Zirve University
Department of Political Science and Public Administration
POLS 206-Modern Political Thought
Spring 2014
Instructor:
Dr. Alper Y. DEDE
Class Hours: MON: 1:00-3:50 at 304 in The Rectorate Building
Office/Phone: The Rectorate Building, Room 412, Phone: 211-6666/6836
Office Hours: MON: 12:00-1:00, and WED: 1:00-2:00 & by appointment
E-mail:
alper.dede@zirve.edu.tr
Class website: http://wiki.zirve.edu.tr/groups/economicsandadministrativesciences/
(Please click the POLS 206 link on the page)
Course Description:
This course will provide an overview of major figures and themes of modern political thought. The course will
provide a more detailed study of major figures in the modern canon from the 17th to 19th centuries, reading
significant selections from several of their most important works. This course introduces the students to some
important authors in the history of political thought, including on those whose works have underpin the rise
of liberalism in the eighteenth and nineteenth century. The authors are Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau,
Montesquieu, and John Stuart Mill. Additionally, selected works of Kant, Hegel, Nietzsche and Marx will be
included.
In the process, we will explore more general themes and questions pertinent to political thought in the
modern era, particularly focusing on the relationship of the individual to community, society, and state.
Although the emergence of the individual as a central moral, political, and conceptual category arguably
began in earlier eras, it is in the seventeenth century that it takes firm hold in defining the state, political
institutions, moral thinking, and social relations. The centrality of "the individual" has created difficulties for
community and social relations, and political theorists have struggled to reconcile those throughout the
modern era. We will consider the political forms that emerged out of those struggles, as well as the changed
and distinctly "modern" conceptualizations of political thought concepts such as freedom, responsibility,
justice, rights and obligation, as central categories for organizing moral and political life.
In this course we will explore and discuss ancient and modern responses to questions such as: What is the
relationship between philosophy and politics? What are the qualities of a good citizen? What is a political
regime? Which is the best political regime? Who should rule? What are the qualities of a good ruler? What is
the nature of man and how does this influence the arrangement of government? What is liberty? What is
justice? What is the nature of private property? What is the relationship between history and politics? Can
violence, hostility, and war be eliminated from history and politics? In answering these questions we will
understand the differences between ancient and modern political philosophy. We will also understand how
modern political philosophers differed from each other in the way they theorized about politics and its
relationship with moral, socio-economic, and cultural aspects.
Course Objectives:
This course has the following main objectives:
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To familiarize students with both concepts of political thoughts and political thinkers.
To help students gain an insight on different assumptions and ideas concerning the nature of politics.
To understand what political philosophy is, what are its main concerns, and its manner of answering them.
To grasp the foundations of Western political philosophy.
To learn about the specific concerns and ideas of modern political philosophy.
To understand the differences (and the similarities) between ancient and modern political philosophy.
To know the differences between modern approaches to politics.
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8) To comprehend diverse modern arguments about the nature of man, the nature of government, the role
and limits of political power, and about the relationship between socio-economic and political factors.
9) To become better readers, thinkers, speakers, and writers.
Required Texts (in alphabetical order):
Selected sections from the following books will constitute the class readings. These readings will be available
at the course website in PDF format before the classes.
Hegel, G.W.F. Elements of the Philosophy of Right and The Essential Writings.
Hobbes, Thomas. Leviathan.
Kant, Immanuel. Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals and Political Writings.
Locke, John. Two Treatises of Government.
Marx, Karl and Friedrich Engels. The Marx-Engels Reader.
Mill, John Stuart. On Liberty and Other Essays.
Montesquieu, Baron de. The Spirit of the Laws.
Nietzsche, Friedrich. The Genealogy of Morality.
Rousseau, Jean Jacques. Basic Political Writings, On the Social Contract and The First and Second Discourses.
Course Requirements:
Students are expected to attend classes on a regular basis and participate in class discussions. All students
must take the required exams and complete the projects on time; they also must read the assigned texts
before coming to class for a thoughtful class discussion.
Announcements and the Class Website
This syllabus is a contract between the instructor and students. Once a student enrolls for this class and
receives the syllabus from the instructor during the first week of classes (or once it is published at the class
website), this contract is mutually accepted by both parties. You should regularly consult an updated copy of
the class schedule and announcements at the class website at the following link:
http://wiki.zirve.edu.tr/groups/economicsandadministrativesciences/
You will see many announcements such as the required readings, assignments, paper topics, course outlines,
review sheets and exam grades. Please check it regularly when you are preparing for each class. Because it is
too difficult for me to send email to each one of you and keep track of everyone’s email address,
announcements regarding class, changes to my offices hours, campus speakers, midterm, paper or final
grades, etc., will be posted at the class website. It is crucial that you check the class website regularly (a few
times a week). Please do not hesitate and feel free to contact me via email or by visiting me at my office with
questions about the readings, assignments, and so forth. Please notify me in advance if you have a
documented disability that requires accommodation.
