Political Science 790: 365 - Gender & Political Theory
Cross-listed as Women’s and Gender Studies 988:365
Fall 2016 - Rutgers University
Instructor: Arielle Bennett, Department of Political Science
Email: [email protected]
Location: Monday & Wednesday, 2:15-3:35pm, HSB 206 (Heldrich Science Building)
Office Hours: by appointment in Douglass Library – please email or see me before/after class to schedule
Course Goals & Description
The topic of gender and political theory (in the Western political theory tradition) is important for any political
science, philosophy, or gender studies student. This course discusses the history of gender issues in political theory,
from the hidden and overt treatment of women in political theory texts from the ancients to the moderns. We will
examine historical texts from thinkers like Plato, Aristotle, Rousseau, Mill, Tolstoy, as well as the earliest and most
important responses of women theorists like Christine de Pizan, Mary Wollstonecraft, Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth
Cady Stanton, Simone de Beauvoir, and contemporary thinkers like Susan Moller Okin, Carole Pateman, and Nancy
Hirschmann.
The treatment of gender in political theory has influenced the history of law and culture, so our goal is to
understand the consequences of political theory in the real world and learn how it has shaped society. This course
should be fascinating to anyone interested in understanding sex/gender, power, patriarchy, and politics.
This course will examine the explicit and implicit assumptions about gender made by some of the major political
thinkers of the Western Tradition. The objective of this course is to explore how reading classic political theory
texts with an eye to gender can yield unique insights and foster critical thinking about political ideas and arguments.
Readings will be drawn from both primary and secondary sources, and emphasis will be placed on the ways in
which re-reading canonical texts can enrich contemporary debates about subjects like freedom, citizenship, equality,
and representation.
Course Texts
Many of the course’s readings will be posted on Sakai as chapters or articles. Please ensure that you complete all
reading for the class beforehand, not after.
There are 4 books that you should own/rent for the course – they are available at the Rutgers bookstores and on
Amazon. Some of these books have several publishers, so you can buy any publisher.
Required texts:
Leo Tolstoy, The Death of Ivan Ilych and Other Stories, Barnes and Noble Publishing Inc., 2004 (we are
reading: “Family Happiness” - 1859, and “The Kreutzer Sonata” – 1889; these may be found printed free
online)
Mary Wollstonecraft, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, Barnes and Noble Publishing Inc., 2004, originally
published 1792 (any edition; this may be found printed free online)
Susan Moller Okin, Women in Western Political Thought, Princeton University Press, 1979 (any edition)
Nancy Hirschmann, Gender, Class and Freedom in Modern Political Theory, Princeton University Press,
2009
Makeup Assignments/Tests
In very few circumstances will extensions be granted on papers or exams. The midterm paper will be handed out
very early in the semester so there is no reason it should be late. However, every day your paper is late it will be
docked 10%. There will only be one departmental-wide makeup exam date for the final, which may even be earlier
than the scheduled exam date for our course. Please plan to take the exams as scheduled. If you miss an in-class
quiz, you will have the opportunity to make only one of them up.
How Your Grade Is Calculated:
Participation & Attendance (20% total):
 Active discussion of the reading materials and regular attendance are essential in this course.
Quizzes (10% total):
 There will be occasional, short quizzes on the reading material for the week.
Take Home Midterm / Research Paper (30%):
 This take home midterm is a 10-12 page research paper. Detailed instructions will be posted. You will need
to turn this paper in through www.turnitin.com to verify it has not been plagiarized.
Final Exam – in person at Rutgers (40%):
 This exam is essay-based, written on blue books
Absence from Exams:
Absence from an exam because of travel plans will not be excused. Please plan your travel dates for after you have
taken your exams. Only a note from your Dean of Students in your college at Rutgers stipulating a medical or family
emergency will be acceptable as an excuse for missing an exam. If at all possible, I need to be notified before the
exam of your inability to take it.
Disability Accommodations:
Rutgers encourages students with any needs for disability accommodations to get assistance from the university.
This includes test and note taking services for approved students. Please see the Rutgers Office of Disability
Services if you are interested: https://ods.rutgers.edu/my-accommodations. Please let me know if you have any
questions.
Academic Integrity & Plagiarism
Plagiarism is not tolerated in this course. Paper assignments will be verified through www.turnitin.com. The
university’s rules about plagiarism are very strict – please see their policy here:
http://academicintegrity.rutgers.edu/academic-integrity-at-rutgers/.
