Trinity Western University Political Studies 434A Canadian Political Thought -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Spring 2014 3 Sem. Hrs. Seminar: Monday 2:35-5:15 RNT 121 Instructor: Dr. John H. A. Dyck Office: 204 Upper RNT Telephone: (604) 888-7511 local 3470 Email: john.dyck@twu.ca Office Hours: Mon. 10-11; W14:30-15:30; R 11:40-12:30 and by appointment. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Course Description: Examination of selected Canadian authors who have contributed significantly to the development of Canadian political discourse. Topics include federalism, social democracy, multiculturalism, feminism, compact theory, and national identity. The systematic study of these and related concepts in the context in which they were elaborated; comparison to current interpretations and usage. The first part of the course will provide the intellectual background to an effective study of Grant, C.B. MacPherson, Kymlicka and Taylor. Course Objectives: 1. To introduce students to a number of the significant ideas/concepts associated with the development of Canadian political thought. 2. To acquaint students with the breadth and complexity of contemporary Canadian political thinkers. 3. To develop in students an understanding of how worldviews shape political ideas and encourage specific political action. 4. To provide the concepts and skills needed to critically assess the nature and significance of current political debates in Canada. 5. To facilitate the development of verbal and written skills through oral and written presentations. Prerequisites: POLS 101 & (POLS 234 or POLS 334) Required Texts: Political Thought In Canada: An Intellectual History Fierlbeck Development Of Political Thought In Canada: An Anthology Fierlbeck 1
George Grant, ENGLISH-SPEAKING JUSTICE. 1974 1985 George Grant, TECHNOLOGY AND JUSTICE 1986 Charles Taylor, MODERN SOCIAL IMAGINARIES 2004 Charles Taylor, MULTICULTURALISM (EXPD ED) 1994 Recommended: European Roots Of Canadian Identity, Resnick Essays online or in the Library Reserve Course Requirements: The class meets on Monday afternoon 2:35 5:15 for a seminar. There will be readings assigned for each lecture and seminar session. Students will be required to submit a written reading synopsis of required reading for each class. Students are expected to attend all classes. An email explaining reason for absence shows respect for the learning process. If you are not present during class discussions on assigned readings, your absence will be noted unless a valid written explanation of the absence is submitted. The basis for evaluation of student performance in this course is as follows: 1) Short Essay 10% 2) Written Reading Synopsis and Discussion (10 +20) 30% 3) Book review Essay 30% 4) Research Essay 30% All assignments will be accepted in Word or RTF form in mycourses. Deadline is 6pm of due date. Total 100% DETERMINATION OF FINAL SEMESTER GRADE All elements of the course must be completed in order to pass the course. Your work is assigned a letter grade first and then given a numerical percentage value according to the following criteria: A+ 100-90; A 89-85; A- 84-80 B+ 79-77; B 76-73; B- 72-70 C+ 69-67; C 66-63; C- 62-60 D+ 59-57; D 56-53; D- 52-50; F below 50. 2
Principles for Grading Written Work A Presents logically coherent arguments in a well-structure format and the arguments focus distinctly on the thesis/theme which is stated in the introduction. Supporting evidence is clearly presented in a logical order including only relevant material. Student recognizes that there are competing perspectives on the approach taken or evidence provided and responds appropriately. Argument and expression must be of the highest quality, incorporating both positive and negative argumentation. The student s creative insights must be based on documented evidence and be explicitly expressed. B Presents logically coherent arguments in a well-argued format and the arguments are focused distinctly on a theme or thesis which is clearly stated in the introduction. Supporting evidence is clearly presented in a logical order including only relevant material. There is some indication that the student recognizes opposing arguments to the thesis or use of evidence. C Presents the relevant arguments in a well-structured format with only minimally adequate documentation, illustration