EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE AND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS SPRING 2015-2016 COURSE CODE: PSIR 308 COURSE TITLE: CONTEMPORARY POLITICAL THOUGHT COURSES LEVEL: 3rd Year - Undergraduate COURSE TYPE: Area Core CREDIT VALUE: 3 Credit Hours ECTS: 6 PREREQUISITES: PSIR 307 LECTURER: Acar Kutay Office: BE 182 Email: acar.kutay@emu.edu.tr Office Hours: To be announced. CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION This course aims to survey the contemporary political thought of the 20th century. It concentrates on the most influential trends in Marxist, liberal, and communitarian political thought. COURSE OBJECTIVES This semester this course aims to introduce students to contemporary political thought and debates from the post- WWII period. Our investigation of contemporary political thought will be organized around debates surrounding some key political concepts, such as state, justice, equality, freedom, citizenship, multiculturalism, and feminism. Specific objectives include providing the students with: - Awareness on a more comprehensive understanding of political and politics. - Awareness on various political problems that continue to plague the world. - Understanding of different contemporary schools of thought and how they relate to Liberalism. - Skills of critical thinking and formulating their own thoughts on key political concepts. - Skills to make sense of political phenomena in a theoretically-grounded manner. GENERAL LEARNING OUTCOMES Upon successful completion of this course, students are expected to have developed a good understanding of different contemporary political debates and theoretical challenges to Liberalism, be able to think critically and utilize different theories to analyze contemporary political phenomena. GRADING CRITERIA: "A" indicates excellent performance with clear evidence of: Comprehensive knowledge of the subject matter and principles treated in the course, a high degree of originality and independence of thought, a superior ability to organize and analyze ideas, and an outstanding ability to communicate.
"B" indicates good performance with evidence of: Substantial knowledge of the subject matter, a moderate degree of originality and independence of thought, a good ability to organize and analyze ideas, and an ability to communicate clearly and fluently. "C" indicates satisfactory performance with evidence of: An acceptable grasp of the subject matter, some ability to organize and analyze ideas, and an ability to communicate adequately. "D" indicates minimally acceptable performance with evidence of: Rudimentary knowledge of the subject matter, some evidence that organizational and analytical skills have been developed, but with significant weaknesses in some areas, and a significant weakness in the ability to communicate. "F" indicates failing performance with evidence of: An inadequate knowledge of the subject matter, failure to complete required work, an inability to organize and analyze ideas, and an inability to communicate. METHOD OF ASSESSMENT: Research paper : 25% Midterm Exam : 30% Final Exam : 35% Participation : 10 Research paper: You will be expected to write a research paper something around 3000 words. You are expected to elaborate upon a contemporary problem that political thought deals with. You can select a topic from the course outline. readings under each topic will be sufficient for you in writing of the paper. I do not encourage you to benefit from a random internet source, particularly other students papers. Your choice of reliable sources, and a proper referencing, will have a significant impact on your grade. I presume you to be accustomed with academic referencing. If you are not, I will provide you some resources along with further instructions about the paper. At the final stage, you will upload the paper to iturn. You will be informed about the exact date of submission. Class participation: Students are expected to read the required texts before the class. Students will be evaluated on the basis of their meaningful participation. Silence is a merit in some cultures but in this class. Midterm and final exam: You will need to write a critical and analytical essay in these exams, out of three options, which needs to be around 750 words ın 75 minutes. CLASS ATTENDANCE AND PARTICIPATION: Attendance and participation is ten points; therefore, you are highly encouraged to attend and participate regularly. Participation means actively engaging in debates in the classroom. You will be exposed to theoretical approaches and concepts that will be unfamiliar. This is a reading intensive course and understanding the reading materials sufficiently will be difficult if you do not attend lectures and participate in the discussions. Attendance will be taken every class and your attendance and participation will be considered an important factor in determining your final grade. Also note that a minimum of 80% attendance is a University requirement. Absences exceeding 20% of the total class hours scheduled may result in an NG grade. GRADING CRITERIA 90 100 (A); 80 89 (A-); 75 79 (B+); 70 74 (B); 66 69 (B-); 63 65 (C+); 60 62 (C); 57 59 (C-); 54 56 (D+); 50 53 (D); 45 49 (D- /FAIL); 0-44 (F/FAIL) MAKE-UP EXAM AND WRITTEN ASSIGNMENTS POLICY Make-up exams will only be given in the following circumstances: - Sickness on the day of the main examination - provided you produce a medical certificate certified by the university authorities; - An Examination timetable clash - provided you produce written evidence of the clash; - Other exceptional circumstances again provided you produce written evidence.
