School of Arts and Sciences

COURSE SYLLABUS

Course Number POL 210	Course Title Western Political Concepts I
Fall Semester X	Spring Semester	Summer Semester	Year 2011
Name of Instructor William Miller
Meeting Day, Time, and Room Number Tuesdays-Fridays, 2:00-3:15pm, Butler G123
Final Exam Day, Time, and Room Number Tuesday, December 13^th, 3:00pm, Butler G123
Office Hours, Location, Phone Tuesdays and Fridays, 10:00 to 11:00, 1:00 to 2:00pm; Wednesdays, 3:00 to 3:30pm and after class; other times by appointment. Ireton G107, 703-284-1687. Always email ahead of time!
E-mail & Webpage wmiller@marymount.edu (Email is the best way to reach me!) www.millerpolitics.info (All announcements and assignments are posted here, not on Blackboard.)

UNIVERSITY STATEMENTS

Academic Integrity

By accepting this syllabus, you pledge to uphold the principles of Academic Integrity expressed by the Marymount University Community. You agree to observe these principles yourself and to defend them against abuse by others.

Special Needs and Accommodations

Please advise the instructor of any special problems or needs at the beginning of the semester. If you seek accommodation based on disabilities, you should provide a Faculty Contact Sheet obtained through Disability Support Services located in Gerard Hall, (703) 284-1615.

Access to Student Work

Copies of your work in this course including copies of any submitted papers and your portfolios may be kept on file for institutional research, assessment and accreditation purposes. All work used for these purposes will be submitted anonymously. 

Student Copyright Authorization

For the benefit of current and future students, work in this course may be used for educational critique, demonstrations, samples, presentations, and verification. Outside of these uses, work shall not be sold, copied, broadcast, or distributed for profit without student consent. 

University Policy on Snow Closings

Snow closings are generally announced on area radio stations. For bulletins concerning Marymount snow or weather closings, call (703) 526-6888. Unless otherwise advised by radio announcement or by official bulletins on the number listed above, students are expected to report for class as near normal time as possible on days when weather conditions are adverse. Decisions as to snow closing or delayed opening are not generally made before 5:00 AM of the working day. Students are expected to attend class if the University is not officially closed.

1. BROAD PURPOSE OF COURSE (Include the catalog description)

This course provides an introduction to political theory focusing on political thought from ancient to early modern times and on the fundamental conceptions of political theory. The different theoretical approaches are presented in classic readings designed to introduce students to some of the fundamental early literature of several broad traditions of political theory—the classical, the Christian, the Gnostic, the Hermetic, and the Epicurean-modern—and to provoke inquiry into the writers' basic ideas about nature, reason, human nature, government, and good and evil.

2. COURSE OBJECTIVES/LEARNING OUTCOMES (Include all that are appropriate):

1. demonstrate understanding of the teleological world view of the classical, the Gnostic, Hermetic, and the Christian traditions and the non-teleological view of Epicurean and modern theorists ("cosmology" and "ontology");

2. demonstrate familiarity with classical, Christian, Gnostic, Hermetic, and Epicurean-modern theories of the objects and the processes of knowing ("epistemology");

3. demonstrate understanding of the classical and Christian concepts of human nature as distinct from Gnostic, Hermetic, and Epicurean-modern concepts ("anthropology");

4. demonstrate understanding of several of the different classical, Christian, and Epicurean-modern views of the nature and function of political society and government ("politics");

5.demonstrate understanding of the concepts of good and evil, right and wrong, as presented in classical and medieval Christian thought, in Gnostic thought, and in the writings of Lucretius and Hobbes ("ethics");

6. demonstrate a basic ability to read texts in political theory with critical understanding—i.e., to grasp the author's main points, to identify his supporting arguments and rationales, and to offer cogent internal and external criticism of the readings; and,

7. engage in the practice of writing and critical reasoning by composing well organized, acceptably written, logically argued essays and papers on issues of political theory.

3. TEACHING METHOD (lecture, laboratory, audio-visual, clinical experience, discussion, seminar, tutorial)

The course will consist primarily of guided discussions of the readings and secondarily of lectures and background information by the instructor.

