Lehrman American Studies Center

Introduction

This course is designed to provide students inside or outside the political science major with an introductory grasp of the field of political thought. Together we will explore fundamental political concepts including justice, citizenship, law, constitutional design, democracy, and leadership through the lens of some of the greatest political thinkers.

Though careful reading, class discussion, class presentations, and written assignments, students will develop and demonstrate the following abilities:

• To identify and comprehend the main ideas of most influential schools of political thought from Socrates to our day
• To see the influence these ideas have had and failed to have in the political life of peoples and historical epochs, including our own
• To grasp the methods of reasoning and argumentation employed by political thinkers
• To identify the fundamental issues on which these thinkers agree or disagree, and to understand their importance for political societies including our own
• To enter into a genuine dialogue with them on these fundamental issues
• To evaluate their own political opinions and commitments and those of their society,utilizing the insights gleaned from diverse schools of political thought

Required and optional texts

Plato, Republic, Sachs edition

Machiavelli, The Prince, Mansfield edition

Tocqueville, Democracy in America, Kessler/Grant edition

Additional readings will be posted on Blackboard.

Assignments

Detailed instructions on the following assignments will be provided via Blackboard:

25% Attendance and Participation

15% Problem Presentation (alphabetical)

30% 2 essays (4-5 pages, due 10/4 and 11/8)

30% Final paper (8-10 pages, due 12/11)

Course Schedule

Week 1

Class 1: Introduction

Class 2: Tocqueville speech; Plato, Republic (Translator’s Introduction)

Week 2

Class 1: Republic 327a-331d

Class 2: Republic 331d-336a

Week 3

Class 1: Republic 336b-354c

Class 2: Republic 357a-368c

Week 4

Class 1: Republic 368c-383c

Class 2: Republic 398c-417b

Week 5

Class 1: Republic 419a-434c

Class 2: Republic 434d-445e

Week 6

Class 1: Republic, 471c-480a

Class 2: Republic, 484a-502c

Week 7

Class 1: Republic, 502c-521b

Class 2: Republic, 540d-569c

Week 8

Class 1: St. Augustine, City of God, Editor's Introduction; Books II, VIII, X (selections)

Class 2: City of God, Books XIV, XIX (selections)

Week 9

Class 1: Aristotle/Aquinas: Ethics and Commentary (selections)

Class 2: Aristotle/Aquinas: Politics and Commentary (selections)

Week 10

Class 1: Aquinas: Summa Theologiae (selections); Declaration of Independence; Desmond Fitzgerald, “Problems Facing Catholic Rulers.”

Class 2: Machiavelli, The Prince, Translator's Introduction; Dedicatory Letter; Chapters I-III

Week 11

Class 1: The Prince, Chapters VI, IX, XII, XIV

Class 2: The Prince, Chapters XV-XVIII, XXV

Week 12

Class 1: Readings from Hobbes, Locke, Federalist Papers

Class 2: Tocqueville, Democracy in America, Author’s Introduction; Part One, Chapters 2-3

Week 13

Class 1: Democracy in America, Volume One, Part Two, Chapters 6-7

Class 2: Democracy in America, Volume Two, Preface; Part One, Chapters 1-10

Week 14

Class 1: Democracy in America, Volume Two, Part Two, Chapters 1-4, 8-15

Class 2: Break

Week 15

Class 1: Democracy in America, Volume Two, Part Four (all)

Class 2: Jacques Maritain, “The End of Machiavellianism”

Week 16

Final meeting: evaluation and celebration