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Political American Thought Political Science 3633 Spring Semester 2008 Mr. Kobylka Office: 209 Carr Collins Hall Hours: 1-2 Mon., 9:30-10:30 Tues., 3:30-4:30 Thurs., 3-4 Fri., and by appointment Phone: (214) 768-2525 e-mail: jkobylka@smu.edu URL: http://www.smu.edu/~jkobylka Blackboard: http://smu.edu/cms/ Europe was created by history. America was created by philosophy. -Margaret Thatcher Brian Williams and others of his ilk often suggest that Americans have no political philosophy. The standard comment from such quarters is that Americans are doers, not thinkers; pragmatists, not philosophers. On first glance this seems to be an insightful observation. However, close examination of the corpus of American political thinkers and the structures of our political, economic, and social relations makes clear that the thought-action dichotomy is illusory. Although Americans tend not to think explicitly in terms of abstract theory, our political conversations and institutions are informed by theory. Wittingly or not, our thought and actions are theory bound and guided. In fact, as Garry Wills has noted, America is in large measure an "invented" country, the construct of men who consciously built political structures to govern a nation. This construction was grounded in the traditional concerns of political philosophy: the nature of humans, the sources of legitimate social and political authority, the boundaries of consent, the nature of community, the role of the individual, and the proper ends of social and governmental order. Thus, instead of being theory-poor, American institutions are rooted and have developed in a complex web of political thought. This web is not uni-dimensional, though. There is no single thread that, by itself, defines American political thought. This course offers an introduction to the various strands of thought that comprise the American political experience. Because this course provides an introduction to American political thought, its range of treatment will, of necessity, be broad. It is a course in both the history of American political thought (e.g., the various contending schools of thought that have waxed and waned, the influence of context on thought) and political theory (e.g., the fundamental assumptions that orient the analysis, conceptualization of crucial terms, and internal consistency of analysis). A general introductory course cannot treat both of these dimensions of analysis in great depth, but it can introduce the student to them. If you find yourself interested in a specific question treated briefly in class, you may (after considered consultation with me) craft and pursue it as a term paper topic. Required Texts Crevecoeur, Letters From an American Farmer. Dolbeare, American Political Thought, 5th edition. Madison, Hamilton, Jay, The Federalist Papers. Various readings on Blackboard (BB) or on the internet (web). Course Requirements: Examinations, Papers, Grading Class will meet Tuesdays and Thursdays, 11:00 AM - 12:20 AM, in 115 Dallas Hall. Class attendance is mandatory, and I expect you to be in your seat and ready to begin discussion of the material at hand at the beginning of class. Ready means having your notes and texts open and on the table before you at the beginning of class. I will circulate a seating chart at the beginning of the second week of class. Students will sign this chart and sit in their designated seat for the remainder of the term. Unexcused absences will be penalized five (5) points a day (out of a course total of 500 points). Late arrivals will be penalized as if you were absent unless they have been cleared with me before class. A pattern of unexcused absences will result in unilateral dismissal from the course. PLSC 3363 American Political Thought 1 If you happen to miss a class, it is your responsibility to get notes from a classmate. I will circulate a seating chart at the beginning of the second week of class. Students will sign this chart and sit in their designated seat for the remainder of the term. No cell phones will ring in this class; no text messages will be sent or received during its hours. This class also has a student contract. You must download it from the website, read it, print and sign two copies of it, and turn both of them in to me no later than Thursday, 17 January. Failure to live up to the terms of the con tract will result in your dismissal from the course. General reading assignments are noted in the course outline. Direction as to the specific ordering of these assignments will be made in class. The reading load is rather heavy and is not assigned lightly. I expect you to read