4. GRADING POLICY (i.e., number of graded assignments, weight given to each)

The final grade is based on a possible total of 100 points that includes grades for class assignments (which includes answering questions in class and participating in class discussions) and quizzes, two short graded papers, two mid-term essay exams, and a final essay exam: the final exam grade will count 30% of the final grade (a maximum of 30 points), each mid-term exam grade 20% (20 points), each paper grade 10% (10 points), and the class assignments (including one ungraded practice paper worth 5%) and quizzes will account for the remaining 10% (10 points). The usual scale of 90-100%=A, 80-89%=B, 70-79%=C, 60-69%=D, and 59% and below=F will be used for all graded work.

The exams and the papers are all based on the primary readings of the course: not on the class lectures, which are intended to help you understand the readings and not to substitute for the readings. No grade of "I" or "Incomplete" will be given. If possible, papers and exams will be graded and returned within two weeks. Papers handed in late will receive an F.

Attendance and Make-up Exam Policies

Attendance: Beginning with the second week of classes, students are allowed three unexcused absences. For each additional unexcused absence, the final grade will be lowered by one point. To be excused, an absence must be explained to and approved by me before it occurs. Note: Occasionally coming to class late—even real late once or twice—is not considered an absence. Coming to class without hard copies of the text for the day or leaving class after taking an announced quiz without the prior permission of the instructor, however, is considered an absence.

Merely informing me ahead of time that you will be absent from class does not mean I excuse the absence, though I appreciate your courtesy. I will not excuse your absence because you are simply not feeling well or because you choose to do something worthwhile other than come to class even if you inform me ahead of time. If you are coughing and sneezing and coming down with a cold or the flu, and you don't want to spread your virus to your classmates, I (and they) salute you! Staying home may be the right thing to do, but it is not an excused absence. You all get three unexcused absences to use as you see fit, and it is your decision to use them to stay home when you don't feel well or want to attend some other event or need to prepare for another class instead of going to my class. Use them for good reasons; that's what they are for.

Excessive excused absences may also be a problem, and you should discuss such situations with me well before the last month of the semester. This is not a distance learning class. Any absence prevents you from participating in the class, but if your job or an illness keeps you away from class for more than a quarter of the semester, it will significantly affect the class participation component of your grade and may be a good reason to drop the course and take it another time. All of us find ourselves in these situations from time to time and have to deal with them appropriately. You also have an obligation to report this to a University office (see page 34 of the 2011-2012 University Catalogue).

When in doubt about any of these policies, please come and talk to me. They have been formulated with our substantial commuter and working student population in mind and are intended to be fair to everyone. You should also review the University's policies on absenteeism on page 34 of the 2011-2012 University Catalogue.

Make-up Exams: The same basic rules about excused absences apply to taking mid-terms (papers are always due on the due date—no exceptions). My policy of giving makeup exams on the same day as the final does NOT mean that you may choose to take the mid-term exam on that day rather than on the regularly scheduled day: it is not an alternative test date. To be eligible for a makeup, you must qualify for an excused absence, and this you should do a reasonable time before the day of the mid-term, if that is at all possible. You may be excused from taking a mid-term if you are certifiably sick or your job prevents you from attending class or you have a serious family or personal emergency on the day of the test. If one of these applies and I am informed in a reasonable time before the exam and you have written documentation to support your request, you may take the exam on the same day as the final exam. If none of these reasons apply, you may not take the exam at another time, and you will get a zero for the exam. If you are late for the exam because of events outside of your control, let me know immediately or as soon as possible that day, and I will let you take the exam later that same day if possible.

5. CLASS SCHEDULE (List topics to be covered with approximate dates of presentation)

As stated, this schedule is approximate. See the link to "Western Political Concepts I (Fall 2011)" in the Weekly Assignments section of the webpage each weekend and before each class for an updated schedule and specific assignments. Revised Paper deadlines and Midterm dates may be announced in class and on the Weekly Assignments link, but I will try to stick to the dates below.

Week I (8/30-9/2) Tuesday: Introduction to course; Friday: The fundamental conceptions of political theory.

Week II (9/6-9) TOPIC I: Ontology and Cosmology. Myth and cosmological societies (handout); Classical philosophy.

