Political Animals
Political Science 20516
University of Chicago
Spring 2013
Course Meetings: T/T 10:30-11:50, Rosenwald 432
Office Hours: Tues. 1:00-3:30, Pick 428
Instructor: Rebecca Ploof
Email: ploof@uchicago.edu
I. Course Overview
Politics has long been considered a uniquely human enterprise, and yet the history of political
thought is rich in animal imagery. What, then, is the rhetorical function and political import of
the figure of the animal? Why does political philosophy – in articulating concepts of humanity
and politics – draw so frequently upon apolitical animal figures?
This course offers an alternative reading of the history of political thought by focusing on the
significance of animal imagery, and attendant modes of figurative language, in the history of
political-theoretical writing. In so doing, the course focuses on the figure of the animal in
connection with four themes: 1) sovereignty and tyranny 2) political education and citizenship 3)
the origins of political society and 4) structures of political economy. Deeply embedded in each
of these topics are issues of language and form. Accordingly, the course also raises questions
about the political implications of literary devices (such as anthropomorphization and metaphor)
and forms (such as fable and myth).
II. Requirements and Policies
Requirements and Grade Distribution
1. First paper (30%):
 Approx. 5-7 pages in length, in response to one of a selection of provided topics
 For this assignment you will need to write an essay with a clear thesis, marshal
textual evidence to support this thesis, and respond to anticipated objections to
your argument.
2. Second paper (40%):
 Approx. 8-10 pages in length either a) in response to one of a selection of
provided topics or b) on a topic designed in consultation with the instructor
 As with the first paper, this assignment will take the form of an interpretive essay.
As the culminating project for the course, essay topics for this assignment should
address a handful of the texts we’ve read over the quarter.
3. Attendance and participation (30%):
 Because this is a discussion-based class, attendance and active participation are
crucial. You are expected to come to each class prepared to discuss the
assigned reading. Students with more than two unexcused absences (i.e. not due
to illness or emergency) will be assumed to have withdrawn from the course.

In order to facilitate active in-class participation, once a week you will be required
to post a brief response to the reading on the Chalk discussion board. This can
be a specific question about the reading, a criticism of a particular concept raised
by the text, a connection drawn between readings, etc. Responses should be
posted by midnight the evening before the class in which the text will be
discussed. If your last name begins with a letter A-K, you will post prior to
Tuesday’s class. If your last name begins with a letter L-Z, you will do so prior to
Thursday’s class.
Late Paper Policy
Late papers will be penalized by 1/3 of a letter grade per day (e.g. an A- paper handed in a day
late becomes a B+). However, at your discretion, you may take a 24-hour extension for one of
the papers, no questions asked. If you are using your extension, please indicate this on the first
page of your paper.
Plagiarism
Plagiarism is unacceptable and may result in penalties up to and including failure of the course
and referral to the university for disciplinary action. Although writing assignments for this
course will not require you to draw on secondary literature, should you choose to do so, you
must acknowledge and cite such sources. For the university’s policy on academic honesty, see:
https://studentmanual.sites.uchicago.edu/Policies. For help citing sources, see:
http://guides.lib.uchicago.edu/cite.
Electronics
With the exception of 4/18, 4/23, and 5/30 – for which sessions the primary reading will be
posted on Chalk – laptops are not allowed in class. Please note that this means you will
periodically need to print out secondary readings from Chalk. Under no circumstances should
cell phones be used in class.
III. Required Texts
The following texts are available for purchase at the Seminary Co-Op Bookstore. You are
expected to come to class with the text we are discussing. Please use the editions listed.
