absence. *** Academic Integrity Statement: Each student must pursue his or her academic goals honestly and be personally accountable for all submitted work. Representing another person's work as your own is always wrong. Faculty are required to report any suspected instance of academic dishonesty to the Academic Judiciary. For more comprehensive information on academic integrity, including categories of academic dishonesty, please refer to the academic judiciary website at Disability Support Services: If you have a physical, psychological, medical, or learning disability that may impact your course work, please contact Disability Support Services (631) or They will determine with you what accommodations are necessary and appropriate. All information and documentation is confidential. Students who require assistance during emergency evacuation are encouraged to discuss their needs with their professors and Disability Support Services. For procedures and information go to the following website: CRITICAL INCIDENT MANAGEMENT: Stony Brook University expects students to respect the rights, privileges, and property of other people. Faculty are required to report to the Office of Judicial Affairs any disruptive behavior that interrupts their ability to teach, compromises the safety of the learning.

3 Provisional Reading Schedule: *This syllabus is provisional, meaning we may spend more or less time on certain readings, given how the class is progressing. If, however, I do change something, I will announce it in class and on blackboard. Tuesday, August 29th Introduction Thursday, August 31st The Polis, the Family, and Disobedience Sophocles, Antigone. Pages th No Classes: Labor Day 12th Education, Justice, and Order Sophocles, Antigone Pages Plato s Republic, Book 5 (up to 471a8) [Blackboard] 14th Plato on Democracy and Order, SPP Response on Antigone due. 19th The Role of the Individual in the Polis, Rulership. Aristotle's Politics, Book I, Chapters 1-5. SPP st Aristotle s Politics, Book III, Chapters 1, 3, 7 and 8. SPP Quiz 1: on Antigone, The Republic, and Politics. 26th 28th Tuesday, October 3rd 5th The State of Nature The Social Contract, Freedom Beginning of 2001: A Space Odyssey, Excerpts from Heart of Darkness [BB], Scenes from Apocalypse Now, The Simpsons, Das Bus. Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan, Chapters XIII, XIV SPP Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan, Chapter XXI SSP Rousseau, The Social Contract SSP

4 Tuesday, October 10th Cosmopolitanism, Enlightenment, Colonialism Kant, Perpetual Peace, Introduction and Section I Quiz 2 on Hobbes and Rousseau. Response on States of Nature due. 12th Kant, Perpetual Peace, Section II Tuesday, October 1 A Description of Freedom Sartre, Being and Nothingness, The Origin of Negation, Pages th Sartre, Being and Nothingness, Patterns of Bad Faith, Tuesday, October 24th Who s Freedom? Simone De Beauvoir, The Second Sex, The Woman in Love, th Simone De Beauvoir, The Second Sex, The Woman in Love, Tuesday, October 31st Frantz Fanon, Black Skin, White Masks, Introduction, xi-xviii 2nd Frantz Fanon, Black Skin, White Masks, The Lived Experience of the Black Man, up to at least 93. Colonialism, Oppression, Resistance Frantz Fanon, The Wretched of the Earth. Chapter 1, On Violence pages 1-17 [BB] Quiz 3: on Kant, Sartre, DeBeauvoir, and Fanon. 9th Iris Marion Young, The Five Faces of Oppression, th Iris Marion Young, The Five Faces of Oppression, th Paper Writing Workshop Quiz 4: on Fanon and Young

5 21st I Am Not Your Negro 23rd No Class: Thanksgiving Break No classes: Thanksgiving Break 28th The Racial Contract Charles Mills, The Racial Contract, 1-7, th Tuesday, December 5th Thursday, December Charles Mills, The Racial Contract, 41-49, Open Day Conclusions Response on I Am Not Your Negro due Quiz 5: on Charles Mills Final Exam TBD