HIST 553 Syllabus revised/1 The Catholic University of America Department of History Spring, 2010 HISTORY 553: Classics of Social Thought Tuesdays, 5:10-7:00pm Prof. Jerry Z. Muller McGivney Hall 005 Office Hours: 105 Cardinal Hall W 2:30-3:30pm Th 3:30-4:15pm, and by appointment Phone: 202-319-5484 e-mail: mullerj@cua.edu This course examines the great works of modern social science, works of ongoing interest and influence that have achieved the status of classics. Each work is studied in its historical context, but with an eye to bringing out the themes of perennial interest for the study of society, history, politics, economics, psychology and culture. Requirements: Graduate students: one short paper (c.10-15 pages), either examining key issues in the primary texts of one or more of the thinkers; or surveying key secondary literature on one of the thinkers explored in the course; plus a take-home final of approximately fifteen pages. Undergraduate students: one short paper (c.10 pages), surveying key primary texts or secondary literature on one of the thinkers explored in the course; plus a take-home final of approximately fifteen pages. Both undergraduate and graduate students should consult with Prof. Muller about the subject matter and relevant bibliography for their papers. Grades will be based upon the papers, the final exam, and class participation. Be sure to bring the relevant books (in the editions noted below) to class on the days indicated. Jan. 12: Introduction; An Overview of the Course
HIST 553 Syllabus revised/2 Jan. 19: Method in Intellectual History; Introduction to Hobbes Quentin Skinner, Meaning and understanding in the history of ideas, (1969) (supplied) James Tully ed., Meaning and Context: Quentin Skinner and his Critics (Princeton, 1988), pp.29-67. Donald R. Kelley (Editor), The History of Ideas: Canon and Variations (The Library of the History of Ideas, Vol 1) (Univ of Rochester Press, 1990); Melvin Richter, The History of Political and Social Concepts : A Critical Introduction (Oxford Univ Press,1995); J.G.A. Pocock, Introduction: The state of the art, Virtue, Commerce, and History (Cambridge UP, 1985), pp.1-36; J.G.A. Pocock, The concept of a language and the métier d historien: some considerations on practice, in Anthony Pagden ed., The Languages of Political Theory in Early-Modern Europe (Cambridge UP, 1987), pp.19-40; Richard Tuck, The contribution of history, in Robert Goodin and Philip Pettit ed., A Companion to Contemporary Political Philosophy (Blackwell, 1993), pp.72-89; Mark Bevir, Mind and Method in the History of Ideas History and Theory, Vol.36, #2, May, 1997, pp.167-189, esp. pp. 167-76; Morton White, "Why Annalists of Ideas Should be Analysts of Ideas," The Georgia Review, XXIX, (Winter, 1975); Dominick LaCapra, "Rethinking Intellectual History and Reading Texts, in LaCapra and Steven Kaplan (ed.) Modern European Intellectual History (Cornell University Press,, 1982), pp.47-85; Gertrude Himmelfarb, "Introduction" to The Idea of Poverty: England in the Early Industrial Age (New York, 1984), pp. 3-19.
HIST 553 Syllabus revised/3 Jan. 26: Hobbes, Leviathan ed. Curley Reading: from editorial front matter, Purposes and Features of This Edition - from the book itself: Introduction; Part I, chapters i-xiii (recommended xiv-xv); Part II, xvii-xviii; xxix-xxxi; Noel Malcolm, A Summary Biography of Hobbes, in Sorell, Tom (ed.), The Cambridge Companion to Hobbes (Cambridge, 1996), (supplied) Curley introduction to Hobbes, Leviathan Hobbes, Man and Citizen ed. Bernard Gert (Hackett, 1991); Hobbes, Behemoth or The Long Parliament ed Holmes (Chicago, 1990); Hobbes, The Correspondence ed. Noel Malcolm (2 volumes, Oxford, 1994); Rogers, G.A.J. (ed.), Leviathan: Contemporary Responses to the Political Theory of Thomas Hobbes Malcolm, Noel, Aspects of Hobbes (Oxford 2002) Sorell, Tom (ed.,), The Cambridge Companion to Hobbes (Cambridge, 1996) Springborg, Patricia, The Cambridge Companion to Hobbes Leviathan (2007) Whitaker, Mark, Hobbes s View of the Reformation, History of Political Thought, IX,1 (spring, 1988), pp.45-58. Strauss, Leo, Natural Right and History (University of Chicago Press, 1953), esp.ch.iii,iv,v. Skinner, Quentin, Reason and Rhetoric in the Philosophy of Hobbes (Cambridge, 1996) Skinner, Quentin, Visions of Politics: Vol. III: Hobbes and Civil Science (Cambridge, 2002) Richard Tuck, Hobbes (Oxford Past Masters, 1989) Leo Strauss, The Political Philosophy of Hobbes: Its Basis and Its Genesis (1936; reprinted by University of Chicago Press); G.A.J. Rogers and Alan Ryan (eds.), Perspectives on Thomas Hobbes (Oxford UP, 1990). Wootton, David (ed.), Divine Right and Democracy: An Anthology of Political Writing in Stuart England Burns, J.H., with Mark Goldie, The Cambridge History of Political Thought 1450-1700 (Cambridge, 1991)
