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People, Power, and Politics

Brooklyn College, Fall 2018

Course Overview: In unusual times like ours, political and historical literacy is especially important. In this course, we will explore the origins of US liberal democracy and the various challenges it has faced. While the focus of this course is the American political experience, painting a robust picture requires detours to other areas of the globe. The first unit traces the philosophical origins of the American project to debates arising from the English Civil War, considers parallels between the American and French Revolutions, and then moves on to the US’s political development up through the Civil War. The second unit emphasizes the first and second Red Scares, the US’s strategies for opposing anarchism and Communism internationally, and ways in which this shaped domestic politics. The third and final unit centers debates over religious and cultural values that enjoyed renewed prominence in the aftermath of the Cold War.

Readings for this course include primary and secondary documents, ranging from letters and speeches to theoretical essays. We will situate each text within the political context to which its author was responding. The object is to provide background on major political history and concepts, as well as help you develop the skills to read and respond to challenging texts.

Texts: The required reading for this course is compiled, for your convenience, into a course pack, available for purchase at Far Better Printing (43 Hillel Pl.). If you have any difficulty getting the course pack, let me know as soon as possible. Reading for this course will be relatively short, but some of it will be difficult. Set aside time to complete it, and always bring assigned readings to class.

Requirements and Grading: Class meetings will include a combination of lecture and discussion. The point of lecture is to contextualize the readings and provide background on key concepts, while the point of discussion is to foster critical inquiry. Active engagement is necessary to make course activities productive. As such, you are expected to take notes on both lectures and readings. Formal requirements are listed as follows

• You will be graded on participation. Grading on participation is not black and white, but if you do not consistently come to class prepared with the assigned readings, your participation grade will suffer. Quality of participation is important. Please try to keep questions and comments related to the readings or concepts we are discussing in class that day. Your overall participation grade, out of ten points, is awarded at the end of the semester.
   
• You will be expected to turn in two reading response papers. As you will see below, this course is divided into three units. You are required to turn in response papers for two of them, but you are welcome to turn in all three. If you turn in three response papers, the lowest grade will be dropped.
   
  These papers should be around four pages, double-spaced, with one-inch margins, and typed in a readable font like Times New Roman. If you hand in a paper with fourteen-point Courier New font, two-inch margins, and triple spacing, I will notice, and I will shed a single tear. Response papers can raise questions, criticize an argument, explore a concept, or otherwise critically engage one or more of the texts we have read in that unit. The goal is to help you practice academic writing and careful reading. Please restrict your focus to assigned readings––try not to bring in outside sources. You should submit response papers on Blackboard, as well as in hard copy. Response papers will be graded out of fifteen points.
   
• You will be expected to complete five pop quizzes. These quizzes will be given unannounced throughout the semester, usually at the beginning of the class period. Each is worth two points, and they have two main purposes: first, to incentivize regular attendance; and second, to allow me to see how certain ideas are registering with the class as a whole without needing to wait until papers or midterms come in. Pop quizzes cannot be rescheduled or made up.
   
• There will be a midterm and a final exam. A modest midterm exam will be administered during the second unit. You will have the full class period to complete the exam. I will provide a study guide with sample questions a week prior to the exam date, which I recommend you go over in groups. The midterm exam will be graded out of twenty points. The final exam will be graded out of thirty points. It will be structured like the midterm, but slightly longer. It will be cumulative, but with greater emphasis on material from the second half of the semester. If you require a rescheduled or take-home exam due to illness or religious observance, let me know as soon as possible, and we will arrange one.

Here's a breakdown of how grading for this course adds up overall:

Since the course as a whole is graded out of 100 points, your raw score at the end of the semester is also your percentage score in the course. I assign letter grades by the usual scale: 93–100 is an A, 90–92 is an A-minus, 87–89 is a B-plus, 83–86 is a B, 80–82 is a B-minus, and so on. Feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns about grading over the course of the semester.

Conduct Guidelines: While I do not grade on attendance specifically, students are nonetheless expected to attend class regularly having completed and prepared to discuss the required reading. As not just quantity but also quality of participation is important, I strongly recommend that you stay on topic during class discussions.
 
I do not permit cellphone use during class, and I encourage you to avoid using other electronics as well, if possible. If you use a laptop or tablet in class, please only use it for purposes related to the course (taking notes, e.g.).

Academic Integrity: Since we are all drawing on the same readings for this course, I do not expect you to write a bibliography for each response paper. That said, in-text citations are still essential. When quoting or closely paraphrasing texts in response papers, please provide author and page number parenthetically at the end of the sentence, e.g.: (Locke, 16).
 
