790:101:01-13:THE NATURE OF POLITICS
Fall 2013
TTh 5:35-6:55, Hickman Hall
Professor Andrew Murphy, [email protected]
Department of Political Science
309 Hickman Hall, (732) 932-1830
Office Hours
also available by appointment (though you should generally see your TA with any questions
first)
“The Nature of Politics” introduces students to fundamental issues in political theory. We will
explore competing notions of the aims and goals of politics, the relationship between politics and
economics, and a variety of theories of justice. Our readings and discussions will cover thinkers
from across the history of political thought, ranging from the ancient Greeks to the present day.
The course fulfills the following Core Curriculum Student Learning Outcomes:
II. h. Understand the bases and development of human and societal endeavors
across time and place.
II. m. Understand different theories about human culture, social identity, economic
entities, political systems, and other forms of social organization.
II. n. Apply concepts about human and social behavior to particular questions or
situations.
Lecture meets most Mondays and Wednesdays from 1:10-2:30, in Scott Hall 135. Discussion
sections meet roughly every other week, as indicated below in the schedule.
Teaching Assistants and Section Assignments:
SECTIONS DO NOT MEET EVERY WEEK: THEY MEET ONLY ON THE DATES
INDICATED BELOW.
Assigned texts for this course are listed below, with the publisher in parentheses; they are
available at the Rutgers University Bookstore and at NJ Books on Easton Ave.
Aristotle, Politics (Oxford)
The Essential Federalist & Anti-Federalist Papers, ed. David Wootton (Hackett)
Sigmund Freud, Civilization and Its Discontents (Norton)
Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan (Penguin)
Justice, ed. Jonathan Westphal (Hackett)
Niccolo Machiavelli, The Prince (Dover)
Karl Marx, The Communist Manifesto (International)
Adam Smith, The Wealth of Nations (Dover)
Additional readings will be placed on the course Sakai site.
Grading is determined as follows:
Midterm exam (includes both in-class and take-home portions): 35%
Final exam (includes both in-class and take-home portions): 40%
Attendance and participation in biweekly discussion/recitation section: 25%
Grading rubric for all written work submitted in this course
Argument/Analysis
A
Makes clear and
compelling
argument. Solid
reasoning.
Offers insightful
analysis
Writing/Grammar
Well-written.
Appropriate
word choices.
Free of
grammar and
spelling
mistakes.
Organization/Structure Clear, easy to
follow
organization
with intro,
body,
conclusion.
Provides reader
with a “road
map” of essay.
Use/mastery of
Uses multiple
readings
readings and
demonstrates
mastery of facts
and arguments
made in
readings.
B
Makes clear
argument, based
on plausible
readings. Some
effort to sustain
argument
throughout the
analysis.
Well-written, but
may include a
handful of
grammar,
spelling, or word
choice mistakes.
C
Attempts to
offer a cogent
argument and
analysis, but
argument and
analysis are
based on faulty
reasoning.
Multiple errors,
but still clearly
intelligible.
D/F
Failure to make a
cogent argument
or to offer sound
analysis.
Clear
organization with
some road map
for reader.
Some effort to
structure the
paper, but
organization is
problematic or
difficult to
follow.
Disorganized and
difficult or
impossible to
follow.
References
multiple readings
and demonstrates
a good degree of
understanding.
Minimal use of
readings and/or
failure to
demonstrate
adequate
mastery of
readings.
Failure to use
readings
Multiple errors
that interfere
substantially
with
comprehension.
Course policies and information
Attendance and participation in your biweekly discussion section is mandatory, and you
must regularly attend section in order to pass the course. Any student missing more than
two section meetings will not pass the course.
Submission of a complete midterm and final exam is required to pass the course.
Please note the University’s policy on accommodations. I will gladly make
accommodations for any student who needs them; you must work through the Office of
Disability Services ([email protected]). Their website is at
http://disabilityservices.rutgers.edu/
Please note the University’s policy on academic integrity and plagiarism:
http://academicintegrity.rutgers.edu/policy-on-academic-integrity
TAs will discuss issues of academic integrity with their sections. Plagiarism will not be
tolerated in this course, and violations of academic integrity will be handled personally
by the professor and prosecuted through the Office of Student Conduct.