COURSE SCHEDULE
Week 1 - Wednesday, September 7 (first day of class)
 Introduction to course
Week 2 - September 12 & 14
 Ancient Political Theory
o Monday - Plato’s Republic - selections TBA
http://www.literatureproject.com/republic/
o Wednesday - Susan Moller Okin, Women in Western Political Thought, (1979) – p. 15-70 (Part 1)
Week 3 - September 21 only (NO CLASS MONDAY, September 19)
o Monday - Aristotle’s Politics – selections TBA
http://classics.mit.edu/Aristotle/politics.html
o Wednesday - Susan Moller Okin, Women in Western Political Thought, (1979) – p. 73-96 (Part 2)
Week 4 - September 26 & 28
o Monday - Christine de Pizan – on Sakai, selections TBA
o Wednesday - Christine de Pizan – on Sakai, selections TBA
Week 5 - October 3 & 5
o Monday - Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince – read entire book
http://legacy.fordham.edu/halsall/basis/machiavelli-prince.asp
o Wednesday - Wendy Brown, “Machiavelli: From Man to Manhood” and “Manhood and the
Political World” (on Sakai)
Week 6 - October 10 & 12
 Modern Political Theory
o Monday - Thomas Hobbes’s Leviathan, (1651), selections TBA
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/3207/3207-h/3207-h.htm
o Wednesday - Nancy Hirschmann, Gender, Class, & Freedom, (2008), read Chapter 1 on Hobbes
Week 7 - October 17 & 19
o Monday - John Locke’s Social Contract, (1689), selections TBA
http://www.earlymoderntexts.com/assets/pdfs/locke1689a.pdf
o Wednesday - Nancy Hirschmann, Gender, Class, & Freedom, (2008), read Chapter 2 on Locke
Week 8 - October 24 (NO CLASS WEDNESDAY, October 26)
 Monday - Midterm papers due on Sakai by 2:00pm on October 24. Bring copy of paper in person,
in class
o In class discussion of your papers on the 24th, which counts toward your papers’ grade
Week 9 - October 31 & November 2
o Monday - Jean Jacques Rousseau’s Emile, (1762), read Books 1 & 5
http://oll.libertyfund.org/titles/rousseau-emile-or-education
o Wednesday - Nancy Hirschmann, Gender, Class, & Freedom, (2008), read Chapter 3 on Rousseau
Week 10 - November 7 & 9
o Monday - Mary Wollstonecraft, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, (1792), read entire book, discuss
Chapters 1-5
o Wednesday – discuss second half of book, Chapters 6-13
Week 11 - November 14 & 16
o Monday - John Stuart Mill The Subjection of Women (1861), read entire book
http://www.earlymoderntexts.com/assets/pdfs/mill1869.pdf
o Wednesday - Nancy Hirschmann, Gender, Class, & Freedom, (2008), read Chapter 5 on Mill
Week 12 - November 21 only (NO CLASS WEDNESDAY, November 23)
o Monday - Leo Tolstoy, The Death of Ivan Ilych and Other Stories, read all of “Family Happiness” (1859)
Week 13 - November 28 & 30
o Monday– Leo Tolstoy, The Death of Ivan Ilych and Other Stories, read all of “The Kreutzer Sonata”
(1889)
o Wednesday  Elizabeth Cady Stanton, “Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions,” (1848),
http://ecssba.rutgers.edu/docs/seneca.html
 Susan B. Anthony, “Is It a Crime for a U.S. Citizen to Vote?” (1873),
http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/anthony/anthonyaddress.html


Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, “Declaration of Rights of the Women of the United
States,” (1876), http://ecssba.rutgers.edu/docs/decl.html
Frances Willard, “Address of Frances E. Willard, president of the Woman's national council
of the United States ... at its first triennial meeting, Albaugh's opera house,” (1891),
https://prohibition.osu.edu/willard/speech
Week 14 - December 5 & 7
 Contemporary Political Theory
o Monday – Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, (1949), selections TBA
o Wednesday –
 Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, “Feminist Political Philosophy” (2009),
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/feminism-political/#ConAppDeb, read entire article;
 Catherine MacKinnon, “Reflections on Sex Equality Under The Law,” (1991), p. 1281-1328,
on Sakai
 Susan Moller Okin, Women in Western Political Thought, (1979) – p. 233-273 (Chapter 10 & 11)
Week 15 - December 12 & 14 (the 14th is the last day of class)
o Monday - Carole Pateman, The Sexual Contract, (1988) – on Sakai, selections TBA
o Wednesday – Review for final
Week 16 - Final Examination Date to be Announced (occurring sometime between 12/16-12/23).You can
check your exam schedule on https://finalexams.rutgers.edu/. Please do not make travel plans until you
know your exam dates.