FALL 2001
 

Prof. Dennis J. Goldford Office:  208  Meredith
Class Hours:  TR 9:30-10:45 a.m. Phone:  271-3197
Office Hours:  MWF 10:00 a.m.-noon dennis.goldford@drake.edu
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Objectives:  This course will examine original texts, in translation, by Plato, Aristotle, Augustine, and Aquinas in order to gain an understanding of the ancient and medieval views of the problem of order in human affairs.  We will devote special attention to theories of human nature, to the nature of law and moral standards, and to the contrast be-tween Greek and Christian philosophies of history.  Finally, through an examination of Machiavelli at the end of the semester we will explore the transi-tion to the distinctly modern view of the problem of order in human affairs.
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REQUIRED TEXTS (EDITIONS IN UNIVERSITY BOOKSTORES):

 (1) Aquinas, Treatise on Law (Hackett, 2000).
 (2) Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics (Hackett, 1985).
 (3) Aristotle, The Politics (Hackett, 1998).
 (4) Augustine, Political Writings (Hackett, 1994).
 (5) Machiavelli, The Prince and the Discourses (Modern Library, 1950).
 (6) Plato, The Republic, 2nd ed. (Hackett, 1992).
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RECOMMENDED WEBSITES

 (1) http://www.drake.edu/artsci/PolSci/PolSci_Home_Page.html (the home page of the Dept. of Politics and International Relations at Drake University, containing numerous useful links to other politics-related sites).

 (2) http://dir.yahoo.com/Social_Science/Political_Science/Political_Theory/Theorists/ (a general listing of links to various political theorists).

 (3) http://www.keele.ac.uk/depts/por/ptbase.htm (another interesting site containing links to various authors and topics in political theory).
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WEEK DAY CLASS TOPIC AND ASSIGNED READING

 01 08-28: Introduction:  What is theory?  What is political theory?
 08-30: Plato:  The Republic (Book I).
 02 09-04: Plato:  The Republic (Book II).
 09-06: Plato:  The Republic (Book III).
 
 03 09-11: Plato:  The Republic (Book IV).
 09-13: Plato:  The Republic (Book V).

 04 09-18: Plato:  The Republic (Book VI).
 09-20: Plato:  The Republic (Book VII).

 05 09-25: Plato:  The Republic (Book VIII).
 09-27: Plato:  The Republic (Book IX).

 06 10-02: EXAMINATION #1.
 10-04: Aristotle:  Nicomachean Ethics (2:1-3).

 07 10-09: Aristotle:  Nicomachean Ethics (2:4-5).
 10-11: Aristotle:  Nicomachean Ethics (2:6-8).

 08 10-16:  [Fall Recess]
 10-18: Aristotle:  Nicomachean Ethics (2:9-10).

 09 10-23: Aristotle:  The Politics (3:I-II).
 10-25: Aristotle:  The Politics (3:III-IV).

 10 10-30: Aristotle:  The Politics (3:V-VI).
 11-01: Aristotle:  The Politics (3:VII-VIII).
 
 11 11-06: EXAMINATION #2.
 11-08: Augustine (4:I-XV).
 
 12 11-13: Augustine (4:XV-XXII).
 11-15: Aquinas (1:pp. 1-43).
 
 13 11-20: Aquinas (1:pp. 44-91).
 11-22: [Thanksgiving Recess]
 
 14 11-27: Machiavelli:  The Prince (5:pp. 3-98).
 11-29: Machiavelli:  The Prince (5:pp. 101-155).
 
 15 12-04: Machiavelli:  The Discourses (5:pp. 155-395).
 12-06: Machiavelli:  The Discourses (5:pp. 397-450).
 
 16 12-11: Machiavelli:  The Discourses (5:pp. 450-540).  ESSAY DUE
 12-13: Course summary and conclusion.
 
 17 12-20: FINAL EXAMINATION:   THURSDAY, 7:30-9:20 A.M.

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COURSE PROCEDURES AND GRADING POLICY:
 
1) You are expected to attend class regularly, to have read the assigned text material prior to class, and to participate in class discussions.  Although I will have to lecture occasionally, we will function most of the time as a discussion group requiring your active participation as well as mine.  You are subject in every class to my calling upon you to explain the assigned reading of the day.

2)  You must successfully complete all written assignments:  two mid-term essay examinations and one 10-page analyt-cal essay, each of which counts 20%, and one final examination, which counts 40%.  Failure to complete an assignment is cause for a grade of F for the course, not just for the assignment, and make-ups or extensions are solely a matter of my discretion rather than automatic right.  Finally, past the mid-point of the semester (19 October), you may withdraw from the courseówith a grade of Wóonly on a persuasive showing of compelling medical need.

3)  NO MATTER WHAT YOUR MAJOR OR CAREER PLANS, YOU SIMPLY MUST BE ABLE TO WRITE AND SPELL.  Because a major goal of this course is to help develop your reasoning and writing ca-pabilities, all assignments will consist of essays. Each assignment will be evaluated in terms of letter grades, but letter grades will then be averaged and weighted in terms of a 12-level point system:

 A+ = 12 B+ = 9 C+ = 6 D+ = 3 F = 0
 A = 11 B = 8 C = 5 D = 2
 A- = 10 B- = 7 C- = 4 D- = 1

5) Our focus on writing stems from the kind of knowledge about ancient and medieval political theory this course seeks to help you acquire.  Briefly, our goal is to develop not merely a passive, but an active knowledge of classical political theory.  If you have ever taken a foreign language, you might recall the distinction between the active and passive use of a language, which is not to be confused with the distinction between active and passive voice made in syntax.  When you are learning Spanish, for example, and you have learned enough to be able to understand someone talking or something you are reading, we say that you have a passive knowledge of the language.

You have truly learned Spanish, however, when you not only can understand someone talking or something you are reading, but when you are able to speak and write the language yourself.  When you can speak and write the language yourself, we say that you have acquired the active use of the language.  In that sense, the goal of this course is to train you in the capacity to speak and write the language of classical political theory.  If you find yourself able to understand lectures and discus-sion and the readings in the assigned texts, then you have acquired the passive knowledge we seekóbut you are only half-way to your goal.

The central question will be, can you talk and write your way through the material yourself, doing so well enough that you could teach the material to someone else?  When you don't know the material, you write simplistically; when you do know the material, however, you write simply.  That is your challenge this semester.  Remember the old saying:  "I know what I mean; I just can't put it into words"?  Well, if you can't put it into words, you don't yet know what you mean!  Essay questions in this course will be similar to word problems in arithmetic:  they will not be trick questions, but you will have to figure out the logic of each question in order to know how to answer it.

6) Final grades are based upon your written work and my evaluation of your class attendance and participation.  Particularly because this is a small class, failure to attend class regularly will cause a lowering of your course grade.  There is no course grading curve; you might find it helpfulóindeed, I encourage youóto study together.

7) See the following Websites for University policies on the academic honesty:

 http://www.drake.edu/artsci/PolSci/plagiarism2.html
 http://www.drake.edu/artsci/econ/study/dishonest.html