Week III (9/13-16) Tuesday: Ungraded paper due. Epicurean philosophy. Gnostic thought.

Week IV (9/20-23) Hermetic thought and Jonas on “cosmos”; Christian philosophy.

Week V (9/27-30) Tuesday: Mid-term Exam. TOPIC II: Epistemology. Friday: Classical philosophy.

Week VI (10/4-10/7) Epicurean philosophy. Gnostic and Hermetic thought.

Week VII (10/14) Christian philosophy. Friday: First Graded Paper Due.

Week VIII (10/18-21) TOPICS III & IV: Philosophical Anthropology and Ethics. Classical philosophy.

Week IX (10/25-28) Classical and Epicurean philosophy.

Week X (11/1-4) Epicurean philosophy. Friday: Mid-term Exam

Week XI (11/8-11) Gnostic and Hermetic thought. Christian philosophy.

Week XII (11/15-18) Topic V: Politics. Classical philosophy. Friday: Second Graded Paper Due.

Week XIII (11/22) Classical philosophy. Epicurean philosophy.

Week XIV (11/29-12/2) Epicurean philosophy, Lucretius, Hobbes

Week XV (12/6-9) Gnostic and Hermetic thought. Christian philosophy.

The final exam will be given only at the date and time prescribed by the University Final Exam Schedule: Tuesday, December 13^th, 3:00pm. All mid-term exam make-ups will be given only on the same day before or after the final exam. Make your travel plans accordingly!

6. REQUIRED TEXTS

Lucretius. On the Nature of the Universe. Trans. R.E. Latham and John Godwin. New York: Penguin Classics, 1951, 1994.

All other texts are available either on reserve or on the Internet. See next entry. If you do not purchase the texts, get a couple of three-ring binders in which to store the downloaded or Xeroxed copies of the readings.

7. REQUIRED OR SUGGESTED READINGS OR AUDIO-VISUAL MATERIALS

Except for the texts of Frankfort, Niemeyer, and Jonas, which are on reserve, all the texts are available on the internet via links on the webpage or at Reinsch library as well as at the bookstore. Make your book purchasing decisions prudently!

Aristotle. Nicomachean Ethics. Ross or Ostwald translations.

________. Politics, Barker- translation.

Frankfort, Henri, et al. Intellectual Adventure of Ancient Man. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1946. (Also published for many years as a Penguin paperback entitled Before Philosophy, which is still available in many used book stores.) On Reserve.

Hobbes, Thomas. Leviathan.

Jonas, Hans. The Gnostic Religion. Boston: Beacon Press, 2001.

Lucretius. On the Nature of the Universe. Trans. R.E. Latham and John Godwin. New York: Penguin Classics, 1951, 1994.

Niemeyer, Gerhart. Aftersight and Foresight. Lanham, MD: ISI, UPA, 1988. On Reserve.

________. Within and Above Ourselves. Wilmington: Intercollegiate Studies Institute, 1996.

Plato. Gorgias. Helmbold translation is preferred.

Plato. The Republic of Plato. Bloom translation is best, but Grube/Reeve translation is also OK.

St. Augustine. The City of God. Trans. Bettenson. New York: Penguin Classics, 2004.

Voegelin, Eric. Modernity without Restraint. On Reserve.

A FEW FURTHER RULES

For the benefit of the class and your classmates, the following rules regarding electronic devices also apply to this course:

1. Turn your cell phones off during the class. If you are expecting an important call, put your phone on “Vibrate,” sit near the door, and, when the call comes, answer it outside the classroom.

2. It follows from the foregoing rule, but it must be separately stated: no talking and no texting on cell phones during class. If you do not follow this rule, I will publicly ask you to leave the room for the remainder of the class and will do my best to have you removed from the course for the rest of the semester.

3. No open lap-top or other computers are allowed in class without my prior permission. Devices such as tablets, Ipads, Kindles, Kobos, and Nooks that lie flat on the desk and on to which the readings can be loaded are permitted if approved by me, but hard copies of the readings are better. You can mark them up and take notes on them in class.

These rules are necessary to foster a suitable learning environment in the classroom during class. There are enough distractions with lawnmowers, air conditioners, and other outside forces to combat during lectures and discussions without these controllable distractions within the room.