Contemporary Political Theory
POT 3064 (Spring 2013)
DM 110
M,W,F 1-150pm
Joaquin A. Pedroso
Office Hours: Mondays, 12-1250pm
Bookstore Café (that’s right, no “office” for me)
Jpedr002@fiu.edu
Course Description
The idea of freedom has pervaded social, cultural, and political discourse since
antiquity. It has been conceived in terms the political, economic, social, cultural, sexual,
religious and metaphysical. This course will explore major contemporary theorists of
freedom (political and otherwise). We will study how key contemporary thinkers have
conceived political, economic, metaphysical, sexual, religious and social freedom as well
as examine the ideological and philosophical underpinnings of these contributions to
contemporary scholarship.
Course Mechanics
This is an advanced undergraduate course in political theory/philosophy. We will
be delving into abstract theoretical and philosophical issues that require sustained
engagement with the texts (this may require reading hundreds of pages every week) and
active participation in class. Students will be evaluated on a midterm paper (7-8 page)
due March 8th (worth 30% of the final grade), a final paper (12-15 page) due April 15th
(worth 60% of the final grade) and daily participation in class (worth 10% of the final
grade).
Academic Misconduct
College students often misunderstand the point of an education. Academic
integrity and doing your own work is often times seen as an occupational hazard in a
student’s endeavor to score an “A” rather than integral to the purpose of education. By
doing our own work rather than relying on the work of others we cultivate valuable
research skills and learn how to better think and express ourselves. Plagiarism and
academic misconduct are counter-productive to this endeavor.
All of the following are considered plagiarism:
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Turning in someone else’s work as your own.
Copying words or ideas from someone else without giving credit.
Failing to put someone else’s words in quotation marks.
Giving incorrect information about the source of a quotation.
Changing words, but copying the sentence structure of a source without giving
credit.
Copying so many words or ideas from a source that it makes up the majority of
your work, whether you give credit or not.
These descriptions were taken from http://online.fiu.edu/faculty/resources/plagiarism
(accessed 06/11/2012)
For a more detailed explanation of academic misconduct and its consequences please see
http://undergrad.fiu.edu/academic_misconduct/index.html.
Required Papers
Paper topics are to be distributed at a later date. First Paper due Friday, March 8th.
Final Paper due Monday, April 15th.
These papers are supposed to be analytic papers and NOT opinion pieces or book
reviews. You are not simply to summarize readings or give your opinion about the
readings but rather to provide an argument and take a position. The student should be
sure to provide a clear, concise, and coherent argument for the position they take and not
engage in demagoguery or political activist grandstanding. The reader will not care about
the student’s political views or which positions s/he takes, but rather how well that
position is argued. Finally, all papers should cite properly. APA or Chicago style is
usually appropriate for the humanities and social sciences but any recognized style will
do.
Required Books
All required texts are available at the University Bookstore. All recommended texts are
easily available online (Amazon, EBay, etc.) and in your local bookstore (though not
necessarily in the University Bookstore) or the library.
Jean Paul Sartre, Existentialism is a Humanism. ISBN#: 978-0-300-11546-8
Albert Camus, The Rebel. ISBN#: 0-679-73384-1
Herbert Marcuse, An Essay on Liberation. ISBN#: 0-8070-0595-9
Michel Foucault, Discipline and Punish. ISBN#: 978-0-679-75255-4
----------, History of Sexuality, vol. 1. ISBN#: 978-0-679-72469-8
Mary Daly, Beyond God the Father. ISBN#: 978-0-8070-1503-2
Saul Newman, The Politics of Postanarchism. ISBN#: 978-0-7486-3496-5
Schedule
Week 1 (Jan7-11)
M: Introduction
W: Political Freedom: Negative and Positive Liberty
Sartre, introduction
F: Metaphysical and Existential Freedom
Sartre, pp. 1-72
Week 2 (Jan14-18)
M: Metaphysical and Existential Freedom cont.
Sartre, finish.
W: Metaphysical and Existential Freedom cont.
Camus, introduction
F: Metaphysical and Existential Freedom cont.
Camus, Ch1.
Week 3 (Jan21-25)
M: No Class (Martin Luther King Jr. Day)
W: Metaphysical and Existential Freedom cont.
Camus, Ch2-3
F: Metaphysical and Existential Freedom cont.
Camus, Ch4
Week 4 (Jan28-Feb1)
M: Metaphysical and Existential Freedom cont.
Camus, Ch5
W: Social and Political Freedom
Marcuse, introduction
F: Social and Political Freedom cont.
Marcuse, all
Week 5 (Feb 4-8)
M: Social and Political Freedom cont.
Marcuse, finish
W: Social and Political Freedom cont.
F: Social and Political Freedom cont.
Week 6 (Feb 11-15)
M: Power, Discipline, and Freedom
Foucault, Discipline and Punish, pp. 3-131
W: Power, Discipline, and Freedom cont.
Foucault, Discipline and Punish, pp. 135-169
F: Power, Discipline, and Freedom cont.
Foucault, Discipline and Punish, pp. 170-194
Week 7 (Feb 18-22)
M: Power, Discipline, and Freedom cont.
Foucault, Discipline and Punish, pp. 195-308
W: Freedom and Sexuality
Foucault, History of Sexuality, pp. 1-14
F: Freedom and Sexuality
Foucault, History of Sexuality, pp. 15-50
Week 8 (Feb 25-Mar 1)
M: Freedom and Sexuality
Foucault, History of Sexuality, pp. 51-74
W: Freedom and Sexuality
Foucault, History of Sexuality, pp. 75-132
F: Freedom and Sexuality
Foucault, History of Sexuality, pp. 133-160
Week 9 (Mar 4-8)
M: Religion (Christianity in this case), Sexuality, and Freedom
Daly, introduction
W: Religion, Sexuality, and Freedom cont.
Daly, Ch1
F: Religion, Sexuality, and Freedom cont.
Daly, Ch2
First Paper Due (Friday, March 8)
Week 10 (Mar 11-15)
M, W, F: No Class (Spring Break)
I recommend getting through as much of Daly as possible!
Week 11 (Mar 18-22)
M: Religion, Sexuality, and Freedom cont.
Daly, Ch2-3
W: Religion, Sexuality, and Freedom cont.
Daly, Ch3-4
F: Religion, Sexuality, and Freedom cont.
Daly, Ch4-5
Week 12 (Mar 25-29)
M: Religion, Sexuality, and Freedom cont.
Daly, Ch6-7
W: Freedom and Authority: A Consideration of Anarchism
Newman, introduction, Ch1
F: Freedom and Authority cont.
Newman, Ch2-3
Week 13 (Apr 1-5)
M: Freedom and Authority cont.
Newman, Ch3-4
W: Freedom and Authority cont.
Newman, Ch5-6
F: Freedom and Authority cont.
Week 14 (Apr 8-12)
M: Open Discussion
W: No Class (work on your papers!)
F: No Class (work on your papers!)
Week 15 (April 15-19)
M: Final Papers Due (Monday, April 15)