In all cases, you must submit a written request for a Make-up Examination via the Departmental Secretary (who will sign and date it) within three working days of the main examination giving reasons together with the necessary supporting evidence. All other requests for make-up examinations will be refused and a mark of 0 will be entered for the examination concerned. CLASS PROTOCOL You are expected to be on time for lectures and stay until class concludes. Chatting with classmates or using electronic devices during class for personal activities such as checking your e-mail, surfing the web, playing games, texting etc. is distracting for others, is not conducive to your own learning, and is disrespectful to the instructor. Please ensure that your electronic devices (particularly your mobile phone) are turned OFF prior to entering the classroom and placed inside a bag (not on a desk or in your pocket). If you violate any of these principles in a manner that disturbs the learning environment in the classroom, I reserve the right to not allow you into class. ACADEMIC INTEGRITY Plagiarism, cheating and other forms of academic dishonesty will not be tolerated in this class. Any examination or assignment tainted by academic dishonesty will at least automatically receive a grade of F. University regulations also require reporting of incidents of academic dishonesty, which may lead to probation of two semesters from the University. If you have any questions about what constitutes plagiarism, contact me before submitting your assignments. Plagiarism and cheating are punishable through medium or long term suspension under the Student Disciplinary Code By-law (see 6 (d)(i) of S99/175-12). All cases of cheating on examinations will be forwarded to Disciplinary Committee. Written assignments that are taken in full or in part from any source (printed or internet) without clear identification of all direct quotes and paraphrases or ideas are considered cases of plagiarism. Written assignments that have been prepared in full or in part by persons other than those who submitted the assignment, or the use of notes or copying in exams, or the submission of the same essay to different classes, are considers cases of cheating. Students who submit a written assignment that contains plagiarism or cheating will have their grades reduced in the following ways by the instructor and Department: 1.1 In lesser cases of plagiarism (for instance when the content of unidentified quotes or paraphrases is less than 20 percent of a written assignment), the grade for the paper will be 0. 1.2 In major cases of plagiarism, involving the preparation of papers in full or in part by persons other than those who submitted the assignment, the grade for the paper will be 0, and the case will be forwarded to Disciplinary Council or other authorized committee on plagiarism (please refer to the relevant by-law, S99/175-12). Instructors retain the discretion of failing the student for the course, subject to Disciplinary Committee oversight. 1.3 In lesser cases of cheating, the grade for the paper will be 0. All cases of plagiarism will be registered with the Department of International Relations. All written assignments have to include the following signed statement by the student: I declare that this essay/report was fully prepared by myself, and that I have cited and referenced all quotations and paraphrases from the writings of other authors. I acknowledge that my paper and course grade will be reduced according to the Plagiarism Policy of the Department of International Relations if cases of plagiarism are detected, and that disciplinary consequences may follow. Signed: READING MATERIALS
You can buy the course reader at Deniz Plaza on campus. Please note that some of the readings are available in electronic format and they are uploaded in fbemoodle. SCHEDULE OF TOPICS AND READINGS Week Topics Readings February 20-24 What is Political Theory? Why do political theorists study? Hannah Arendt, Eichmann in Jerusalem David Miller, Why do we need political philosophy: A very short introduction, Oxford University Press: Oxford (2003) Grant, Ruth W. "Political theory, political science, and politics." Political Theory 30, no. 4 (2002): 577-595. Shapiro, Ian. "Problems, methods, and theories in the study of politics, or what's wrong with political science and what to do about it." Political Theory 30, no. 4 (2002): 596-619. February 27- March 03 Do we need a state? - State