or coherence. D Shows minimal grasp of symbiotic relationship between argumentation and provision of documented evidence. F Does none of the above Assignments This is a reading intensive course. You will be expected to read for major arguments and themes specific to each author and be able to compare and contrast them with other authors specified in the course. All assignments submitted to mycourse must have the name of the student and the title of the assignment in the subject heading. Written Reading Synopsis and Class participation [one per class] [30%] For each seminar, students will be required to submit a short reading synopsis of the required reading. The synopsis should be identified by Date, Number of Reading and full bibliographic information. This synopsis should be 2 pages in length at a maximum. In the first section [5%] you should identify the themes/arguments. These should be identified by page. In the second section [5%], you should provide a critical assessment of the reading, listing both strengths and weaknesses. The purpose of the synopsis is to prepare students for discussion in class. The grade will be distributed as follows: 10 % for synopses and 20% for class participation. Book Review Essay: Due February 21, 08 [30%] Students will be required to write a 12-14 page book review essay in which they will compare the arguments intaylor s Multiculturalism with Rene Levesque, and all authors in Part 3 of Anthology text. Title page must include book titles, authors, city, publisher, date, # of pages, cost A useful book review essay locates the books within the larger literature: What are the authors of the books and Book Selections trying to communicate? 3
How clear and persuasive are the authors in getting this message across to the reader? Were the books worth reading and to whom would they be relevant? The review essay will need to examine at least one published book review of each of the books under review. Proper documentation and footnoting of the sources used is required. A good review essay can be found in The Canadian Historical Review, Vol. 81 No. 1 March 2000 by Ken Coates or in Political Theory Vol. 29 Number 5 October 2001 by Anne Norton. This latter one includes a book on multiculturalism. Short Essay Due March 17 10% On C.B. MacPherson s contribution to Canadian Political Thought. In a short essay of 1000 words, discuss the contribution of C.B. MacPherson to the development of Political Thought in Canada. You will need to consult at least the following contributions by MacPherson: Title The real world of democracy [electronic resource] Author Macpherson, C. B. (Crawford Brough), 1911-1987 1 copy available at TWU Alloway Library in Online - ebooks https://ezproxy.student.twu.ca/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=tr ue&scope=site&db=nlebk&db=nlabk&an=488912 In The Real World of Democracy, C. B. Macpherson examines the rival ideas of democracy-the communist, Third World, and Western-liberal variants-and their impact on one another. Macpherson, who was a professor of Political Science... Fierlbeck, Anthology: chapter 6-C.B. MacPherson, Fierlbeck, An Intellectual History; Analytical Research Essay Due End of Term [30%] This paper, of approximately 6000 words, about 20 typewritten, double-spaced pages, will take one or two of the Canadian political philosophers covered in the course and systematically examine several of their more salient ideas in the context of the Canadian political tradition. There are 5 components in an analytical research paper in political studies: 1. Title page 2. Abstract or outline page 3. Text, or body, of the paper 4. Bibliography: Source citations and references 5. Appendixes (if appropriate) Evaluation of the paper will be based on clarity of analysis, the clarity of the thesis statement, the coherence and strength of arguments in support of thesis, evaluation of political system under study, as well as writing style and the use of correct English. The 4
