Instructor:
Professor Gregory Butler
Email: gbutler@nmsu.edu
Office # (575) 646-4935
COURSE OVERVIEW:
New Mexico State University
Department of Government
GOVT 384 – Contemporary Political Thought – Spring 2016
Office Hours:
342 Breland Hall
T&Th 10:30-11:30 AM and by appointment
Lectures:
179 Breland Hall
TuTh 11:45-1:00
The purpose of this course is to introduce undergraduate students to major trends in twentieth-century political thought. I have structured the course as a study in the history of ideas. Of particular concern are those ideas that have been the driving forces behind the massive changes in the way we live over the course of the twentieth century. This is to say that we will not occupy ourselves with fatuous exercises in groupthink that so often pass for “theorizing” in the halls of academia (however interesting such exercises may be). I find it unfortunate that so much of the literature in contemporary political thought as been infected by a pretentious and selfindulgent solipsism. We will study things that, in my estimation, actually matter . We will read literature that is concrete and relevant, speaks to a broad audience, and is rhetorically and logically coherent. Worthy of our attention are those responsible for the construction of a world that is inescapable present all around us, and it is through them that we will explore the following interrelated problems:
1. In political forms , the breakdown of authority (not power ) manifested in totalitarian thought and politics, on the one hand, and a tendency toward an expansive democratism on the other;
2. In political economy , the playing out of the final phase of the industrial revolution in which the entire project, underway for almost two centuries, is now showing itself as unsustainable; and
3. In political culture , the presence of a profound and restless dissatisfaction with life, a dissatisfaction that is manifested in various forms of escapism, including materialism, nihilism, technophilia, and apocalyptic fantasy.
In addition, the course will present for your consideration some compelling responses to these problems that seem to be gaining traction. Along the way you will learn how to read, analyze, and write about these topics. You will learn to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses among the varying points of view you encounter, and do so with a sufficient level of appreciation for the power of ideas in shaping how we think and live. It is in this way that the course will encourage the ancient practice of the political philosophy itself: the task of going against the current, questioning widely held opinions about what ought to be, and thinking through alternatives for your own betterment.
The course is designed to complement to other department offerings in political theory (80-series). In my presentation of the material
I assume that all students have passed (with a grade of C or better) an introductory course in political science at the college level
(GOVT 110G or equivalent).
REQUIRED READING:
Good books are central to my pedagogy. However, I do not use conventional textbooks – I find most of them boring and a waste of your money and time. Instead, our reading will consist of a series of singularly important works in the field that not only illuminate the subject matter, but also should be of continuing interest to you beyond this semester. Required books are as follows:
• Friedrich Nietzsche,
Twilight of the Idols
• Woodrow Wilson, The New Freedom
• Irving Babbitt, Democracy and Leadership
• Robert Nisbet, The Quest for Community: A Study in the Ethics of Order and Freedom
• Wendell Berry, Hannah Coulter
All titles are available at the university bookstore (but feel free to obtain them from whatever source you wish). Due to time constraints we will not be reading all of these books in their entirety, so be sure to check the course schedule for specifically assigned pages and/or chapters. There will some additional reading (i.e., not from the books above) assigned periodically throughout the
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semester. These are indicated with an asterisk (*) on the course schedule, and will be available for download on my NMSU web page
(NOT Canvas). My web page address is http://deptofgov.nmsu.edu/faculty-profiles/butler/
ACADEMIC EXPECTATIONS:
Reading. I give reading assignments for a reason – I expect you to read . Reading serious books is essential to your education. I also expect you to complete your reading assignments on time. This is not difficult because I assign interesting material (!) and I do not burden you with an excessive amount of it. And it should go without saying that I expect you to read attentively for comprehension .
Don’t worry if you don’t understand everything at first. All I ask is that you put forth your best effort, even if it means having to look up unfamiliar people, places, or ideas. It is a good idea to keep Wikipedia handy as you read (yes, I am serious).