HIST 553 Syllabus revised/4 Feb. 2: Hobbes, Leviathan; Introduction to Adam Smith Reading: Part III, ch.xxxii-xxxiv; xxxvii; Part IV, ch.xliv (to end of paragraph 11); xlvii (pp.411-417; 477-484) Collins, Jeffrey, The Allegiance of Thomas Hobbes (Oxford, 2005), Introduction and Ch.1, Thomas Hobbes and the Uses of Christianity, perhaps the best discussion of Hobbes view of Christianity Leo Strauss, Die Religionskritik des Hobbes (1933), in Leo Strauss: Gesammelte Schriften Band 3: Hobbes politische Wissenschaft und zugehörige Schriften (Stuttgart, 2001), pp.263-370. Strauss, Leo, Spinoza s Critique of Religion (1965, Chicago, 1997), esp. Part I: The Tradition of the Critique of Religion On the reception of Hobbes see these volumes: Malcolm, Noel, Aspects of Hobbes (Oxford 2002) Sorell, Tom (ed.,), The Cambridge Companion to Hobbes (Cambridge, 1996) Springborg, Patricia, The Cambridge Companion to Hobbes Leviathan (2007) Mintz, Samuel, The Hunting of Leviathan (1962; reprinted 1996) John Parkin, Taming the Leviathan: The Reception of the Political and Religious Ideas of Thomas Hobbes in England 1640-1700 (Cambridge, 2007) Feb. 16: Smith, Theory of Moral Sentiments ed. Ryan Hanley (Penguin Classics) Reading: Parts I, II, iii, III (pp.11-78; 103-110; 131-197) Muller, Adam Smith in His Time and Ours, pp.1-62; 93-112 Hanley, Ryan Adam Smith and the Character of Virtue Cambridge UP 2009 Alexander Broadie (ed.), The Cambridge Companion to the Scottish Enlightenment (2003) For bibliography see Ryan, Suggestions for Further Reading and Muller, Adam Smith Feb. 23: Smith, The Wealth of Nations, Book I, pp.10-36; Book II, 65-104; Muller, Adam Smith in His Time and Ours, pp.63-92; 113-205 Muller, The Mind and the Market, ch.1-3. Mar. 2: Smith, The Wealth of Nations, Book III, p.397-422, para 18; Book V, p. 781, para 48-p. 796; Muller, Adam Smith in His Time and Ours, pp.113-205 Introduction to Tocqueville
HIST 553 Syllabus revised/5 Mar. 9: Tocqueville, Democracy in America trans. Goldhammer (Library of America), NB: Consult the chronology at the end of this volume Author s Introduction; Vol 1, Part I, chapters 2-4, end of chapter 5; Vol. 1, Part II, chapters 5-9 Kramnick, Isaac, Introduction to the Penguin edition of Democracy in America Tocqueville, Recollections; Tocqueville, The Old Regime and the French Revolution; Tocqueville on America after 1840: Letters and Other Writings, edited and translated, with an interpretative essay, notes, and appendices by Aurelian Craiutu and Jeremy Jennings (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009 Selected Letters on Politics and Society by Alexis De Tocqueville, ed. Roger Boesche (Univ California Press,1986); Larry Siedentrop, Tocqueville (Oxford Past Masters) Hugh Brogan, Hugh, Tocqueville (1973) Hugh Brogan, Alexis de Tocqueville: A Life (Yale, 2007) Roger Boesche, The Strange Liberalism of Alexis De Tocqueville (Cornell Univ Press, 1987); André Jardin, Tocqueville: A Biography (1988) James T. Schleifer, The Making of Tocqueville s Democracy in America 2nd ed, (2000) Welch, Cheryl (ed.), The Cambridge Companion to Tocquevile (2006) Benjamin Constant, The Liberty of the Ancients compared with that of the Moderns, in Constant: Political Writings ed. B. Fontana (Cambridge Texts in the History of Political Thought); Stephen Holmes, Benjamin Constant and the Making of Modern Liberalism (Yale UP, 1984); Mar. 16: Tocqueville, Democracy in America; Introduction to Marx Vol. II - Preface, Part I; Vol. II, Part II, Part III, ch.1-14; Mar.23: Marx, Selected Writings ed. Simon Editor s Introduction, pp.ix-xvii; The German Ideology, pp. 102-121; The Communist Manifesto, pp.157-169; Preface to A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy, pp.209-213. Muller, The Mind and the Market, ch.7 Leszek Kolakowski, Main Currents of Marxism: Vol. 1: The Founders (Oxford UP, 1978), chapters 9, 12, 14, 16; Elster, Jon, An Introduction to Karl Marx (Cambridge, 1986); Seigel, Jerrold, Marx s Fate: The Shape of a Life (Princeton, 1978); Hampsher-Monk, A History of Modern Political Thought, chapter on Marx; Manuel, Frank E. A Requium for Karl Marx (Harvard, 1995) Sowell, Thomas, Marxism: Philosophy and Economics for further research: Marx-Engels-Gesamtausgabe