all of the required material in a timely fashion. Failure to do so will almost assuredly lead to an incomplete grasp of the literature and a lower grade in the course. Readings must be completed prior to their treatment in class. Most of the readings will be from the Dolbeare text; some readings will be available online through the class s Blackboard page under the readings link. You will be evaluated on the basis of class participation, a conceptual critique of a specific thinker posted on the Blackboard Discussion page, a mid-semester exam, a cumulative final (emphasizing material covered since the mid-semester, but with a comprehensive dimension), four unscheduled quizzes and a prospectus and term paper. I expect active and informed involvement in class discussion. If you do not participate at all, you will get zero (0) participation points. I cannot stress this enough; breathing in class counts for something, but not participation credit. I will also factor student visits to my office, email correspondence on course matters, and postings on the class Blackboard discussion board when calculating this grade. Realize, though, that you cannot earn an A or B for participation without speaking in class and posting consistently on Blackboard. At some point in your life, you will have to speak publicly and write sustained commentary and response. You might as well start now. Every student will write a well-developed (2-4 pp) conceptual critique of a thinker of their choosing. You will post these critiques, along with three questions relevant to that thinker s argument, on the Discussion Board on the class s Blackboard page. The sign-up sheet for these thinkers is linked on the Blackboard page. Students must sign up for a thinker, via an email sent to me, by Tuesday, 22 January. Analysis and questions must be posted at least two calendar days before we treat the thinker in class. Standard late penalties will be applied. Part of taking a class is being prepared for class. This means you will have done your readings before we treat them in class. To measure your preparation, I will give four unscheduled quizzes (on which you may use your briefs and reading notes). If you are going to be in the class, I expect you to commit to doing the things the class requires of you. I also expect you to bring handouts posted on the mothership and the Blackboard pages to their appropriate classes. It is your obligation to look through the handouts and comply with this requirement. The mid-semester exam will consist of one or two short take-home essays. It will be due, in class, Thursday, 6 March. Late exams will be penalized 7 points per calendar day they are tardy. You must turn hard copies in directly to me. The final exam will be of a mixed format: essay and short answer questions. One of the essays will be comprehensive over the material treated throughout the semester. If you choose, I will disseminate a "Question Bank" from which the examination essays will be drawn prior to the examination. I will also, should you wish them, schedule voluntary discussion sessions prior to each exam to enable you to clarify any points on which you may be unclear. The final will be on Friday, 9 May, 11:30 AM 2:30 PM in 115 Dallas Hall. The term paper required for this course will be 10-15 pages long, prepared in formal term paper style, and due at the beginning of class on Tuesday, 22 April. A prospectus including a statement of your topic, the research question your paper will raise and answer, your proposed thesis, a thought-through and detailed outline, and an PLSC 3363 American Political Thought 2 annotated working bibliography is due, in class, on Thursday, 28 February. The paper will examine a thinker, a book, a concept or an issue relevant to the subject matter of the course, review the literature on the topic, and present your independent analysis of the discussion at hand. You will find a non-exhaustive list of topics from which you can choose a subject for extended analytical treatment and specific instructions for the preparation of the paper under the assignments tab on the Blackboard page... For assistance as to proper form and style, see Kate L. Turabian, A Manual for Writers or the MLA Handbook. Both are available in the SMU bookstore. Feel free, at any time, to talk to me about any questions you have about the paper or your research for it. Class time will not be taken for this purpose; if you have questions that are not addressed in the assignment sheet, raise them with me personally or post them on the discussion page of BB. Late papers will be penalized one-third of a grade for each day they are tardy. There will be no exceptions to