paper should be carefully proofread, be free of grammatical and spelling errors, and footnoted in a consistent and acceptable style (consult Scott and Garrison, The Political Science Student Writer's Manual. Also consult the departmental essay guide in mycourses. Students should keep an extra copy of the position paper for their own files. Papers will be accepted as Word/RTF text document in mycourses. Emergency Weather Conditions In the event of deteriorating weather conditions overnight or other emergency situations, every effort will be made to communicate information regarding the cancellation of classes to the radio stations CKNW (980 AM), CKWX (1130 AM), MAX (850 AM), PRAISE (106.5 FM) and KARI (550 AM) by 6:30 a.m., and an announcement will be placed on the University s campus closure notification message box (604-513-2147) and website (http://www.twu.ca/conditions/). The first announcement regarding a closure will cover the period up to 1:00 p.m. only. If classes are to be cancelled beyond 1:00 p.m., this decision will be announced by the same means before 11:00 a.m. that day. Students and faculty should assume that all night classes will continue to operate. If the emergency continues into the evening, students and faculty may check for a closure notice on the University s campus closure notification message box and website after 3:00 p.m. that day. Course Outline and schedule Each class will begin with a 30 minute lecture and then the remaining class will be devoted to discussion. Week One: Lecture on the Intellectual Development of the Canadian Political Tradition Read: Katherine Fierlbeck, part 1 of Political Thought in Canada: An Intellectual History; Alexander Galt, Letter on Mycourses Week Two: Read: Katherine Fierlbeck, Political Thought in Canada Part 2 and Gad Horowitz, 1966. Conservatism, Liberalism and Socialism in Canada: An Interpretation, in Canadian Journal of Economics and Political Science, 32: 143-71. For further insight read: Gad Horowitz, 1978. Notes on Conservatism, Liberalism and Socialism in Canada, in Canadian Journal of Political Science 11: 383-99. Read one of: Donald Forbes, 1987. Hartz-Horowitz at Twenty: Nationalism, Toryism and Socialism in Canada and the United States, in Canadian Journal of Political Science 20: 287-315. Christian Leuprecht: 2003. The Tory Fragment in Canada: Endangered Species? in Canadian Journal of Political Science, 36: 401-416. Week Three: Contesting Origins of Canadian Political Thought Read: Peter Smith, 1987. The ideological Origins of Canadian Confederation, in Canadian Journal of Political Science 20:3-29. Read one of: 5
Elizabeth Mancke, 1999. Early Modern Goverance and the Origins of Canadian Political Culture, in Canadian Journal of Political Science, 32: 3-19. Paul Romney, 1999. Provincial Equality, Special Status and the Compact Theory of Canadian Confederation, in Canadian Journal of Political Science, 32: 21-40 Week Four: Critiquing the standard liberal-democratic position Read: Regina Manifesto 1933 and Katherine Fierlbeck, Part 3 of Political Thought in Canada Week Five: George Parkin Grant against Rawls Read: George P Grant, English Speaking Justice 1974 Week Six: George Parkin Grant and Modernity Read: George P Grant, Technology and Justice 1986 Week Seven: Rethinking Liberalism and Citizenship--Ideology of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms 1982 Carens, Joseph H. The Integration of Immigrants. Journal of Moral Philosophy. Apr2005, Vol. 2 Issue 1, p29-46. 18p. DOI: 10.1177/1740468105052582. Joseph H Carens, A Contextual Approach to Political Theory. By: Carens, Joseph H. Ethical Theory & Moral Practice. Apr2004, Vol. 7 Issue 2, p117-132. 16p. Week Eight: The Age of Multiculturalism Read: Fierlbeck, Anthology- Part Three Week Nine: Charles Taylor and the Challenge of Multiculturalism Read: Charles Taylor, Multiculturalism and the Politics of Recognition 1994 Week Ten: Charles Taylor and Our Social Imaginaries Read: Charles Taylor, Social Imaginaries 2004 Week Eleven: Charles Taylor and Secularization Read: Charles Taylor, VARIETIES OF RELIGION TODAY: WILLIAM JAMES REVISITED 2004 Week Twelve: Canadian Minorities and Multiculturalism Read: Katherine Fierlbeck, chap 8 in Political Thought in Canada. Week Thirteen: Will Kymlicka and Theory of Multiculturalism. 6
Read: Will Kymlicka, Politics in the Vernacular: Nationalism, Multiculturalism and Citizenship 2001 (TWU Library Reserve) and other Kymlicka articles in collections or on Mycourses. Week Fourteen: Assessing the contribution of Canadian Political Thinkers on Political Philosophy in General Katherine Fierlbeck, chap 9 in Political Thought in Canada. Ronald Beiner, & Wayne Norman, Canadian Political Philosophy 2001, essays in Part 5 7