HIST 553 Syllabus revised/6 Mar. 30: NO CLASS Paper Due Apr. 6: Weber, Protestant Ethic, pp.1-45. 67-87; 105-112 Appendix II: Prefatory Remarks to Collected Essays in the Sociology of Religion (1920) Muller, The Mind and the Market, ch.9 Introduction to Durkheim Weber, Economy and Society Weber, Political Writings ed. Peter Lassman and Ronald Speirs (Cambridge UP, 1994) Dirk Käsler, Max Weber: An Introduction to his Life and Work (Chicago, 1988) Hartmut Lehmann and Guenther Roth (ed.), Weber s Protestant Ethic: Origins, Evidence, Contexts (Cambridge, 1993) Wolfgang Mommsen and Jürgen Osterhammel (ed,), Max Weber and his Contemporaries (GHI, 1987) Apr. 13: Durkheim, Suicide; Introduction to Freud Introduction (Durkheim s, not the editors), Book 1, ch.3; Book 2, ch.1-5; book 3, ch.1 (pp. 15-32; 147-232; 262-307) Durkheim, The Elementary Forms of Religious Life trans. Fields (Free Press, 1995); Durkheim, The Division of Labor in Society trans. Hall (Free Press) Steven Lukes, Emile Durkheim: His Life and Work (1975) Dominick LaCapra, Emile Durkheim: Sociologist and Philosopher (Chicago, 1972) Judith Surkis, Sexing the Citizen: Morality and Masculinity in France, 1870-1920 (Cornell, 2006), ch. 5 and 6. Apr. 20: Freud, The Interpretation of Dreams pp.5-6; 78-169; 330-412 The Cambridge Companion to Freud ed. Jerome Neu Philip Rieff, Freud: The Mind of the Moralist (3rd ed.) H. Stuart Hughes, Consciousness and Society,chapters 1,2,4. Peter Gay, Freud: A Life for Our Time (1988) Frederick Crews (ed.) The Memory Wars: Freud s Legacy in Dispute (New York, 1995)
HIST 553 Syllabus revised/7 Apr. 27: Simmel, On Individuality and Social Forms, Group Expansion and the Development of Individuality, pp.251-93; Recommended, The Mind and the Market, ch.9 Simmel, The Philosophy of Money trans. Bottomore and Frisby Kurt Wolff (ed.), The Sociology of Georg Simmel (Free Press) Poggi, Gianfranco, Money and the Modern Mind: Georg Simmel s Philosophy of Money Klaus Lichtblau, Georg Simmel (Frankfurt, 1997) Final Take-home exam due Friday, May 5 by noon. Required primary works (in order) Hobbes, Thomas, Leviathan ed. Curley (Hackett: 0-87220-177-5) Smith, Adam, The Theory of Moral Sentiments ed. Hanley (Penguin Classics, 2009: 978-0143105923) Smith, Adam, An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations ed. Campbell and Skinner; two volumes (Liberty Classics: 0-86597-008-4) Tocqueville, Alexis de, Democracy in America trans. Goldhammer (Library of America: 978-1-931082-54-9) Marx, Karl, Selected Writings ed. Simon (Hackett: 0-87220-218-6) Weber, Max, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism and Other Writings ed. Baehr (Penguin: 0-14-043921-8) Durkheim, Emile, Suicide: A Study in Sociology (Penguin Classics: 978-0140449679) Freud, Sigmund, The Interpretation of Dreams (Oxford UP: 0-19-282352-3) Simmel, Georg, Georg Simmel on Individuality and Social Forms ed. Levine (University of Chicago: 0-226757765)
HIST 553 Syllabus revised/8 Among the most useful general reference works which you may want to consult for this course in the Reference Room of Mullen Library are: Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences The New Palgrave (on the history of economic thought) Dictionary of the History of Ideas Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Geschichtliche Grundbegriffe Thoughtful guides to several of the thinkers we will be reading include: Aron, Raymond, Main Currents in Sociological Thought, 2 Volumes, -- on Tocqueville, Marx, Durkheim, Weber Coser, Lewis, Masters of Sociological Thought, Second Edition -- on Marx, Durkheim, Weber Hampsher-Monk, Iain, A History of Modern Political Thought on Hobbes, Marx Strauss, Leo and Joseph Cropsey (ed.) History of Political Philosophy, Third Edition -- on Smith, Tocqueville, Marx