SOCA : Social and Political Thought I: Envisioning Polities Fall 2012 COURSE REQUIREMENTS

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1 Asian University for Women SOCA : Social and Political Thought I: Envisioning Polities Fall 2012 Sarah Tasnim Shehabuddin 20/H- Room 611 Office Hours: Monday and Wednesdays 1.30pm- 4pm and by appointment In Social and Political Thought I: Envisioning Polities, we will cut across time and space to see how philosophers, political advisers, and politicians have addressed crucial questions about society and politics: Do human beings and societies need to be ruled? Do they need states? What does the ideal polity look like? Who should rule and to what end? Are there identifiable recipes for effective rule? We will see how Ibn Khaldun, Hobbes, and Rousseau justified the necessity of the state, examine apparent similarities between Plato and Khomeini, and reflect on Kautilya's assertion that it might, on occasion, be desirable for a king to poison his son! We will also draw on the writings of Aristotle, Farabi, Locke, Machiavelli, and Rashid el- Ghannouchi, among others, to gain an appreciation for the broad range of visions political philosophy offers about the ideal means to organize state and society. This course also aims at providing students with the skills necessary to assess and question existing structures; to coherently present and defend arguments; and to apply socio- political theory to contemporary events and issues. COURSE REQUIREMENTS 1) Class participation (25 percent). This part of your grade consists of three components: a. Preparation for class: complete the assigned readings prior to each class and actively participate in class discussions. This is a discussion- intensive course; b. Keeping a journal about the assigned readings: this will help you retain important information from each reading and prepare for class discussions. For each of the readings, write brief answers to the following three questions: i. What is this piece s main point/argument/message? ii. What did you find surprising and/or remarkable? iii. What, if anything, did you find confusing? Bring this up in class! The journal should reflect your own thoughtful engagement with the readings. Please bring the journal to class with you. I will periodically check journals in class and you will submit your journal to me for grading on December 5. Any journal that exhibits evidence of plagiarism will receive a grade of zero and appropriate administrative action will be taken. c. Performance in the class debate on October 22.

2 2) Two 5-7 page papers due on September 26 and November 21 (25 percent each). Late papers will be marked down by a third of a grade (e.g. A to A- ) for each day following the due date. Please refer to AUW s policy on plagiarism in the Student Handbook. You must provide proper citations when using other people s work. Presenting anyone else s work as your own is dishonest and appropriate administrative action will be taken; and 3) Final exam on December 19 (25 percent). COURSE MATERIALS The primary text for this course is Jonathan Wolff, An Introduction to Political Philosophy, Oxford University Press, Additional readings are in the Course Reader, indicated by [CR x] below, where x denotes the reading sequence. COURSE PLAN Wed, 5 September Introduction PART I: HUMAN NATURE: WHY BE RULED? Mon, 10 September Ibn Khaldun, Hobbes, and the State of Nature Ibn Khaldun and Frank Rosenthal (trans.), The Muqaddimah [Introduction], Princeton University Press, 1967, Chapter 1, First Prefatory Discussion. [CR 1]. Press, 2006, Thomas Hobbes, The Misery of the Natural Condition of Mankind and Creating Leviathan from Leviathan, J.C.A. Gaskin (ed.), Oxford University Press: First Published In Michael Rosen and Jonathan Wolff (eds.), Political Thought, Oxford University Press, 1999, 11-14, [CR 2]. Wed, 12 September Locke s State of Nature Press, 2006,

3 John Locke, The State of Nature and the State of War from Two Treatises of Civil Government, W.S. Carpenter (ed.), J.M. Dent: 1924, First published In Michael Rosen and Jonathan Wolff (eds.), Political Thought, Oxford University Press: 1999, [CR 3]. 17 September Rousseau s Noble Savage Press, 2006, Jean- Jacques Rousseau, The Noble Savage [from A Discourse on the Origin of Inequality, in The Social Contract and Discourses, G.D.H. Cole (ed.), J.M. Dent: First published In Michael Rosen and Jonathan Wolff (eds.), Political Thought, Oxford University Press: 1999, [CR 4]. 19 Sept Anarchism and Review of the State of Nature Press, 2006, Sept Justifying the State Jonathan Wolff, Justifying the State, An Introduction to Political Philosophy, Oxford University Press, 2006, Sept Justifying the State (continued) Jonathan Wolff, Justifying the State, An Introduction to Political Philosophy, Oxford University Press, 2006, October PAPER 1 DUE PART II: MODELS OF THE STATE: WHO SHOULD RULE AND TO WHAT END? 3 October Overview Jonathan Wolff, Who Should Rule?, An Introduction to Political Philosophy, Oxford University Press, 2006, October The Philosopher- King Aristotle, Politics, Books III, IV, and VI. [CR 5].

