- Identify the most important ideas and theories that have been developed from the time of the ancient Greeks to present day.
- Explain how these theories help to analyze politics today.
- Compare and contrast the fundamental ideas behind Fascism and National Socialism.
THIS INCLUDES ALL COURSE INFORMATION, INCLUDING SYLLABUS, GRADING SCALE, AND ESSAY INSTRUCTIONS
All course materials are made available as Adobe Acrobat files (PDFs).
Weekly Schedule of Topics& Course Calendar
August 31st: Lecture will introduce the course. The class will review Course Pack #1 (available online) so we can come to appreciate how classical political philosophy serves to explain why man is truly a political animal. Read Course Pack #1 before coming to class on September 7th!
September 7th:The class will continue our conversation about the fundamentals of political science. Even though there are no prerequisites for taking this class, it is vital that students have a basic understanding about the discipline. That is the basic premise behind Course Pack #1. Students must read Course Pack #1 before coming into class. Read Course Pack #2 before coming to class on September 14th!
September 14th: The theory of singular government deeply influenced founding fathers Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton and even later political leaders like Abraham Lincoln to present leaders of today. John Locke’s “Two Treatises on Government”articulates the basic principles of modern liberalism. Students will discover how greatly Locke and other great philosophers influenced the formation of our government.
September 21st: QUIZ #1 WILL BE GIVEN TODAY! MINOR PAPER ASSIGNMENT #1 IS DUE! Class discussion will then focus on the similarities between the concepts of democracy and capitalism. Read Thomas Paine’s “Common Sense” from Course Pack #3 before coming to class on September 28th!
September 28th: Elites communicate in a different manner with masses than with fellow elites. Class discussion focuses on methods of elite manipulation and how members of the mass class engage in the same practice. Though the practices are similar, elites continue to maintain higher levels of legitimacy than most members of the mass class. Read Thomas Paine’s “American Crisis” from Course Pack #3 before coming to class on October 5th!
October 5th: The class continues its discussion about various forms of elite communication. Influencing societal norms of behavior is a goal of elite communication, regardless if the target audience is elites or masses. Read Ralph Waldo Emerson from “Self Reliance” and Henry David Thoreau “Walden” (up to page 87) from Course Pack #4 before coming to class on October 12th!
October 12th: Rugged individualism is self-reliance. Some people consider this term to specifically concern capital wealth. There is more to this subject. It also refers to “returning back to nature” and the rejection of material goods. Read the rest of Henry David Thoreau “Walden (pages 88 to 136)", Women’s Rights Statement, “Senaca Falls” and Sojourner Truth’s “Address” from Course Pack #4 before coming to class on October 19th!
October 19th: Great debates continue about the government powers in all its forms. This debate continues to take place in various forms of content distribution. Read Chief Joseph“Indian Perspective”, The Dawes Act, Turner from “The Frontier” and Upton Sinclair’s “The Jungle” (chapters 1 to 16) from Course Pack #5 before coming to class on October 26th!
October 26th: Cosmopolitanism reigned strong from the days of our nation’s founding to present. We will examine multiple points of view regarding the persistent expansionist policy of the United States from various perspectives. Elites would never have been able to maintain expansionist policies without mass support. Cosmopolitanism may explain why our founders finally agreed that it was necessary to have a strong central government without the restraints of a direct democracy. Read Upton Sinclair’s“The Jungle” (chapters 17 to 31) from Course Pack #5 before coming to class on November 2nd!
November 2nd: QUIZ #2 WILL BE GIVEN TODAY! MINOR PAPER ASSIGNMENT #2 IS DUE! Class discussion focuses on last week’s lecture about cosmopolitanism and the transition towards manifest destiny. Read Palmer’s “The Case Against The Reds”,White’s “The Red Scare”, McCarthy’s “Democrats & Communists” and Smith’s Declaration of Conscience from “The Scopes Trial” from Course Pack #6 before coming to class on November 9th!
November 9th: Our class will explore the development of the elite consensus: protection of private property, respecting liberty, and maintaining a limited government. We will then examine radical ideas presented by counter elites. Read LeSeur’s “Two Views of the Great Depression”, Agree from “Let Us Now Praise Famous Men”, FDR’s “The Four Freedoms”, Friedan from “The Feminine Mystique”, Whyte from “The Organization Man”, and Homes from “Nothing More To Declare” from Course Pack #7 before coming to class on November 16th!
November 16th: MINOR PAPER ASSIGNMENT #3 IS DUE! Class attempts to define “The American Persona” or how the average citizen views their role in the world. Domestic and foreign policies do not necessarily follow the same philosophical rationale. America’s rise to a major, super and its present hegemonic power position is due to various historical circumstances that require exploration.
November 23rd: NO CLASS! THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY (NOVEMBER 22ND TO 25TH)
November 30th: STUDENT PRESENTATIONS BEGIN!
December 7th: RESEARCH PAPER IS DUE! STUDENT PRESENTATIONS CONTINUE!
December 14th: FINAL EXAM FROM 10:00AM TO 12:00PM!