The take-home (essay) portions of both exams will be submitted via the Sakai system,
which processes all student papers through an anti-plagiarism database.
Please note also the University’s policy on religious holidays:
It is University policy (University Regulation on Attendance, Book 2, 2.47B,
formerly 60.14f) to excuse without penalty students who are absent from class
because of religious observance, and to allow the make-up of work missed
because of such absence. Examinations and special required out-of-class activities
shall ordinarily not be scheduled on those days when religiously observant
students refrain from participating in secular activities. Absences for reasons of
religious obligation shall not be counted for purposes of reporting.
You should consider yourself excused when class falls on a religious holiday that you
observe. You must, however, inform your TA in advance of such an event, and you must
make up any class notes or assignments that you miss.
Laptops in the classroom. Laptops are wonderful things. Unfortunately, many students
use them to engage in activities that detract from their own educational experience or that
of other students. As a result, I restrict the use of laptops to the first two rows of the
classroom. If you wish to use a laptop to take notes during lecture you must sit in the
front two rows and may not open any web browsers or email programs during class time.
Tentative schedule of readings
Specific reading assignments will be announced either in lecture or by TAs in their
respective sections.
Date
Reading
T 9/3 Introduction to course: What is political theory?
The Ends and Goals of Politics
Th 9/5
Aristotle, Politics
T 9/10
Aristotle, Politics
NO LECTURE THURSDAY 9/12
SECTIONS MEET TUES 9/10 AND WEDS 9/11
T 9/17
Niccolo Machiavelli, The Prince
Th 9/19
Machiavelli, The Prince
T 9/24
Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan
NO LECTURE THURSDAY 9/26
SECTIONS MEET TUES 9/24 AND WEDS 9/25
T 10/1
Hobbes, Leviathan
Th 10/3
Hobbes, Leviathan
T 10/8
Freud, Civilization
NO LECTURE TH 10/10
SECTIONS MEET TUES 10/8 AND WEDS 10/9
T 10/15
The Essential Federalist and Anti-Federalist Papers (selections TBA)
Th 10/17
Essential Federalist and Anti-Federalists (selections TBA)
T 10/22
In-class portion of midterm exam; take-home/essay portion due to Sakai 12 noon,
Politics and Economics
Th 10/24
Adam Smith, The Wealth of Nations
T 10/29
Smith, Wealth of Nations
NO LECTURE THURSDAY 10/31
SECTIONS MEET TUES 10/29 AND WEDS 10/30
T 11/5
Karl Marx, The Communist Manifesto
Th 11/7
Marx, selections from “The German Ideology” (TBD)
Marx, “To Each According to his Needs” (Justice reader)
Justice (all readings from Hackett Justice reader except where noted)
T 11/12
Jorge Luis Borges, “The Lottery in Babylon”
Plato, “Justice”
NO LECTURE THURSDAY 11/14
SECTIONS MEET TUES 11/12 AND WEDS 11/13
T 11/19
Martin Luther King, Jr., “Letter from Birmingham Jail” (Sakai)
David Hume, “Of Justice”
Th 11/21
John Rawls, “Principles of Justice”
Amartya Sen, “Global Justice: Beyond International Equity” (Sakai)
T 11/26
Martha Nussbaum, “Beyond the Social Contract: Toward Global Justice” (Sakai)
Eva Kittay, “At the Margins of Moral Personhood” (Sakai)
THURSDAY 11/28 – THANKSGIVING BREAK
T 12/3
Iris Marion Young, “Democracy and Justice” (Sakai)
NO LECTURE TH 12/5
SECTIONS MEET TUES 12/3 AND WEDS 12/4
T 12/10
Hans Kelsen, “What is Justice?”
Wrap up and distribution of take-home portion of final exam
TAKE-HOME PORTION OF FINAL EXAM DUE TO SAKAI – DATE TBA
IN-CLASS PORTION OF FINAL EXAM AS INDICATED ON UNIVERSITY EXAM
SCHEDULE