Proper citations are essential for avoiding plagiarism. Plagiarism is any act of presenting someone else’s words and/or ideas as your own. Each student is responsible for knowing what constitutes plagiarism and avoiding it. If you are unsure, the full CUNY Academic Integrity Policy and the Brooklyn College procedure for its implementation is available online here. If a faculty member confirms a violation of academic integrity, they are required to report it. Familiarize yourself with CUNY’s Academic Integrity Policy and avoid violating it.

Accessibility: In order to receive disability-related academic accommodations students must first be registered with the Center for Student Disability Services (CSDS). Students with a documented disability, or who suspect they may have one, are encouraged to set up an appointment with the Director of Student Disability Services by calling (718) 951-5538. If you have already registered with the CSDS, please provide me with the appropriate documentation and discuss your specific needs with me, and I will provide any necessary accommodations.

Course Schedule

• Tues., 8/28: Introductions, syllabus (no reading assignment).
   

Unit 1: Origins and Development of Liberal Democracy

• Thurs., 8/30: John Locke, "Of the Beginning of Political Societies" and "Of the Dissolution of Government"
  Thomas Jefferson et al., The United States Declaration of Independence
   
• Tues., 9/4: John Locke, "Of Slavery"
  The Fundamental Constitutions of Carolina
• Thurs., 9/6: John Locke, "Of Property"
  James Madison, Federalist 54
   
• Tues., 9/11: Rosh Hashanah — no classes scheduled
• Thurs., 9/13: Articles I–VII of the U.S. Constitution
  James Madison, Federalist 51
   
• Tues., 9/18: Yom Kippur — no classes scheduled
• Thurs., 9/20: The Bill of Rights
  The Declaration of the Rights of Man
  Olympe de Gouges, "Declaration of the Rights of Woman"
   
• Tues., 9/25: Edmund Burke, selections from Reflections on the Revolution in France
• Thurs., 9/27: Toussaint Louverture, "Dictatorial Proclamation"
  G. W. F. Hegel, "Lordship and Bondage"
   
• Tues., 10/2: Alexis de Tocqueville, selections from Democracy in America, Vol. I
• Thurs., 10/4: Amendments XIII–XV to the U.S. Constitution
  Frederick Douglass, "The Right to Criticize American Institutions"
  Submit Response Paper #1 by 11:59pm

Unit 2: Radical Specters

• Tues., 10/9: Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, selections from Manifesto of the Communist Party
• Thurs., 10/11: Grover Cleveland, "Law and Order in the State of Illinois"
  Statement from the Pullman Strikers
   
• Tues., 10/16: Emma Goldman, "The Tragedy at Buffalo"
  Immigration Act of 1903
• Thurs., 10/18: Midterm Exam
   
• Tues., 10/23: H.G. Wells, "Marxism vs. Liberalism: An Interview with Joseph Stalin"
• Thurs., 10/25: Benito Mussolini, "The Doctrine of Fascism"
  Carl Schmitt, "Definition of Sovereignty
   
• Tues., 10/30: Harry S Truman, selected addresses
  Joseph McCarthy, "Enemies from Within"
   
• Thurs., 11/1: Barry Goldwater, "The Soviet Menace"
   
• Tues., 11/6: Students for a Democratic Society, Port Huron Statement
• Thurs., 11/8: Angela Davis, "The Liberation of Our People"
  Black Panther Party for Self-Defense, Ten-Point Platform and Program
   
• Tues., 11/13: American Indian Movement, "Trail of Broken Treaties: A Twenty-Point Proposal"
  Submit Response Paper #2 by 11:59pm

Unit 3: Politics at the End of History

• Thurs., 11/15: Francis Fukuyama, "The End of History?"

• Tues., 11/20: Samuel Huntington, "The Clash of Civilizations?"
• Thurs., 11/22: Thanksgiving — no classes scheduled
   
• Tues., 11/27: Abdolkarim Soroush, "The Idea of Democratic Religious Government"
• Thurs., 11/29: John Rawls, "Justice as Fairness"
  Ronald Beiner, "Liberalism: What's Missing?"
   
• Tues., 12/4: George W. Bush, address on the invasion of Iraq
  Bruce Lincoln, "Bush's God Talk"
• Thurs., 12/6: John Gray, "From Puritan Colony to Redeemer Nation"
   
• Tues., 12/11: Review session
  Submit Response Paper #3 by 11:59pm

Final Exam on Thursday, December 20 at 8:00am.

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