Professor John Zumbrunnen
Office: 322D North Hall
Political Science 566: Contemporary American Political Thought
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Spring 2010
Office Phone: 262-5701
E-mail: zumbrunnen@wisc.edu
Teaching Assistant
Office
Office Hours:
Tuesday & Thursday 10-11:30
& by appointment
Office Hours:
Office Phone:
E-mail:
Course Description:
This course considers central themes and controversies in American political thinking during the 20 th and early 21 st centuries.
Topics include the development of liberalism from the Progressive Era to the New Deal to the Great Society and beyond; the emergence of new strands of conservatism after World War II and the tensions between those strands; challenges by excluded and marginalized groups to the traditional social and political order; the revival of concerns about “community” in America; and the place of the United States in world affairs, particularly in the early 21 st century. As a topic of study, “American Political
Thought” combines philosophy, political theory, history, and practical politics. We will thus read a wide variety of texts, ranging from philosophical treatises to newspaper articles, from presidential addresses to works of social science. Our ultimate goal is to become more knowledgeable and more critical students of the American political experience.
Course Materials:
The following books are available for purchase at the University Bookstore. Because we will be directing close attention to specific passages as part of our classroom work, and because paper assignments will require close readings and often quotations of individual works, it is important that you buy the editions listed. When in doubt, check the ISBN number.
Bellah, Habits of the Heart, California, ISBN: 0520254198
Croly, The Promise of American Life, Ingram, ISBN: 97815599865973
Friedan, The Feminine Mystique, The Feminine Mystique, W. W. Norton, 2001; ISBN: 0393322576
Kramnick and Lowi, American Political Thought: A Norton Anthology, Norton; ISBN: 0393928861
Meyer, In Defense of Freedom and Other Essays, Liberty Fund; ISBN: 0865971400
Mills, The Power Elite, Oxford, ISBN: 9780195133544
Rawls, Justice as Fairness: A Restatement, Belknap, ISBN: 9780674005112
I will also from time to time distribute additional readings in class, make them available by electronic reserve, or direct you to them on the web.

Course Requirements, Assignments & Grading
My lectures and our discussions will explore the assigned readings in considerable depth and will often focus upon specific passages. Given this, it is absolutely essential that you complete the assigned readings before class and come to class ready to think about them. It is also important that you bring the relevant text(s) with you to class each day.
Regular attendance at lecture is crucial to success on the papers and examinations. Regular attendance at discussion sections is mandatory. As indicated below, attendance and participation in discussion sections will form part of your course grade.
The teaching assistant will take attendance at each section meeting. Discussion in the sections will focus on particularly important passages from the week’s readings and on your own questions about the course material.
There will be two examinations and two short papers. The examinations will consist of short answer and essay items. The final examination will include questions asking you to draw on material from throughout the term. The two papers will focus on questions regarding one or more of the assigned readings. You may not draw upon any outside sources for the papers.
Course grades will be calculated approximately as follows, though I reserve the right to change assignments and weightings as I deem necessary:
Examination #1
Final Examination
Paper #1
Paper #2
Section Attendance & Participation
25%
30%
15%
15%
15%
PLEASE NOTE THE FOLLOWING POLICIES:
● You must complete all assignments to pass the course.
● Examinations must be taken on the dates listed on the following course schedule. I will allow make-up examinations only for the most compelling reasons (not to include, for example: travel plans, heavy work load in other courses, procrastination, laziness)
● Papers must be turned in at the beginning of class on the due date. Late papers will be penalized one letter grade (e.g. A to
B, AB to BC) for each day they are late.
● We will not accept papers turned in via e-mail. You must submit printed copies.
● Neither I nor the teaching assistant will discuss grades on examinations or papers for 24 hours after they have been returned.
If, after 24 hours’ reflection, you have a concern about a grade, please approach your teaching assistant with a brief written explanation of your concern. Any concerns about grading must be raised with the teaching assistant no later than two weeks after the assignment has been returned. Note, too, that I consider the teaching assistant’s decisions on examination and paper grades to be final.
● Any instances of plagiarism or academic dishonesty will be dealt with in full accordance with University policy and will result in a grade of “F” for the course.

