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Political
Science
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Diamond I (coursepack) Selznick I (coursepack) |
WEEK ONE |
Diamond II (coursepack) Selznick II (coursepack) Elkins (coursepack) |
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Arnhart (coursepack) Rawls (coursepack) |
WEEK TWO |
PRE-TEST |
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Aristotle, Ethics, I |
WEEK THREE |
* Aristotle, Ethics, II One page paper due |
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Plato, Meno |
WEEK FOUR |
* Aristotle, Ethics, III-IV One page paper due |
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* Plato, Gorgias |
WEEK FIVE |
Aristotle, Ethics, V One page paper due |
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Plato, Crito Xenophon, Symposium |
WEEK SIX |
* Aristotle, Politics, I One page paper due |
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Aquinas, Treatise, Qu 90-97 & Vitoria, Commentary |
WEEK SEVEN |
MID-TERM |
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Machiavelli, Prince, 1-12 |
WEEK EIGHT |
* Aristotle, Politics, II-III One page paper due |
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SPRING BREAK |
WEEK NINE |
SPRING BREAK
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* Machiavelli, Prince, 13-26 |
WEEK TEN |
Aristotle, Politics, IV-V One page paper due |
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* Hobbes, pp. 1-104 |
WEEK ELEVEN |
Hobbes, pp. 104-136 One page paper due |
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* Federalist Papers, #s 1, 10, 37, 39, 51 |
WEEK TWELVE |
Hobbes, pp. 139-180 One page paper due |
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Federalist Papers, #s 57, 69, 70, 78, 84, 85 |
WEEK THIRTEEN |
* Marx, German Ideology & * Gotha Program One page paper due |
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Allen, Pts. I-III |
WEEK FOURTEEN |
* Nietzsche, Twilight of the Idols One page paper due |
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* Allen, Pts. IV-V |
WEEK FIFTEEN |
Strauss, Plan of Nietzsche’s Beyond Good and Evil One page paper due |
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Allen, Pts. VI-VIII |
WEEK SIXTEEN |
Allen, Epilogue
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TERM PAPER DUE |
WEEK SEVENTEEN |
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REQUIREMENTS
1. Attendance on each lecture in the course, as reflected by log-in records and participant affirmation. Electronic registration will be in use in SKH-109 (both sections may attend there), and a sign-in sheet will be in use in Computer Center-402.
2. Classroom participation – Regular reading of lesson assignments, as attested by participant affirmation.
3. Pre-test: By the fourth session, participants will be asked to take a pre-test, based on the readings and discussions of the first three class sessions. The test will be administered on-line, solely during the period of time set aside for the class meeting itself. The Pre-test will be graded on the evaluation scale applying to the class as a whole. The absolute grade achieved on that test will constitute the course grade for the entire semester, subject to the exceptions, terms and conditions following:
· Participants in the class must fulfill all other requirements of the class in order for the Pre-test grade to be applied as described.
· Independent of the evaluation of the other elements of class requirements, the Pre-test grade will be the grade for the semester, provided it is the highest of the two grades computed.
· Class participants can improve their grade beyond the Pre-test grade, but they cannot lower it unless they fail to meet all other requirements, including regular attendance.
4. EXPLICATION DU TEXTE: Each class member must prepare a brief summary or “explication du texte” starting in Week Three. The material to be covered has been indicated by an asterisk (*) in the "Weekly Reading Schedule." The summary must not exceed one page in length, and must be turned in no later than the last class in each week. Class members turning in the assignment each week may be randomly selected to read their papers to the class. The papers should be submitted either via the “Digital Drop Box” through the on-line version of the course. To access the course on-line version you will need your Pilot userid and password. Go to: http://blackboard.msu.edu.
Each “explication” paper will be worth four(4) points toward the semester grade.
5. Mid-Term Essay: Each class participant must submit on-line a brief essay (ca. 1500 words) at the end of seventh week of the seminar. Use the "Digital Drop Box." That essay shall discuss the question of “What is Political Power?”
