This syllabus is from Fall term 2004

COURSE TITLE: Political Philosophy from Plato to Locke

COURSE NUMBER: POLS 270

INSTRUCTOR: Dr. Tracy L Summerville

OFFICE: Admin 3067

E-MAIL: summervi@unbc.ca

PHONE NUMBER: 960-6637

OFFICE HOURS: Tuesday and Thursday 1-3

OFFICE: Admin 3067

This syllabus and other information regarding Political Science at UNBC can be found at:

http://www.unbc.ca/politics

Web Page: http://web.unbc.ca/politicalscience/summerville.html

COURSE DESCRIPTION: This course is a survey of political philosophy from the Greeks to the mid-17^th century tracing the development of contending conceptions of political order. 

COURSE OBJECTIVES:

Among other things, students will be able to:

• compare Plato’s ideal types with Aristotle’s belief in realism
• compare St. Augustine’s City of God to the City of Man
• explain how St. Thomas Aquinas was able to reconcile Greek philosophy with Christianity
• explain Machiavelli’s ideas of virtu, necessita, and fortuna
• compare Hobbes and Locke on the idea sovereignty

REQUIRED TEXTS:

1. Porter, Jene ed.  Classics in Political Philosophy. Third Edition. Scarborough: Prentice Hall, 2000.

2. Hallowell, John H. and Jene M. Porter. Political Philosophy: The Search For Humanity and Order. Scarborough: Prentice Hall, 1997.

3.  Buckley, Joanne. Fit To Print: The Canadian Student’s Guide to Essay Writing. 6^th edition. Toronto: Harcourt Brace & Company, Canada,

COURSE ASSIGNMENTS AND GRADE WEIGHTING

Student Responsibilities

Extensions on assignments are not permitted, except in case of illness or due serious extenuating circumstance.  In the event of illness or serious extenuating circumstance, the student must inform the instructor before the due date, and documentary evidence of the illness or serious extenuating circumstance must be provided to the instructor.  In addition, the student must also provide the instructor with a draft of his or her assignment at the time of the illness or serious circumstance that indicates that substantial progress has already been made towards a final product.  Assignments that are not submitted on the due date receive a grade of zero.

Exam Policy Please note that the term ends on the final day of the exam period NOT on the last day of classes. Students are advised not to make arrangements to travel on a date prior to the date of the final exam as scheduled by the Registrar.  The instructor will not hold early exams for the purpose of accommodating travel requests.

Plagiarism is a serious academic offence.  The minimum penalty sought for any student caught plagiarizing on any written assignment will be failure in the course.  Depending on circumstances more severe sanctions may be sought.  Anyone who is unclear about the meaning of plagiarism is advised is to consult the calendar and the instructor. Students are asked to read and sign the Program’s plagiarism policy.

Deferred Grades If for any reason the student’s grade is deferred, students must contact me within 2 weeks of the next semester to arrange to complete the course.

Disability Services If there are students in this course who, because of a disability, may have a need for special academic accommodations, please come and discuss this with me, or contact Disability Services located in room 7-103.

ASSIGNMENT DESCRIPTION

Short Assignment

Write a 750 word essay answering the following question:

How does the allegory of the ring set up the rest of the discussion in the book?

Paper

I have designed 4 assignments. Students are to choose only one (1). The deadlines vary in order that students may arrange their schedule in the best possible way for their needs. The deadlines are NOT negotiable as described above.

Part 1:

Students are required to hand in an outline (250-500 words THE WORD COUNT DOES NOT INCLUDE CITATIONS) and an introduction (250 words) on the date specified with each assignment (due on a Tuesday). I will return the outline and introduction on the dates shown in the assignment tables below. The outlines will include the citations (NOT included in the word count) and points of discussion the student intends to make; the introduction will outline the thesis of the paper and explain how the paper is laid out. I will not grade final papers where students have failed to hand in an outline and introduction.

Part 2:

The paper will be a comparison on two authors as outlined in the assignments below. The paper should be no more than 8-10 pages (2000-2500 words including citations).

Final Exam

The final exam will test your knowledge of the different theorists. My objective will be to examine breadth so I will be asking you 10 specific questions that will require only a short answer. For example:

1.  Who wrote, “What belongs in common to the most people is accorded the least care: they take thought for their own things above all, and less about things in common, or only so much as falls to each individually”? To whom is this author objecting and why?

Sample Answer:

This citation is from Aristotle’s Politics. He is objecting to Plato’s assertion that it is possible to hold property, including family, in common. He believes that our relationships help us to create our moral boundaries and that denying our human passions makes us less capable of understanding the human condition.

 1. Compare and contrast Aristotle’s idea of leadership with that of Plato’s.

2. Compare and contrast St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas on the earthly life.

3. Compare and contrast Plato’s conception of justice with that of Machiavelli’s.

4. Compare and contrast Hobbes’s view of human nature with the view of any other theorist we have studied in the course.

COURSE SCHEDULE:

Please note this course schedule is subject to change depending on the progress of the class. You should continue to read despite where I am in the lectures. We start off slowly but by the end of the course you are expected to do substantial amounts of reading in a short space of time.

Marking Rubric