- Autumn 2023
Syllabus Description:
POL S 201: Introduction to Political Theory
Insiders, Outsiders and the Perspective of Political Criticism
Fall 2023
Tu, Th 10:00-11:20 am
Professor: Noga Rotem
Office hours: Th 1-3 pm, 125 GWN
Course description:
Who is best situated to theorize about and criticize a society? an insider or an outsider? Can a foreigner or a newcomer be a good lawgiver in a society that they are not intimately familiar with? Does being an exile rob one of a perspective? Or does distance illuminate flaws in society that one would not have noticed otherwise? This selective survey of major texts in the history of western political thought, will explore these questions and others, focusing on the role of the political theorist as a spectator and as a critic of society. How do different thinkers establish their impartiality? Does it require abandoning one’s standpoint? Is it identical to being a “voice from nowhere”?
Most of the thinkers that we will read negotiated at least two identities, two loyalties, or two places, with one foot in and one foot outside of the political context about which they wrote. To give a few examples: Aristotle was a foreigner in Athens, Machiavelli an exile who was banned from political office in Florence, Arendt was a stateless exile who fled Nazi Germany and wrote most of her political works after migrating to the US. Fanon and Beauvoir were both foreigners in their own societies—both describe in their writings the immense pain and psychological damage that result from their striving to be included—to be insiders—in societies that nevertheless forcefully and violently rejected and excluded them because of their race or gender.
How did the doubling of place and identity of all these thinkers affect their perspective and their political insight? And what do they have to say about the conditions that enable political critique? In sum: what are the worldly (i.e., cultural, institutional, economic, political) conditions of political theory?
This is a reading and writing intensive course. Students are responsible for all of the assigned reading as well as active participation in discussion sections, two short papers, two in-class quizzes, and a final exam.
Required texts
The following texts are available at the University bookstore. Assigned readings not included in the books below will be accessible on Canvas.
For the required texts, please purchase or borrow from the library the exact editions that are specified here. Other editions/translations will NOT be acceptable.
Texts for purchase are:
- Plato, Republic, Hacket Publishing, 2004. ISBN: 0872207366
- Niccolo Machiavelli, The Prince, Cambridge University Press, 2019, 2nd ISBN: 1316509265
- Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan, Penguin Classics, 2017. ISBN: 0141395095
For background material or help with the sources please do not just randomly search the web. There are many confusing and misleading websites. Come to office hours if you are having trouble with the readings, if you want more information, or are otherwise interested in secondary material. A good place to start can be the relevant entries in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, available online. If you are interested in consulting some optional secondary literature to help you with the readings, the following are some great scholarly overviews of the history and development of political thought:
- Sheldon Wolin, Politics and Vision
- Alan Ryan, On Politics
- William Connolly, Political Theory and Modernity
Assignments and grading:
Short piece – Political Friendship: 15%
Midterm essay (take-home): 30%
Final exam (in-class): 30%
Reading Quizzes: 10% (5% each)
Discussion section attendance and participation: 15%
Short piece: (750 words) Assigned October 6; exercise in class: October 13; Due October 22 by 10 pm.
Midterm essay: (1500 words): Assigned October 27; Due November 12 by 10 pm.
2 in-class Quizzes: Nov 3; Nov 17
Final exam: December 11, 10:30 am-12:20 pm
The purpose of the reading quizzes is to examine your familiarity with the texts that we have read and discussed in class and help keep up with the material in preparation for the final exam. Anyone who reads the assigned materials regularly and pays attention in lectures and discussion sections is well prepared for the quizzes.
A sample reading-quiz question:
Read the following quote carefully and answer briefly:
- Who is the author and what is the text?
- In a sentence or two - what is the context of the quote?
“So, if you are willing, let’s first find out what sort of thing justice is in cities, and afterward look for it in the individual, to see if the larger entity is similar in form to the smaller one.”