this policy; you have all semester to get the thing done. The relative weight of the graded work in the course is as follows: Quizzes: Conceptual Critique Prospectus Term Paper: Mid-Semester Exam: Final Exam: Participation: Absences Total 8% (40 points) 6% (30 points) 6% (30 points) 24% (120 points) 20% (100 points) 30% (150 points) 6% (30 points) -5 pts/day__________________ 100% (500 points) A B C D F 400-500 points 300-399 points 200-299 points 100-199 points 0-99 points The rough point range for the final course grade is: Unexcused absences will result in points being deducted from a student s final point total. To pass the course, a student must complete all work assigned. A final word about grades. Though this varies by class, the average final grade in my classes tends to be in the low B or B- area. On page 43 of the current Undergraduate Catalog you will find the university s criteria for grades. This is the standard: A equals excellent scholarship, B equals good scholarship, C equals average scholarship, and D equals poor scholarship. Key here is the notion of scholarship. I am not looking for you to simply memorize and spit back information about the thinkers and concepts we examine, though you will need to know this information to do well in the class. What I expect of you is to make sense of what you read and what we discuss, and enter into a dialogue with me and your peers about it. I want you to see the linkages and disjunctions between thinkers, conceptualizations, and prescriptions, as well as explain when, how, and why these remain stable or vary over time. I further expect you to be able to tie this analysis to larger forces working within the context political and social of the times in which the thinkers are working. The more fluidly you can engage in this discussion, the better your grade will be. There is no checklist you will complete for your grade no rubric you will follow to get a specific grade. Mastering and making sense of the material we cover is the key to improving your grade. I am more than happy to help you, in and out of class, achieve this; I strive to be a teacher, after all. However, the discipline, timely study and preparation habits, and simple hard work necessary to do well are matters largely in your own hands. I will not give you grades; you will earn them. The add/drop period ends Tuesday, 22 January. The last day to declare for a Pass/Fail grading option is Thursday, 31 January. The last day to drop the course without a recorded grade is Friday, 4 April; you cannot drop the course after date that without receiving a failing grade. We will not have class on Tuesday, 22 January, because SMU counts that as a Monday. (Don t ask why.) PLSC 3363 American Political Thought 3 Miscellany 1) Study Groups. In the past few years, I have noticed an increasing tendency on the part of students to make use of study groups, especially in the context of exam preparation. These groups, unless operated correctly, are a decidedly mixed blessing. On the downside, they tend to: a) perpetuate and spread errors that would otherwise be confined to the examinations of one or two people, b) promote a division of labor that works against a coherent understanding of the course material; and c) provide a pernicious false sense of security to their participants. On the positive side, they can provide a good forum in which to: a) test your comprehension of the course material; b) float and debate alternative interpretations of the topics under consideration; and c) alert you to deficiencies in your preparation. In light of these strengths and weaknesses, if you decide to assemble a study group, please be sensitive to these rules of thumb for successful study group involvement. Meet more frequently than simply before a specific exam. In this way you will get a better feel for your fellows in the group, and you will have a better sense of their understanding of the material. Used in this fashion, your group will become something of a discussion circle, and will help you stay up on the subject matter as we cover it. Do not divide the work at hand. (That is to say, do not assign members of the group to specific and exclusive tasks -- e.g., briefing cases for particular sections of the course, or preparing essay questions for examinations.) In a good study group, all participants contribute equally and fully to discussions. With every group member doing all the preparatory work, it becomes easier to discuss the material seriously and to gain insights from others on your own understanding of the subject matter. Avoid freeloaders. There are always people who seek to get something for nothing. In a classroom context, these