Instructor: Hoover (Spring 2008)

•  Society and the Individual, Eds. Richard Garner and Andrew Oldenquist
•  In Defense of Anarchism, Robert Paul Wolff

• additional on-line or photocopied texts (on-line materials available through the "Daily Assignments" page at the course website, on-campus access only)

This course will introduce students to a branch of philosophy which deals with how individuals relate to institutions of authority, especially the state.  This course will treat this subject differently than a sociology or political science course in that we will not attempt an empirical study of the kinds of political structures that actually exist.  Nor will we be concerned only with learning what theories that have been advanced concerning the nature of such structures. Instead, we will use our critical faculties to ask what ought to be the nature of social and political organization.  How much freedom should individuals be given over their own lives? How much authority, if any, should an institution such as the state have in governing the lives of individuals?  Do individuals have the right to live in society without owing allegiance to a state?

The readings for this course will provide a framework for discussing the issues outlined above and at the same time familiarize students with some of the major thinkers in the history of western political thought.  The course will begin with a discussion of various influential western theories that defend particular forms of political authority, from Plato to Rousseau.  In the second portion of the course we will take stock of a variety of challenges to traditional justifications for political authority, ranging from limited challenges by those who practice civil disobedience to more global challenges to the legitimacy of the state in Marxist and anarchist thought.

Return to top

Each student will be expected to attend class regularly and to have prepared the reading for each class.  Occasionally there will be in-class writing exercises that pertain to the readings and which will serve as a springboard for class discussion. The aim will be to have a portion of each class devoted to discussion. A class participation grade will be assigned for the course and this grade will count the same as an exam or paper grade (one-sixth of course grade).  Class participation will be graded on the basis of student performance in four areas: attendance; prep¬aration; and quality of class participation (including in-class writing exercises). 

Each student is required to complete two exams (see schedule).  Each exam will be weighted equally (one-sixth of course grade). 

Each student will be required to write three papers (see schedule).  Each paper will also count one-sixth of the course grade.  Paper assignments will usually be given out in class at least one week prior to the due date.  These papers should be four to five pages in length.  The first papers may be rewritten and resubmitted for a grade change.  There will be no specific due dates for voluntary rewrites and there is no maximum number of times a student may submit a rewritten paper.  Rewrites cannot be submitted after the last class day.  When submitting rewrites, include the previously submitted versions (only significantly revised papers will be considered).  The grade for rewritten papers will replace the previous grade if it is higher.

The final course grade is composed as follows: 1/6 = class participation grade; 2/6 = papers; 3/6 = exams.
 

Return to top