Readings
I expect all the students to do the assigned readings for that day before they come to class, and to participate
actively in class discussion. You are strongly encouraged to have discussions in the class about the subject
therefore, I do not intend to only lecture for the full class period. You will get more out of class and it will be
more interesting for all of us, if you are an active listener (both to me and your classmates) and thoughtful
and respectful discussion participant, rather than a passive attendee. You are expected to act civilly and
respectfully towards your classmates and me, and to respond to others’ comments in an intellectual and
courteous manner and without hostility, even when you disagree (which may often be the case). In addition,
you are expected to keep your comments succinct in order to allow other students the opportunity to express
their views also. Furthermore, you are expected to ask questions whenever you do not understand something
from the readings or something I or your classmates say in class. When you do the assigned readings, you
should do more than just reading the material, you should also reflect on it and take a few notes on the main
arguments and concepts/terms employed by the author(s).
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Attendance
Attendance is not required, however regular attendance is strongly advised, and if you have to miss class, you
are responsible for finding out from a classmate what you missed and for getting copies of any class handouts.
Depending upon the class, an important amount of the material covered in class may not be discussed in the
textbook. You are therefore strongly encouraged to take good notes during class, and share your notes.
You are responsible for arriving to class a few minutes early and not disturbing the class discussion by entering
the class after the instructor. The instructor reserves the right to deny any student from entering the class
after the lecture has started.
Policies and Procedures
You are responsible for making yourself aware of and understanding the policies and procedures in the Zirve
University Undergraduate Catalog that pertain to Academic Integrity. These policies include cheating,
fabrication, falsification and forgery, multiple submission, plagiarism, complicity and computer misuse (Please
see the plagiarism note on the FEAS website at http://iibf.zirve.edu.tr/). Please consult with me if you are not
totally certain about an issue of academic honesty before submitting an assignment. Please notify me if you
have a documented disability or excuse that may affect your class performance, impedes you from attending
or requires accommodation so that appropriate arrangements can be made.
To avoid disrupting class discussion, please turn off any cell phones and beepers before you come into class,
arrive on time, and refrain from chatting with your neighbors and from eating anything in a noisy wrapper.
Eating and drinking is ok within the acceptable limits, however please refrain from anything that would
disrupt our classes.
A note on laptop and cell phone use:
Laptop and cell phone use in class is not permitted for any reason. If you want to take notes with your laptop
it is not possible for this class, please take notes the traditional style: use a pen and a notebook. Please turn
off your cell phones before entering class and refrain from using them during class. Violators of this policy will
be asked to leave class and upon repetition of the same behavior, punitive action will be taken.
Exams and Grades:
There will be one midterm exam and a final exam (50% each). Exams may be comprehensive based on the
materials covered by the instructor. There will be no extra credit assignments given to students on an
individual basis. I am not planning to make a curve unless the class average falls below C (i.e. 10 points or
more).
Grading Scale:
Zirve University`s grading scale will be used in this course:
Letter Grade Percentage
A
4.00 95-100
A3.70 90-94
B+
3.30 85-89
B
3.00 80-84
B2.70 75-79
Letter Grade Percentage
C+
2.30 70-74
C
2.00 65-69
C1.70 60-64
D+
1.30 55-59
D
1.00 50-54
F
0.00 0-49
Make-up Exam Policy:
Make-up exams will be given for documented excuses only; in such cases, you must notify me in advance of
the exam and make arrangements to take the make-up exam sometime else. If there is an emergency
situation, it also has to be documented, like a hospitalization record, or an accident report. The hospitalization
record must also be approved by the FEAS Dean’s Office of Zirve University.
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Tentative Class Schedule:
Week 1 (Feb. 10)
Review of Course Policies and Requirements
Introduction: What is Modern Political Thought?
Week 2 (Feb. 17)
Baron de Montesquieu: Political Liberties, Constitution, Separation of Powers
Week 3 (Feb. 24)
Thomas Hobbes: State of Nature, Natural Law and Natural Rights, Rights of the Sovereign, Social
Contract, Conditions of Commonwealth
Week 4 (Mar. 3)
John Locke: State of Nature, Freedom and Equality, Property, Consent
Week 5 (Mar. 10)
John Stuart Mill: Liberty, Utilitarianism, Representative Government
Week 6 (Mar. 17)
Jean Jacques Rousseau: Social Contract, General Will, Government, Civil Society
Week 7 (Mar. 24)
Immanuel Kant: Natural and Moral Man in History, Cosmopolitanism and Perpetual Peace, Rights,
Categorical Imperative, Moral Philosophy, The Rechtsstaat
Week 8 (Mar. 31) – Midterm Week, No Class
MIDTERM: Monday, March 31st
Week 9 (Apr. 7)
G.W.F. Hegel: Freedom, State, Progress, Civil Society, Philosophy of Right
Week 10 (Apr. 14)
Karl Marx: Historical Materialism, Dialectical Materialism, Labor, Private Property, Value, Class
Consciousness, Working Class, Alienation
Week 11 (Apr. 21)
Karl Marx: The Communist Manifesto, Revolution, Socialism and Communism.
Week 12 (Apr. 28)
Friedrich Nietzsche: Genealogy of Morality, Nihilism,
Week 13 (May. 5)
Friedrich Nietzsche: Will to Power, The Übermensch, Eternal Return
Week 14 (May 12)
Semester Review
FINAL EXAM WEEK: May 20th – May 30th
Final exam date and time will be announced at the FEAS website.