General course requirements:
- Attend lecture and participate in class discussion
Lectures will often involve large group discussion. Active participation in class discussion is not mandatory but it will significantly improve your ability to engage the works we read and understand them. If you do participate, that will contribute to your discussion section’s participation grade.
- Read the assigned materials before lecture
Much of the reading is dense and challenging. Some people dedicate their entire careers to the task of understanding these texts, so if your first encounter with the texts is tough-going, don’t give up, and know that you are in a good company! To make the texts more accessible we offer questions to focus on for each of the readings. Questions appear on the course schedule below.
Students are expected to read the assigned text(s) before lecture. I encourage you to keep a reading journal where you take notes and write down questions about segments of the texts that interest you or that you are struggling to understand. Bring those to class, to discussion sections, or to office hours! These notes will serve you for many years to come as you might return to these texts.
- Attend and participate in weekly discussion sections
Because this is a large introductory course, quiz sections provide the best opportunity to engage with your peers and discuss the course material. In order to make this experience rewarding for everyone involved, full and thoughtful participation is necessary. Your participation grade will be composed of attendance in discussion sections, and active participation.
- Attend office hours
If you feel uncomfortable speaking in class or quiz discussions, you might want to attend office hours on a more regular basis. In general, and regardless of the level of your class participation, I highly encourage you to attend office hours to discuss the class, the readings, your interests, or just to check in. Your TAs and I all hold regular office hours. Make it a habit to attend either or both.
Other policies
Plagiarism
Any use of ChatGPT or any other AI technology is prohibited in this course. This prohibition includes: submitting all or any part of an assignment prompt to an AI platform; Incorporating any part of an AI generated response in an assignment; Using AI to brainstorm, formulate arguments, or template ideas for assignments; Using AI to summarize or contextualize source materials; Submitting your own work for this class to an online learning support platform for proofreading or improvement.
Cases of suspected cheating and plagiarism will be referred to the Arts and Sciences Committee on Academic Conduct. University policies and guidelines regarding cheating and plagiarism can be found at http://depts.washington.edu/grading/issue1/honesty.htm#misconduct.
Late Policy
Extension requests will require appropriate documentation. If you need to turn work in late, please give prior notice to your TA. Unexpected lateness will result in a dropped 0.3 points each day.
Social Media Policy
The instructor and the TAs will not make any posts about any of you on social media this quarter, and we will ask that you do the same so that we can speak freely and learn together.
Communications and response times
If you have any administrative or logistical questions not of a personal nature please consult the “201 FAQ” and the syllabus FIRST. If you are still uncertain, you may email your TA. Please email from an @uw.edu email address
Substantive questions related to course material will NOT be answered via email – instead, please see your TA or instructor during office hours or make an appointment.
You can expect a reply from the instructor and TAs to emails within 24 hours, excluding weekends.
Self-care
If you are experiencing personal, emotional, or financial hardships, there are some excellent resources on campus that many students turn to and are here to offer support.
LiveWell Student Care is a starting point for students in distress and in need of multiple levels of support. They provide wellness coaching to help untangle complex situations (unable to rely on family, not in a good living situation, not connected to health services, experiencing housing instability, or food insecurity, etc.).
Email them at: lwcare@uw.edu, or call: 206.543.2684 to set an appointment.
Let’s Talk is a program that connects UW students with support from experienced counselors from the Counseling Center without an appointment.
Accommodations
If you would like to request academic accommodation due to a disability, please contact UW Disability Resources for Students (DRS), uwdrs@uw.edu. Please present to your TA or instructor any letter you might have received from DRS confirming the need for academic accommodations, so that we can arrange accommodations.
Religious accommodations
Washington state law requires that UW develop a policy for accommodation of student absences or significant hardship due to reasons of faith or conscience, or for organized religious activities. The UW’s policy, including more information about how to request an accommodation, is available at Religious Accommodations Policy (https://registrar.washington.edu/staffandfaculty/religious-accommodations-policy/). Accommodations must be requested within the first two weeks of this course using the Religious Accommodations Request form (https://registrar.washington.edu/students/religious-accommodations-request/).