Course Syllabus

JOHN CABOT UNIVERSITY

COURSE CODE: "PL 310"
COURSE NAME: "Modern Political Theory"
SEMESTER & YEAR: Summer Session I 2024

SYLLABUS

INSTRUCTOR: Emanuele Saccarelli
EMAIL: [email protected]
HOURS: MTWTH 3:40 PM 5:30 PM
TOTAL NO. OF CONTACT HOURS: 45
CREDITS: 3
PREREQUISITES: Recommended: PL 210
OFFICE HOURS:

COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This course introduces students to key modern & contemporary political thinkers and their contributions to the development of political theory and ideas. The class covers a wide range of different European, American and African thinkers shaping political philosophy and political theory from the 19th to the 21st century, such as Edmund Burke, John Stuart Mill, Karl Marx, Max Weber, Carl Schmitt, Antonio Gramsci, Hannah Arendt, Frantz Fanon, Michel Foucault, John Rawls, and Jürgen Habermas. The course examines the way these thinkers appropriate traditions of political thought, and provide their own vocabularies to understand the modern world, the modern state, and modern politics. In so doing, the course addresses and critically discusses these thinkers’ different approaches to key political concepts such as power, political order, rationalism, political violence, community, democracy, sovereignty, justice, legitimacy, plurality, difference, and the rule of law.

SUMMARY OF COURSE CONTENT:

This course on Modern Political Theory will focus on a series of authors associated with the Marxist tradition.

Marxism, as well as the manifold intellectual and political responses to it, stand as the great and unsettled frontier of modernity. On one hand, Marxism represents the extension of the philosophical ideas and political conceptions ushered in by the Enlightenment at the dawn of modernity. Demand for manifold forms of equality, the critique of state institutions, the ethos of cosmopolitanism, the prospect for a scientific and accurate cognition of the world, and more, were all maximally expanded by Marxism into a coherent worldview and revolutionary political movement. In this sense, Marxism stands in fundamental continuity with the Enlightenment and to study it also means to reflect on the broader prospects for the fulfillment of modernity. On the other hand, some of the same social interests that had originally coalesced around Enlightenment modernity decisively turned in an opposite direction – politically, toward conservatism, nationalism, imperialism, and the rule of society by force; philosophically, toward various forms of irrationalism and pessimism. Moreover, Marxism, or at least what has typically passed for it in the 20^th and 21^st centuries, itself underwent an astonishing degree of intellectual and political degeneration. A study of Classical Marxism in its own words thus serves to clarify a host of pressing historical questions pertaining to the broader epoch of modernity and its many political discontents.

LEARNING OUTCOMES:

Become familiar with the basic approaches and techniques used in Political Theory to interpret challenging texts including material of historical, literary, philosophical, and political character
Become familiar with important authors in modern political thought, and their political and intellectual biographies
Become familiar with important texts in modern political thought, and with competing interpretations regarding their meaning and intent
Understand those important texts in their historical context
Understand the different ways in which these texts resonate with the political conditions that exist today

TEXTBOOK:

Book Title	Author	Publisher	ISBN number	Library Call Number	Comments	Format	Local Bookstore	Online Purchase
The Marx-Engels Reader (2nd edition)	Robert Tucker (editor)	Norton	9780393090406			Hard Copy

REQUIRED RESERVED READING:

NONE

RECOMMENDED RESERVED READING:

NONE

GRADING POLICY
-ASSESSMENT METHODS:

Assignment	Guidelines	Weight
Attendance and Participation	Reading and discussing together the assigned reading is virtually the entire substance of the class and will thus constitute a significant portion of your final grade	25
Midterm Exam	In-class exam based on the material studied up to May 30th	35
Final Exam	In-class exam based on the material studied from June 4th until the end of the term	40

-ASSESSMENT CRITERIA:
AWork of this quality directly addresses the question or problem raised and provides a coherent argument displaying an extensive knowledge of relevant information or content. This type of work demonstrates the ability to critically evaluate concepts and theory and has an element of novelty and originality. There is clear evidence of a significant amount of reading beyond that required for the course.
BThis is highly competent level of performance and directly addresses the question or problem raised.There is a demonstration of some ability to critically evaluatetheory and concepts and relate them to practice. Discussions reflect the student’s own arguments and are not simply a repetition of standard lecture andreference material. The work does not suffer from any major errors or omissions and provides evidence of reading beyond the required assignments.
CThis is an acceptable level of performance and provides answers that are clear but limited, reflecting the information offered in the lectures and reference readings.
DThis level of performances demonstrates that the student lacks a coherent grasp of the material.Important information is omitted and irrelevant points included.In effect, the student has barely done enough to persuade the instructor that s/he should not fail.
FThis work fails to show any knowledge or understanding of the issues raised in the question. Most of the material in the answer is irrelevant.

-ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENTS:
ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENTS AND EXAMINATION POLICY
You cannot make-up a major exam (midterm or final) without the permission of the Dean’s Office. The Dean’s Office will grant such permission only when the absence was caused by a serious impediment, such as a documented illness, hospitalization or death in the immediate family (in which you must attend the funeral) or other situations of similar gravity. Absences due to other meaningful conflicts, such as job interviews, family celebrations, travel difficulties, student misunderstandings or personal convenience, will not be excused. Students who will be absent from a major exam must notify the Dean’s Office prior to that exam. Absences from class due to the observance of a religious holiday will normally be excused. Individual students who will have to miss class to observe a religious holiday should notify the instructor by the end of the Add/Drop period to make prior arrangements for making up any work that will be missed. The final exam period runs until ____________

ACADEMIC HONESTY
As stated in the university catalog, any student who commits an act of academic dishonesty will receive a failing grade on the work in which the dishonesty occurred. In addition, acts of academic dishonesty, irrespective of the weight of the assignment, may result in the student receiving a failing grade in the course. Instances of academic dishonesty will be reported to the Dean of Academic Affairs. A student who is reported twice for academic dishonesty is subject to summary dismissal from the University. In such a case, the Academic Council will then make a recommendation to the President, who will make the final decision.

STUDENTS WITH LEARNING OR OTHER DISABILITIES
John Cabot University does not discriminate on the basis of disability or handicap. Students with approved accommodations must inform their professors at the beginning of the term. Please see the website for the complete policy.

SCHEDULE

Monday May 20

Welcome and Introduction

Tuesday May 21

Marx, “1859 Preface to A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy.” M&E reader, pp. 3-6

Wednesday May 22

Engels, Letters on Historical Materialism M&E reader, pp. 760-767

Thursday May 23

Engels, “Socialism, Utopian and Scientific” M&E reader, Part I pp. 683-694

Monday May 27

Marx and Engels, Manifesto of the Communist Party, M&E reader, pp. 469-500

Tuesday May 28

Marx and Engels, Manifesto of the Communist Party, M&E reader, pp. 469-500

Wednesday May 29

Engels, selections from The Origins of the Family, Private Property, and the State

M&E reader, pp. 734-751

Thursday May 30

Kollontai, Sexual Relations and the Class Struggle

https://www.marxists.org/archive/kollonta/1921/sex-class-struggle.htm

Midterm Exam: prompts and instructions

Monday June 3

Midterm Exam

Tuesday June 4

Engels, “Socialism, Utopian and Scientific” M&E reader, Part II pp. 694-700

Wednesday June 5

Marx, “Theses on Feuerbach” M&E reader, pp. 143-145

Thursday June 6

Chapter 3 of David Riazanov, Karl Marx and Frederick Engels: An Introduction to Their Lives and Work http://www.marxists.org/archive/riazanov/works/1927-ma/ch03.htm

Monday June 10

Trotsky, “The ABC of Materialist Dialectics” http://marxists.org/archive/trotsky/1939/12/abc.htm

Tuesday June 11

Engels, “Socialism, Utopian and Scientific” M&E reader, Part III pp. 700-717

Wednesday June 12

• Marx, selections from Capital, Vol. I M&E reader

Thursday June 13

• Marx, selections from Capital, Vol. I M&E reader

Monday June 17

Luxemburg, Reform or Revolution

https://www.marxists.org/archive/luxemburg/1900/reform-revolution/index.htm

Tuesday June 18

Luxemburg, Reform or Revolution

https://www.marxists.org/archive/luxemburg/1900/reform-revolution/index.htm

Wednesday June 19

Final Exam: prompts and instructions

Thursday June 20

Final Exam Review

Friday June 21

Final Exam