individuals are those who do not do the readings or who come to class infrequently. In short, they fail to take seriously their responsibilities as students. Such people love open study groups; they see them as a way to profit from their irresponsibility by leaning on the work of others to get by. Do not allow this to happen. Not only are these students cheating the educational process for themselves, but they also waste the time of other group members who have to minister to their uninformed status. Do not let a study group substitute for conversations with the professor. This should be self-explanatory. When questions about the course material arise, see me. Well run, a study group is an extension of the classroom experience. It is a way that you can enhance your understanding of the course material. (Intelligent discussions with other intelligent and prepared people have a way of accomplishing this.) Do not use these groups as a short cut around your own class preparation. Not only does this compromise a well-rounded education, but it will also hurt you in a very personal fashion: your grade is entered in the registrar s computer, not that of your group. Take responsibility for your education; use your study group to enhance that commitment, not hide from it. 2) Office Hours. My hours are noted at the top right of the first page of this syllabus and on my websites. Note also that, if those times are not convenient for you, you can make an appointment with me. Do not hesitate to come to my office if you need help with, or simply want to talk about, any aspect of the course. One of the advantages SMU provides is the opportunity to be taught in small classes and to get to know those who teach you. Take advantage of it. 3) Webpage. Because this is the twenty-first century, I now have two webpages. The first is my page, http://faculty.smu.edu/jkobylka/. There you will find information of significance to the class syllabus, presentation schedules, course updates, readings, hand-outs, links, and the like and a link to my Blackboard page, where you will find PLSC 3363 American Political Thought 4 other items including a discussion board and a course calendar. The direct link to the class s Blackboard page is http://smu.edu/cms/. To access it, you must use your a) ID number, and b) password (the same as your access/email password). The Blackboard page is always much a work in progress, and any suggestions you have for it is welcome. 4) Disability Accommodations. If you need academic accommodations for a disability, you must first contact Ms. Rebecca Marin, Coordinator, Services for Students with Disabilities (214-768-4563) to verify the disability and to establish eligibility for accommodations. She will provide you with documentation relevant to your circumstances. Then you should schedule an appointment with the professor to make appropriate arrangements. Without a letter from Ms. Marin, I will make no special accommodations for a student. 5) Religious Observances. Religiously observant students wishing to be absent on holidays that require missing class should notify me in writing at the beginning of the semester, and should discuss with me, in advance, acceptable ways of making up any work missed because of the absence. 6) Excused Absences for University Extracurricular Activities. Students participating in an officially sanctioned, scheduled University extracurricular activity will have an opportunity to make up class assignments or other graded assignments missed as a result of their participation. It is the responsibility of the student to make arrangements with me prior to any missed work. The Honor Code The University s Honor Code governs all work undertaken and submitted in this course. The relevant section of the Code, taken from the Preamble of the Honor Council s Constitution, is as follows: Intellectual integrity and academic honesty are fundamental to the processes of learning and of evaluating academic performance, and maintaining them is the responsibility of all members of an educational institution. The inculcation of personal standards of honesty and integrity is a goal of education in all the disciplines of the University.... Students must share the responsibility for creating and maintaining an atmosphere of honesty and integrity. Students should be aware that personal experience in completing assigned work is essential to learning. Permitting others to pre pare their work, using published or unpublished summaries as a substitute for studying required materials, or giving or receiving unauthorized assistance in the preparation of work to be submitted are directly contrary to the honest process of