![[ Return to APA Home Page ]](../../../../../pix/new.gif) Online
Syllabus Collection "What Works" Discussion Boards APA Member Survey Other Resources Navigation
|
APA Committee
on the
|
| Course Title: | History of Political Thought |
| Instructor: | Wlodzimierz J Korab-Karpowicz |
| Street Address: | Department of International
Relations Bilkent University, 06533 Ankara, Turkey |
| E-mail: | Sopot_Plato@hotmail.com |
| Institution (Name / Type): | Bilkent University, Ankara Research University |
| Course (Level / Type): | 2nd yr lecture/seminar |
| Hours: | 3 hours per week |
| Enrollment: | 60 divided in 3 sections |
| Last Year Taught: | 1 year |
| Pre-Requisites: | none |
| Cross-Listing: | international relations |
| Teaching Assistants: | Yes |
| URL to Syllabus on Web: | (see below) |
| Date Submitted: | 10/13/2000 |
Reflections
To make students understand the significance of major political thinkers. To reflect upon democracy as a mixed constitution. To provide students with an introductory background in the selected works of political philosophy, and especially in those particularly relevant to study of international relations.
Comments
none
SyllabusText
Bilkent University Dr. W J Korab-Karpowicz Department of International Relations Faculty of Economics, Administration and Social Sciences
History of Political Thought Fall 2000/Spring 2001
1. Description
This introductory course in political philosophy for international relations students surveys the history of political thought, beginning with Plato and ending with modern thinkers. We will critically examine the origins and development of the many contemporary political concepts which developed during the period we cover, including freedom, equality, justice, individual rights, consent of the governed, power, democracy and representation. In particular, we will put a special attention to the exploration of the roots of modern international relation theory in the classical texts of political philosophy. The course provides an overview of a broad range of topics. These topics are designed to elaborate or complement the main political philosophy issues found in the assigned readings.
2. Objectives
The general goal of this course is to prepare students with the knowledge and analytical tools needed to cope with a complex array of problems in political philosophy. Toward this end, students are expected to:
! understand the significance of major political thinkers covered in the course;
! receive an introductory background in the selected major works of political philosophy, and especially in those particularly relevant to study of international relations;
! identify and appreciate the significance of the principal issues in political philosophy;
! become accustomed to the study from primary texts;
! improve reading, oral and writings skills;
! develop an ability to analyze and evaluate various political theories and philosophical standpoints, and appreciate the value of critical thinking.
3. Requirements
Students are expected to attend classes on a regular basis, read the assigned texts before coming to class, and be prepared discuss them in class. As a courtesy to the instructor and other students, please avoid disrupting lectures and discussion meetings by arriving late or leaving early. Absences will be granted only for health reasons. The course will be run by a mixture of lectures and discussions. All students must participate actively in class discussions.
4. Evaluation
Student’s performance is to be evaluated by the instructor at each semester’s end. In order to make this evaluation as fair as possible, it is essential that students have multiple opportunities to demonstrate their mastery of the material. Accordingly, each semester there will be two examinations, a presentation, and a brief paper. The final grade will also be determined by student’s participation in discussions and contribution in class.
The final grade is cumulative. Each exam is worth 25% of the grade; paper is worth 30% of the grade; presentation and participation are worth the remaining 20%. Papers will be five, double-spaced pages and will not require any outside reading; good papers will show an understanding of the texts we study in class. All students will be given one grace day for their papers -- you can hand in one paper one day late without penalty. After the grace day is used up, however, late papers will be graded down one full grade for each day late. Students who hand in the first paper within the grace period will be allowed to rewrite it if they wish.
5. Texts
The following books containing primary texts in political philosophy have been ordered for the first semester. Preferably try to get the right edition of each book. The books for the second semester will be provided later.
Princeton Readings in Political Thought: Essential Texts Since Plato, Mitchell Cohen and Nicole Fermon, eds. (Princeton); Thucydides, The Pelloponesian War (Hackett); The Portable Machiavelli (Penguin); Tzu Sun, The Art of War (Oxford); Hume, Political Writings (Hackett).