4 Plato, Ruling as a Skill [from The Republic, H.D.P. Lee (trans.), Penguin: Circa 380 BCE.]. In Michael Rosen and Jonathan Wolff (eds.), Political Thought, Oxford University Press: 1999, [CR 6]. Plato, The Republic, Books V and VI, excerpts. [CR 7]. 15 October The King in Truth and Madinat el- Fadilat [The Virtuous City] Alfarabi and Charles Butterworth (ed.), Political Writings: Aphorisms and Other Texts, Cornell University Press: 2004, Aphorisms 30-32, 57-67, and [CR 8]. 17 October Wilayat el- Faqih [Rule of the Jurist] Khomeini and Hamid Algar (trans.), Islamic Government: Governance of the Jurist (1977), The Institute for Compilation and Publication of Imam Khomeini's Works (International Affairs Department). [CR 9]. 22 October Debate Democracy and Democratic Ideals 31 October Debate (Continued) 5 November Pericles, Funeral Oration [from Thucydides, The History of the Peloponnesian War] in Mitchell Cohen and Nicole Fermon (eds.) Princeton Readings in Political Thought: Essential Texts since Plato, Princeton University Press: 1996, [CR 10]. Jonathan Wolff, Who Should Rule?, An Introduction to Political Philosophy, Oxford University Press, 2006, Jean- Jacques Rousseau, The General Will, [from The Social Contract, in The Social Contract and Discourses, G.D.H. Cole (ed.), J.M. Dent: First published In Michael Rosen and Jonathan Wolff (eds.), Political Thought, Oxford University Press: 1999, [CR 11]. John Stuart Mill, The Democratic Citizen, in Michael Rosen and Jonathan Wolff (eds.), Political Thought, Oxford University Press: 1999, [CR 13]. John Rawls, Majority Rule, in Michael Rosen and Jonathan Wolff (eds.), Political Thought, Oxford University Press: 1999, [CR 14].

5 Carole Pateman, Participatory Democracy, in Michael Rosen and Jonathan Wolff (eds.), Political Thought, Oxford University Press: 1999, [CR 15]. 7 November The Pitfalls of Democracy Aristotle, Rule of the People and Rule of Law, in Michael Rosen and Jonathan Wolff (eds.), Political Thought, Oxford University Press: 1999, [CR 16]. James Madison, The Danger of Faction, in Michael Rosen and Jonathan Wolff (eds.), Political Thought, Oxford University Press: 1999, [CR 17]. Alexis de Tocqueville, Tyranny of the Majority, in Michael Rosen and Jonathan Wolff (eds.), Political Thought, Oxford University Press: 1999, [CR 18]. 12 November Making Democracy Work John Locke, Legislative, Executive, and Federative Power, in Michael Rosen and Jonathan Wolff (eds.), Political Thought, Oxford University Press: 1999, [CR 19]. Baron de Montesquieu, The Ideal Constitution, in Michael Rosen and Jonathan Wolff (eds.), Political Thought, Oxford University Press: 1999, [CR 20]. Rashid al- Ghannouchi, The Participation of Islamists in a Non- Islamic Government, in AzzamTamimi (ed.), Power- Sharing Islam, London: Liberty for Muslim World Publications: 1993, [CR 21]. 14 November Communism Karl Marx, The Communist Manifesto in Michael Rosen and Jonathan Wolff (eds.), Political Thought, Oxford University Press: 1999, [CR 22]. 19 November PAPER 2 DUE PART III: MODELS OF STATECRAFT: HOW TO RULE 21 November Ibn Khaldun and Frank Rosenthal (trans.), The Muqaddimah, Princeton University Press: 1967, Book III, Section 50. [CR 23] November Kautilya and L.N. Rangarajan (ed.), The Arthashastra, New Delhi: Penguin Books: 1992, excerpts. [CR 24].

6 3 December Niccolo Machiavelli, Selections from The Prince, in Mitchell Cohen and Nicole Fermon (eds.) Princeton Readings in Political Thought: Essential Texts since Plato, Princeton University Press: 1996, [CR 25]. PART IV: TRANSNATIONAL POLITIES 5 December Arundhati Roy, Tide? Or Ivory Snow?: Public Power in the Age of Empire. August 16, [CR 26]. Rahnuma Ahmed [to be distributed on 3 December] 10 December CONCLUSION 19 December 2pm Final Exam