Class Preparation. Once you have a basic grasp of the reading assignment, write down notes on the main points in preparation for class. Always bring these notes and the relevant assigned readings to class . I will expect all students to be equipped to join in and contribute to class discussions without being lost for failure to prepare beforehand. Your grade will depend on it.
Grades. I assign final letter grades on the basis of total points earned over the course of the semester, according to the following scale:
95-100 90-94 87-89 84-86 80-83 77-79 74-76 70-73 67-69 64-66 60-63 0-59 This number of points
Means this letter
A A- B+ B B- C+ C C- D+ D D- F
Points are earned as follows:
Vocabulary Test (15 points). You will be tested on your knowledge of important terms used in the study of political theory.
Test date: Tuesday Feb. 9 . A separate handout will assist you in preparation.
Midterm Exam (20 points). This relatively brief exam will test your conceptual grasp of the material and your familiarity with the course literature. The format for the exam will be “short answer.” Exam date:
Thursday March 10. I will distribute a study guide beforehand, with class time set aside for review.
Final Exam (30 points). Held during finals week, this longer exam will test your conceptual grasp of the material covered since the midterm. Exam date: Tuesday May 10. I will distribute a study guide beforehand, with class time set aside for review.
Research Paper (25 points). You have two options for the research paper. Option 1 would be a critical examination, of one of the following books: Eugene Zamiatin’s We (1924), Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World (1932), Kurt Vonnegut’s Player
Piano (1952), or Walter M. Miller’s A Canticle for Leibowitz (1959). Option 2 would be a critical examination of two of the better noir (dark) films of either Fritz Lang or Robert Siodmak, two important German filmmakers of the 1930s and 1940s.
You will be graded on the quality of your argument and the quality of your writing. Length: 12 pages, or about 3500 words.
Additional requirements will follow in a separate handout.
Class Participation (10 points). Class time will be split between lecture and as much discussion as possible for a class this size.
I expect all students to attend every class. If you cannot attend, please let me know in advance. I will expect a good reason (see course policies below). At the end of the semester I will make a discretionary assessment of each student’s contribution to the class. In doing so I look for evidence that the student has read the assigned material, and on that basis has actively participated in discussions. Asking good questions, or otherwise indicating that you are perplexed by an idea or argument, is a real contribution. The sheer quantity of verbiage is of no consequence. In fact, if I have to cut you off or otherwise curtail your remarks, it means you are not doing it right. Around midterm I will distribute informal feedback on how well you are doing.
Please feel free, however, to ask me about the quality of your class participation at any point in the semester.
COURSE POLICIES:
1. Electronic Devices. I do not permit students to use any electronic devices in class, period.
It is not good manners to stare down at an electronic machine while someone is talking, and since I care about manners I find the practice distracting. I take my job seriously, and teaching is difficult enough without having to deal with this - so please don’t do it. Besides, I fail to see the benefit of computers
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in class, not to mention cell phones. Pens, paper, and books have been the tools used in higher education for the past 4500 years of
Western civilization. These tools are still not broken, so there is no need to fix them.
2. Canvas. I do not use the “Canvas” system for any purpose, so please do not waste your time looking there for assignments or grades. The system is superfluous and needlessly complicates things for both student and professor. In my view it is just further evidence of our ever-increasing and mindless cultural fascination with technology.
3. Absences. Generally speaking, the only legitimate reasons for missing class, an exam, or a due date are illness, death in the family, or some out of town university-related responsibility. In any case, appropriate documentation will be required to verify the legitimacy of any excuse. According to college policy, work/employment responsibilities are generally not acceptable.