Aesop, Aesop’s Fables (Oxford)
Aristotle, Politics (Hackett)
Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan (Hackett)
John Locke, Two Treatises of Government (Cambridge)
Bernard Mandeville, The Fable of the Bees and Other Writings (Hackett)
Plato, The Republic (Basic Books)
Jean-Jacques Rousseau, The Discourses and Other Early Political Writings (Cambridge)
IV. Schedule of Readings
Tuesday, April 2:
Introduction to the course
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Thursday, April 4:
Tyrannical Wolves
1) Plato. The Republic, Books I-II
2) Detienne. “Between Beasts and Gods,” Myth, religion and
society, p. 215-228 [Chalk]
Tuesday, April 9:
Loyal Dogs
Plato. The Republic, Books III-V
Thursday, April 11:
Man, the Political Animal
Aristotle. Politics, Books I and III
Tuesday, April 16:
Of Fable, I
1) Aristotle. Rhetoric, Book II Ch. 18-20 [Chalk]
2) Aesop. Fables, Introduction p. ix-xx, Aesop the Popular
Favorite p. 3-4, The Fables p. 5-23, 85-104, 158-161, and 166-174
Thursday, April 18:
Of Fable, II
1) Dubois. “Aesop the Fabulist” and “On Aristotle,” Slaves and
Other Objects, p. 170-188 and 189-205 [Chalk]
2) Kurke. “Aesop as Sage,” “Sophistic Fable in Plato,” and “Aesop
in Plato’s Sōkratikoi Logoi,” Aesopic Conversations, p. 125-158,
301-324, and 325-360 [Chalk]
Tuesday, April 23:
Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My
1) Pastoureau. “King of the Beasts,” and “The Coronation of the
Lion,” The Bear: History of a Fallen King, p. 34-59 and 135-155
[Chalk]
2) Machiavelli. The Prince, Ch. XV-XIX [Chalk]
3) Derrida. “Third Session,” The Beast and the Sovereign Vol. I, p.
82-91 [Chalk]
Thursday, April 25:
The Artificial Man and the Sea Monster
Hobbes. Leviathan, Introduction and Ch. I-IX
Tuesday, April 30:
“Animals in General” and “Men in Special,” I
Hobbes. Leviathan, Ch. X-XV
Thursday, May 2:
“Animals in General” and “Men in Special,” II
1) Hobbes. Leviathan, Ch. XVI-XXI
2) Derrida. “Second Session,” The Beast and the Sovereign Vol. I,
p. 39-62 [Chalk]
First paper due 5/3
Tuesday, May 7:
Man, the Laboring Animal I
Locke. “The Second Treatise,” Ch. I-VII, Two Treatises of
Government, p. 267-330
Thursday, May 9:
Man, the Laboring Animal II
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Locke. “The Second Treatise,” Ch. VIII-XVI, Two Treatises of
Government, p. 330-397
Tuesday, May 14:
Growing Up, and Out of the State of Nature
1) Locke. “The Second Treatise,” Ch. XVII-XIX, Two Treatises of
Government, p. 397-428
2) Rogin. “Liberal Society and the Indian Question,” Ronald
Regan, the Movie, p. 134-168 [Chalk]
Thursday, May 16:
Industrious Bees
Mandeville. “Selections from The Fable of the Bees,” The
Fable of the Bees and Other Writings, p. 19-73
Tuesday, May 21:
For the Good of the Hive
Mandeville. “Selections from The Fable of the Bees,” The
Fable of the Bees and Other Writings, p.73-107 and 130-148
Thursday, May 23:
The Problem of Becoming Human, I
Rousseau. “Discourse on the Origin and Foundations of Inequality
Among Men,” Epistle Dedicatory, Preface, Exordium and Part I
(including endnotes), The Discourses and Other Early Political
Writings, p. 112-160
Tuesday, May 28:
The Problem of Becoming Human, II
1) Rousseau. “Discourse on the Origin and Foundations
of Inequality Among Men” Part II (including endnotes), The
Discourses and Other Early Political Writings, p.161-188
2) Derrida. “First Session,” The Beast and the Sovereign Vol. II,
p. 1-30 [Chalk]
Thursday, May 30:
The Crow and the Fox
1) La Fontaine. The Fables, selections [Chalk]
2) Rousseau. Emile, selections from Books I and II, p. 37-47 and
77-119 [Chalk]
Tuesday, June 4:
Man, the Gregarious Animal
Rousseau. “Essay on the Origin of Languages,” The Discourses
and Other Early Political Writings, p. 247-29
Second paper due 6/11
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