The Mid-Term essay shall account for twenty-five per cent (25%) of the term credit.
6. Final Paper: Each class participant must submit a final essay, responding to the question, “How does political philosophy identify the good regime?” The Final Paper must reflect research in the course materials and may include research in the secondary materials recommended. The Final Paper must be submitted on-line via the "Digital Dropbox" and shall not exceed ten pages, double spaced in 11-pt font.
The Term Paper shall account for thirty-five percent (35%) of the term credit.
7. 5. PARTICIPATION: 5 points Extra. In addition to evaluation of in-class presentation, class members will have opportunity to participate through the “Discussion Board” on-line as well as in class-room discussion.
Honors Requirement: Honors students may additionally complete an assignment based on further readings. This work will be supervised by Mr. Allen, and Honor students will meet with him on an arranged basis to monitor the progress of the work.
Grade calculation
Course averages, on the 100-point scale, will be converted to MSU 4-point grades on the following table:
96-100 = 4.0
90-95 = 3.5
84-89 = 3.0
78-83 = 2.5
72-77 = 2.0
66-71 = 1.5
60-65 = 1.0
< 60 = 0.0
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APPENDIX I:
Criteria Used in Evaluating Written Work:
While there will be many opportunities for oral discussion of written work, it will be helpful to adopt a grading scale and to commit ourselves to the use of certain explicit criteria.
The scale is numerical, as follows:
1- excellent
2- good
3- satisfactory
4- poor
5- very poor
To receive a 1 rating a paper should demonstrate the following:
a. There should be a clearly stated thesis and a clearly developed line of argument.
b. There should be a sense of organization in both the individual paragraphs and in the theme as a whole.
c. The individual paragraphs should be developed and related logically to one another and to the thesis of the paper as a whole.
d. There should be few glaring errors in spelling, grammar, punctuation, etc.
e. Generalizations should be supported by concrete supporting evidence, and the paper should avoid stereotyped lines of argumentation.
To receive a 2 rating a paper should have all the ingredients of an excellent essay (1 rating), except that there will probably be minor problems in one or two of the above areas (a-e).
To receive a 3 rating a paper should demonstrate the following:
a. The basic criteria for a satisfactory essay is that the student must make himself understood and must communicate ideas in spite of some technical problems.
b. It follows that a paper receiving a 3 rating should demonstrate by college standards an adequate sense of organization, paragraphing, argumentation, spelling, grammar, punctuation, etc. Otherwise, of course, the student will not communicate ideas clearly and concisely.
Essays receiving a 4 rating are generally characterized by any combination of the following:
a. There is oftentimes an insufficient development of ideas.
b. The student often avoids discussing the topic.
c. There are frequent errors in spelling, grammar, punctuation, etc.
d. There is no clearly stated thesis and no clearly developed argument.
e. Principles of organizing both paragraphs and the theme as a whole are ignored or applied in a very haphazard manner.
f. There is oftentimes a lack of adequate subordination and coordination of ideas, thus resulting in too many short, choppy sentences.
g. Generalizations oftentimes go unsupported by concrete detail, and the line of argument (if one exists) is oftentimes a rehash of cliches and stereotypes.
Essays receiving a 5 rating are generally characterized by the student’s inability to make himself understood due to frequent and major problems in many of the above areas (a-g of the 4 rated essays). Due to these problems the essay is almost incoherent.
* Martin Diamond, “The Dependence of Fact Upon ‘Value’;” Philip Selznick, “Reason and Rationalism;” Martin Diamond, “Ethics and Politics;” Philip Selznick, “Human Nature Revisited;” Stephen Elkin, “Some Considerations on Political Judgment;” John Rawls, “Fundamental Ideas;” Larry Arnhart, “Equality and Liberty: Rawls’s Theory of Justice.”