learning. Students who are aware that others in a course are cheating or otherwise acting dishonestly have the re sponsibility to inform the professor and/or bring an accusation to the Honor Council. The Honor Pledge is: On my honor, I have neither given nor received unauthorized aid on this work. Every student must sign and attach a copy of this pledge to any work tendered in this class. My colleagues and I have noted an increase in Honor Code violations in the past couple of years. This is despite the elevated attention the university has directed to it. Let me be as clear as I can be on this: A violation of the Code will result in an F for the course, and the student will be taken before the Honor Council. If you are un clear about this policy in general or in its particular application please see me immediately. Course Outline and Assigned Readings I. Introductory Comments: A Liberal Society (15 January) *Print and Consult: Currency of Concepts Handout PLSC 3363 American Political Thought 5 II. Early American Political Thought: Religious and Secular Roots (19 January 5 February) A. Early Colonial (17 24 Jan.) 1. The Mayflower Compact (BB) 2. John Winthrop (Dolbeare) and Christian Experience (BB) A. Early Colonial (cont d) 3. John Wise (Dolbeare) B. Revolutionary Period* (29 Jan. 5 Feb.) *Print and Consult: Timeline Handout 1. Thomas Paine (Dolbeare) 2. The Declaration of Independence (Dolbeare) 3. J. Crevecoeur, Letters From an American Farmer (1782), Letters I-III, V, IX, XII. III. Constitutional Era: Thought Institutionalized (7 February - 4 March) A. John Adams (Dolbeare) (7 Feb.) (BB): Letter to Jefferson *Print and Consult: Interpreting the Federalist Handout B. The Constitution 1. The Argument of the Federalist* (12 21 Feb.) a. Logical Genesis: Federalist Paper Nine b. James Madison, Federalist Papers Nos. 10, 37, 39, 44, 47, 48, 51, 55, 62, 63 (BB): Joseph F. Kobylka and Bradley Kent Carter, Madison, The Federalist, and the Constitutional Order: Human Nature and Institutional Structure, Polity 20: 190 208 (Winter 1987). c. Alexander Hamilton, Federalist Papers Nos. 1, 15, 70, 78, 84, 85 2. Contemporary Critiques and Interpretations (26 Feb. 4 Mar.) a. Anti-Federalists (Dolbeare) (26 28 Feb.) (BB): Herbert J. Storing, Introduction and Conclusion to What The Anti-Federalists Were For (1981). b. Thomas Jefferson (Dolbeare) (4 Mar.) (web): The Kentucky Resolutions 6 March: Take-Home Mid-Semester Exam Due IV. The Time of Development and Crisis (6 Mar. 3 Apr.) A. Strains of Liberal Individualism (6 18 Mar.) 1. Henry David Thoreau (Dolbeare) 2. Elizabeth Cady Stanton (Dolbeare) 3. Frederick Douglass (Dolbeare) B. Responses to Liberal Individualism (20 March) 1. Oretes Brownson (Dolbeare) 2. George Fitzhugh (Dolbeare) C. The Failed Second American Revolution (25 27 Mar.) 1. John C. Calhoun (Dolbeare) PLSC 3363 American Political Thought 6 (BB): R. Hofstadter, The Marx of the Master Class, in The American Political Tradition (1948) 2. Abraham Lincoln (Dolbeare) (BB): Garry Wills, "Prologue," to Inventing America (1978) PLSC 3363 American Political Thought 7 V. Reunion and Reaction (1 13 Apr.) A. Social Darwinism (1 Apr.) 1. William Graham Sumner (Dolbeare) 2. (BB): Lochner v. New York (1905) B. The Socialist Alternative (3 Apr.) 1. Edward Bellamy (Dolbeare) 2. (BB): Sloat, Looking Backward at Looking Backward, NY Times Book Review, 17 Jan 1988 VI. The Rise of a Countervailing Power: The Welfare State (8 17 Apr.) A. Critiques of Laissez-faire Capitalism (8 10 Apr.) 1. Booker T. Washington (BB): Atlanta Exposition Speech (1895) 2. W.E.B. DuBois (Dolbeare) 3. Emma Goldman (Dolbeare) 4. Eugene V. Debs (Dolbeare) B. Arguments for Centralized Institutions (10 17 Apr.) 1. Theodore Roosevelt (BB) The Strenuous Life (1899) A Confession of Faith (1912) 2. Herbert Croly (Dolbeare) (BB): John Judis, Herbert Croly s Promise, The New Republic, 6 November 1989 3. Franklin D. Roosevelt (Dolbeare) VII. The Turbulent Decades and Beyond: (22 24 Apr.) A. The Odd and New Active State (22 April) 1. John F. Kennedy (Dolbeare) 2. Martin Luther King (Dolbeare) 3. Students for a Democratic Society (Dolbeare) 4. Betty Friedan (Dolbeare) 5. National Conference of Catholic Bishops (Dolbeare) B. The Rebirth of Minimal State Liberalism and Political Conservatism (24 Apr.) 1. Russell Kirk (BB) The Essence of Conservatism (1957) Ten Conservative Principles (1993) 2. Barry Goldwater (BB) Acceptance Speech, 1964 Republican Convention 3. Ronald Reagan (Dolbeare) VIII. The Cycles of American Political Thought: (29 Apr.) Final Examination: Friday, 9 May, 11:30 AM 2:30 PM PLSC 3363 American Political Thought 8

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