and Coercion - State and Morality Is there a nature of human being? Max Weber, Politics as a Vocation, Routledge & Kegan Paul, London (1948) (first published in 1919) Hannah Arendt, The Human Condition Martin Luther King, An unjust law is no law, Letter from Birmingham City Jail, in Civil Disobedience in Focus, ed. Hugo Bedau (Routledge, London, 1991) March 06-10 What is democracy? David Held, From City-states to Cosmopolitan Order? In Contemporary Political Philosophy eds. R. Goodin and P. Pettit (Blackwell publishers, Oxford, 1997), pp. 143-156 Habermas, Jürgen. "Three normative models of democracy." Constellations 1, no. 1 (1994): 1-10. Phillips, Anne. "Dealing with difference: a politics of ideas or a politics of presence?." Constellations 1, no. 1 (1994): 88-91. March 13-17 Beyond minimalist democracy Jurgen Habermas, Rule of Law and Democracy Chantal Mouffe, Radical Democracy Carole Patemen, Participation and Democratic Theory (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1970) V. I. Lenin, Bourgeois and Proletarian Democracy
March 20-24 March 27-31 What are the extent and limits of our liberty in the modern lıfe? Which rights do we have and how can we protect and enhance them? A. Tocqueville, Democracy in America, vol.i, (Vintage Books, New York, pp. 269-271, 1945) (First published in 1835) Aristotle, Politics, Claredon Press, Oxford, 1995 J. Madison, Federalist Paper No.10 Benjamin Constant, The Liberty of the Ancients and the Liberty of the Moderns Isaah Berlin, Two Concepts of Liberty in R. Goodin and P. Pettit, pp. 391-418 Charles Taylor, What s Wrong with Negative Liberty in R. Goodin and P. Pettit, pp. 418-429. Jeremy Waldron, Homeless and the Issue of Freedom in R. Goodin and P. Pettit, pp. 446-463 T. H. Marshall, Citizenship and Social Class in R. Goodin and P. Pettit, pp. 291-320 Ronald Dworkin, Taking Rights Seriously in R. Goodin and P. Pettit, pp. 328-341. Judith Jarvis Thompson, A Defence of Abortion in R. Goodin and P. Pettit, pp. 356-366 Will Kymlicka Justice and Minority Rights in R. Goodin and P. Pettit 366-389. Thomas Scanlon, Free Expression and the Authority of the State, Philosophy and Public Affairs, I (1972) April 03-07 Does the concept of equality still make sense in the context of great inequalities? Bernard Williams, The Idea of Equality in R. Goodin and P. Pettit, pp. 465-476. Amartya Sen, Equality of What? in R. Goodin and P. Pettit, pp. 476-487. April 10-14 MID-TERMS Mıchael Walzer, Complex Equality Dworkin, Ronald. "What is equality-part 4: Political equality." USFL Rev. 22 (1987): 1. April 17-21 Economic Justice Julian Lamont, Distributive Justice John Rawls, A Theory of Justice, (Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1972, pp. 102-15 Aesop, the Grasshopper and the Ants Karl Marx, From Each According to His Ability, To Each According to His Needs
April 24-28 May 01-05 May 08-12 Justice between Groups: Peace, War, and Multiculturalism Beyond Liberalism Republicanism F.A Hayek, The Impossibility of Planning Robert Nozick, The Entitlement Theory Ronald Dworkin, Equality of Resources Alasdair Macintyre, Is Patriotism a virtue? Will Kymlicka, Multiculturalism Immanuel Kant, Perpetual Peace Michael Walzer, Just and Unjust War Thomas Nagel, The Limits of Warfare Jurgen Habermas, Legitimation Crisis Alasdair Macintyre, After Virtue Carl Schmitt, The Concept of the Political Lovett, Frank, and Philip Pettit. "Neorepublicanism: a normative and institutional research program." Annual review of political science 12 (2009): 11-29. Urbinati, Nadia. "Competing for liberty: the republican critique of democracy." American political science review 106, no. 03 (2012): 607-621 Laborde, Cécile. "Female autonomy, education and the Hijab." Critical Review of International Social and Political Philosophy 9, no. 3 (2006): 351-377. Laborde, Cécile. "Political liberalism and religion: On separation and establishment." Journal of political philosophy 21, no. 1 (2013): 67-86. Laborde, Cécile. "Republicanism and global justice: a sketch." European journal of political theory 9, no. 1 (2010): 48-69. May 15-19 May 22-26 On the path of Nietzsche Can non-westerners think? F. Nietzsche, On the Genealogy of Morals Michel Foucault, "The subject and power." Critical inquiry 8, no. 4 (1982): 777-795. Michel Foucault, Discipline and Punish Diego von Vacano, The Scope of Comparative Political Theory Andrew March, What is Comparative Politicaş Theory Hamid Dabashi, Can non-europeans Think