6. Syllabus and Readings
Fall 2000
Week 1 - Introduction. Syllabus Review. Introductory Lecture: What is Political Philosophy? Why and How Should We Study the Works of Political Thinkers in International Relations?
Leo Strauss - >What is Political Philosophy?= (PR)
Recommended Secondary Sources: Kenneth W. Thompson, Fathers of International Thought: The Legacy of Political Theory (Louisiana State) Charles Beitz, Political Theory and International Relations (Princeton)
Weeks 2-3 - Classical Arguments. What is the Good (or Bad) State? Who should Rule?
Plato, The Republic (PR) Aristotle, Politics (PR)
Week 4 - Thucydides and the Roots of Realism.
Thucydides, The Pelloponesian War (Hackett), Books I-V
Recommended Secondary Sources: Lowell S. Gustafson, ed., Thucydides Theory of International Relations (Louisiana State)
Weeks 5-6 - Early Christian and Medieval Political Theory.
Saint Augustine, The City of God (PR) Saint Thomas Aquinas, The Treatise on Law (‘Politics and Law’ in PR)
Mid-Term Exam
Weeks 7-8 - Machiavelli, Renaissance and the Behaviour of State Leaders.
Machiavelli, Prince and Discourses on Livy (PM)
Recommended Secondary Sources: Michael Artur Ledeen, Machiavelli on Modern Leadership (St. Martin’s)
Weeks 9-10 - Masters of War. Classic Strategic Thought.
Tzu Sun, The Art of War (Oxford), Books I-IV, VIII, X-XI, XIII Machiavelli, The Art of War (PM)
Weeks 11-12 - State of Nature. Sovereignty.
Thomas Hobbes, The Leviathan (PR) John Locke, Second Treatise of Government (PR)
Week 13 - Balance of Power.
David Hume, The Treatise on the Balance of Power (‘Balance of Power’ in Political Writings, Hackett)
Recommended Secondary Sources: Joseph S. Nye, Understanding International Conflicts (Longman).
Final Exam
Spring 2001
Weeks 1-4 - Lasting Peace. World Politics. International Society.
Hugo Grotius, ‘On the Laws of War and Peace’. Immanuel Kant, ‘Perpetual Peace’. Jeremy Bentham, ‘Plan for a Universal and Perceptual Peace’. Jean Jacques Rousseau, ‘Critique on the Abbe de Saint Pierre's Project on A Lasting Peace through the Federation of Europe’.
Recommended Secondary Sources: Hedley Bull, Adam Roberts, eds., Hugo Grotius and International Relations (Oxford). Kenneth N. Waltz, Man, the State, and War (Columbia).
Weeks 5-6 - Equality and Freedom.
Jean Jacques Rousseau, Discourse on the Origin and Foundations of Inequality (PR) John Steward Mill, On Liberty (PR)
Mid-Term Exam
Weeks 7-8 - Theory of Democracy
Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America (PR) John Steward Mill, Considerations on Representative Government (Everyman)
Week 9-10 - Ideological Framework
Adam Smith, The Wealth of Nations (PR) Edmund Burke, Reflections on the Revolution in France (PR) Karl Marx, Estranged Labour and Communist Manifesto (PR)
Recommended Secondary Sources: Raymond Aron, Thinking Politically: A Liberal in the Age of Ideology (Transaction)
Week 11-13 - War and Justice in International Relations
Karl von Clausewitz, On War (Viking), Book I John Steward Mill, ‘A Few Words on Non Intervention’ (handout) Michael Walzer, Just and Unjust Wars (Basic Books) John Rawls, A Theory of Justice (PR )
Recommended Secondary Sources: Michael W. Doyle, Ways of War and Peace: Realism, Liberalism and Socialism (Norton).
Final Exam
7. Concluding Remarks
Readings marked (PR) come from the collection Princeton Readings in Political Thought; and those marked (PM) from The Portable Machiavelli. Readings of the assigned primary texts associated with each course topic are mandatory. Recommended secondary sources are optional. Evaluation will be based on the understanding of the mandatory readings only. During the course the instructor may introduce some minor changes of topics and the assigned texts.