PRELIMINARY COURSE READING SCHEDULE
**Except when noted, all readings are from Kramnick and Lowi, American Political Thought**
T Jan 19 Introduction to Course
The Progressive Era
R Jan 21 Upton Sinclair, “The Jungle,” pp. 993-1000
Croly, Promise of American Life, Chapters 1-2, 4
T Jan 26
R Jan 28
T Feb 2
Croly, Promise of American Life, Chapters 5, 7-8
Croly, Promise of American Life, Chapters 9-10, 13
Charles A. Beard, “The Economic Basis of Politics,” pp. 1017-1023
Theodore Roosevelt, “New Nationalism,” pp. 1086-1094
Louis D. Brandeis, “The Living Law” and “Industrial Absolutism and Democracy,” 1099-1101
Woodrow Wilson, “The New Freedom,” pp. 1102-1114
R Feb 4 Frederick Douglass, “What are the Colored People Doing for Themselves?” “Lectures on Slavery,” and “What to the
Slave is the Fourth of July?” pp. 588-597
Booker T. Washington, “Atlanta Exposition Address,” pp. 946-949
W. E. B. Du Bois, “The Souls of Black Folk,” “The Talented Tenth,” and “The Immediate Program of the American
Negro,”pp. 950-973
Marcus Garvey, “The True Solution of the Negro Problem,” pp. 974-979
Hiram W. Evans, “The Klan’s Fight for Americanism,” pp. 980-984
From the Progressive Era to the New Deal
T Feb 9 Walter Lippman, “Public Opinion” and “Planning in an Economy of Abundance,” pp. 1058-1064 & 1206-1210
John Dewey, “The Influence of Darwin on Philosophy,” “The Public and Its Problems,” and “Liberalism and Social
Action,” pp. 1030-1051 & 1156-1163
Franklin Delano Roosevelt, all selections, pp. 1164-1190
After The New Deal: Post-War Thought, Right and Left
R Feb 11 Meyer, In Defense of Freedom pp. xi-xxiii & 33-76
T Feb 16
R Feb 18
Meyer, In Defense of Freedom, pp. 77-128
Meyer, In Defense of Freedom, pp. 1128-151 & 187-205
Barry Goldwater, “The Conscience of a Conservative,” pp. 1256-1263
Young Americans for Freedom, “The Sharon Statement,” pp. 1281-1282
T Feb 23
R Feb 25
T Mar 2
Reinhold Neibuhr, “The Children of Light and the Children of Darkness,” pp. 1211-1216
George Kennan, “The Sources of Soviet Conduct,” pp. 1217-1221
Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., “What is Loyalty? A Difficult Question,” pp. 1222-1237
Whittaker Chambers, “Witness,” pp. 1231-1235
PAPER #1 Due
Daniel Bell, “The End of Ideology,” pp. 1277-1281
Robert A. Dahl, “Who Governs?” pp. 1282-1289
Mills, The Power Elite, Chapters 1 & 2
Mills, The Power Elite, Chapters 6, 7, 10
R Mar 4 Mills, The Power Elite, Chapters 11, 12, 13
T Mar 9 EXAMINATION 1

The 1960s
R Mar 11
T Mar 16
R Mar 18
T Mar 23
Friedan, The Feminine Mystique, Chapters 1-3
Friedan, The Feminine Mystique, Chapters 5, 7
Friedan, The Feminine Mystique, Chapters 10, 13
R Mar 25
SPRING BREAK
Friedan, The Feminine Mystique, Chapter 14, “Metamorphosis: Two Generations Later”
National Organization for Women, “Bill of Rights” & “Redstockings Manifesto,” pp. 1350-1352
Phyllis Schlafly, “The Power of the Positive Woman,” pp. 1404-1410
Martin Luther King, Jr., “The Power of Nonviolence,” “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” “I Have a Dream,” pp. 1305-1320
Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, “Statement of Purpose,” p. 1321
Malcolm X, “The Ballot or the Bullet,” 1322-1227
Bayard Rustin, “From Protest to Politics,” pp. 1328-1338
Stokely Carmichael, “Toward Black Liberation,” pp. 1339-1343
Thurgood Marshall, “The Constitution’s Bicentennial,” pp. 1433-1437
Cornell West, “Race Matters,” pp. 1471-1476
Rethinking Liberalism
T Apr 6
R Apr 8
T Apr 13
Rawls, Justice as Fairness, Part 1
Rawls, Justice as Fairness, Part 2
Rawls, Justice as Fairness, Part 4
Reacting to Rawls
R Apr 15 Robert Bellah, et. al., Habits of the Heart, pp. 3-51
Paper #2 Due
T Apr 20
R Apr 22
Robert Bellah, et. al., Habits of the Heart, 55-84 & 113-141
Robert Bellah, et.al., Habits of the Heart, pp. 196-249
T Apr 27 Robert Bellah, et. al., Habits of the Heart, pp. 250-296
Michael Walzer, “What does it Mean to be an American?” pp. 1449-1463
Michael Sandel, “The Public Philosophy of Contemporary Liberalism,” pp. 1477-1493
Amitai Etzioni, “Communitarianism and the Moral Dimension,” pp. 1511-1522
The Contemporary Scene
R Apr 29 Contemporary Conservatism
Irving Kristol, “Capitalism, Socialism, and Nihilism,” pp. 1381-1390
Robert Nozick, “Anarchy, State, and Utopia,” pp. 1391-1403
Pat Robertson, “A Portrait of America,” 1464-1470
Ronald Reagan, 1 st Inaugural, 2 nd Inaugural, “Evil Empire” speech (to be distributed in class or via e-mail)
George W. Bush, 2 nd Inaugural (to be distributed in class or via e-mail)
T May 4
R May 6
Contemoprary Liberalism / The New Progressives
Readings TBA
Review
FINAL EXAMINATION: Thursday May 13, 12:25-2:25