4. Late Assignment Policy. Any assignment received after class ends on the due date will be considered late, and will be penalized one point. If the assignment is not turned in until the next day, it is penalized another point, and so on. Late work should not be slid under my door. If you are handing something in late you should either give it to me personally, or have a member of the government department office staff initial and date it and place it in my mailbox. If there is no initialized date I will consider the assignment handed in on the day I find it hidden beneath all the other junk people put on, around, and under my office door. Keep in mind that the failure of an electronic device, no matter what the cause, is not an acceptable excuse for lateness (the good news is that I do accept hand written assignments, provided that the penmanship is impeccable). One thing you will learn about me this semester is that there is surprisingly little about our technological society that I am willing to tolerate with grace. Speaking of which: all written assignments must be submitted on hard copy (i.e., no electronic submissions will be accepted).
5. Academic Misconduct. I take cheating seriously. I expect all work submitted by a student to be his own. When a student submits work purporting to be his own, but which borrows ideas or wording from another source without appropriate acknowledgment of the fact, the student is open to a charge of academic misconduct. The university policy on student misconduct is found here: http://deanofstudents.nmsu.edu/student-handbook/1-student-code-of-conduct/3-academic-misconduct.html
. Students may discuss assignments among themselves or with an instructor or tutor, but when the actual work is done, the student and the student alone must do it. Of course, copying answers from another student’s exam also constitutes academic misconduct. Penalties can range from failing the entire course to suspension from the university, depending upon the severity of the infraction. Guidelines on plagiarism, including how to prevent it, are available here: http://lib.nmsu.edu/plagiarism/ . It is easier than you think for professors to catch students at this, and it happens more often than you might assume.
COURSE SCHEDULE:
The course schedule below is a calendar-based list of topics to be studied, as well as the reading assignment for each weekly topic.
The schedule is subject to change due to unforeseen circumstances, which usually means spending too much time on a topic or instructor illness. In such cases, keep up with the reading – I eventually will catch up. Keep in mind that the reading assignment is to be completed before the class period listed.
I. Introduction
A. The Discipline of Political Theory (Jan. 26 – no reading assignment)
B. 20 th Century Political Thought in Historical Context (Jan. 28 – no reading assignment)
II. The Crisis of Modernity
A. The Nietzschean Prophecy
Reading: Nietzsche,
Nietzsche,
Twilight of the Idols,
Twilight of the Idols pp. 5-36 (Feb. 2)
, pp. 43-75 (Feb. 4)
Vocabulary Test: Tuesday Feb. 9
B. Totalitarianism in Theory and Practice
Reading: *Adolph Hitler, Mein Kampf selections (Feb. 11)
*Fritz Stern, “The Idealism of Antimodernity” (Feb. 11)
*Stern, “The Germanic Religion” (Feb. 16)
C. Democratism In Theory and Practice
1. Introduction: The Industrial Revolution and the Progressive Movement (Feb. 23; no reading assignment)
2. Woodrow Wilson’s Political Thought
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Reading: Wilson,
Wilson,
The New Freedom
The New Freedom
, chapter 1 (Feb. 25)
, chapters 2 and 3 (March 1)
Midterm Exam Review: Tuesday March 8
Midterm Exam: Thursday March 10
MARCH 14-18: SPRING BREAK
III. Prospects for Convalescence
A. Democratism and the Expansive Individual
Reading: Irving Babbitt, Democracy and Leadership
, “Introduction” (Mar. 22)
Babbitt, Democracy and Leadership , Chapter 2, “Rousseau and the Idyllic Imagination” (Mar. 24)
Babbitt, Democracy and Leadership , Chapter 4, “Democracy and Imperialism” (Mar. 29)
Babbitt, Democracy and Leadership , Chapter 7 “Democracy and Standards” (Mar. 31)
B. The Problem of Community
Reading: Nisbet, The Quest for Community (reading assignments April 7-26; required chapters TBA)
C. Community Reimagined
Reading: Berry, Hannah Coulter , Parts 1 and 2 (April 28)
Berry, Hannah Coulter , Part 3 (May 3)
Final Exam Review: Thursday May 5
Final Exam: Tuesday May 10, 10:30 AM – 12:30 PM
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