Political Studies 109

FOUNDATIONS OF WESTERN POLITICS AND LAW

Semester Two, 2010

Wed. 10-11am
Fri. 10-11am
HSB 1

Lecturers:
Dr. Kathy Smits
12 Symonds St., Room 105
Phone: 373 7599, ext. 87576
E-mail:
Office hours: Wed: 2-3pm, Fri: 11-12 noon.

Professor John Morrow

E-mail: j.morrow@auckland.ac.nz

Tutors
Sally Wheeler (coordinating tutor)
sbjwheeler@gmail.com
Claudia Vianello
claudiav@gmail.com
Alastair Jardine
ajar025@aucklanduni.ac.nz
Sarah Fink
sfin047@aucklanduni.ac.nz

Course Description and Rationale

When we think about political issues, either in the classroom or the wider public world, we
are using and referring to a range of ideas about politics, which have been developed in the
western political tradition since the ancient Greeks. The fundamental questions we ask about
politics – how should society be governed, what is justice and how should it be implemented
between individuals, groups and states, where should the distinction between public and
private life fall – are all questions which have been defined for us by thinkers in a historical
tradition in which we are the latest participants. The ways in which we ask and answer these
questions, and what counts as relevant and important to us in doing so depend upon our own
social and historical position as readers and thinkers, as well as on the ways in which these
concepts have been discussed in the past. In this course, we will focus on the relationship
between individuals and the state, the meanings of justice, liberty and equality, the basis of
democracy, the rights of women, and the limits to political authority and the right of
resistance.

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Course Objectives

This course has 5 principal objectives. By the end of the course, you should:

1. Be familiar with the main patterns in the development of western political thinking up
until the 20th century

2. Have the skills required to read and understand texts in political philosophy written in
different historical periods, and in different styles

3. Understand the major political ideas of the thinkers we have studied

4. Understand the relationship between these ideas and the contexts in which they were
produced

5. Be able to reflect critically upon your own social and political views, by recognizing
the historical paradigms from which these are derived.

ADVICE AND MENTORING

If you have any questions or problems regarding your work in this course, you should first
see your tutor. You may e-mail Dr. Smits or Professor Morrow if you have questions about
the material covered in lectures. The University offers a variety of mentoring programmes to
help students with their studies, and to help undergraduates settle into academic life.

Students may also wish to participate in the Tuakana Arts Undergraduate Mentoring
Programme. This programme aims to assist students (particularly, but not only Maori and
Pacific Islanders) in settling into the culture of academic life. Tuakana Arts has two full-time
mentors available to help you, and peer mentors in most departments, including Political
Studies. The mentors work in partnership with the students to help them achieve to their
fullest potential. The mentors provide advice, run workshops, and assist students to form
study groups. The programme also provides space for students to study.

If you are interested in participating in this programme, please contact the Political Studies
Tuakana mentor, Margaret Joiner: tuakana.politics@auckland.ac.nz. You might also like to
visit the programme web-site: www.arts.auckland.ac.nz/tuakana.

CECIL

All the material in this course guide (not the actual readings) will be posted on Cecil. All
announcements made by tutors and lecturers concerning this class will also be made via Cecil
– they will be e-mailed to you, and posted on the course site. Please ensure that you
regularly check your University email account for Cecil messages and announcements,
or you may miss out on important information concerning this course.

Dr. Smits and Professor Morrow will post outlines for their lectures on Cecil the day before
the lecture is to be given. While these will also be on overhead at the lecture, you should be
warned that they may be quite detailed. You are strongly encouraged to print out the

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outlines before the lecture and take them in with you. That way you won’t be frantically
trying to take down notes and can concentrate on the lecture.

EXPECTATIONS, REQUIREMENTS AND ASSESSMENT

This course is taught through lectures and tutorials, and students are expected to attend these
regularly. You are expected to spend an average of about 10 hours per week working on this
course (like all undergraduate courses.)

In terms of formal assessment, students will be required to complete a number of tutorial

writing exercises, produce one essay, and sit a test during the semester and a two hour
exam at the end of the semester.

Five tutorial writing assignments will be given over the course of the semester. These are
designed to help you keep up with your understanding of the course material, and to practice
for the more formal assessment. They will require you to write for a short time in tutorial on
a topic given by your tutor, and then meet in pairs to discuss and assess what each other has
written. You will then report back to the group as a whole on what you have written for
general discussion. The tutor will assign a mark of 2% for each assignment that you
complete. You will not be graded on the details of what you write – just for having
completed the exercise – ie., for having completed writing on the topic assigned. Your tutor
will discuss this requirement with you in detail. It will be worth a total of 10% of your
final grade.

The test will be held on Friday, August 27, in class. It will be worth 15% of your final
grade. This is designed to help you learn how to read, understand and analyse philosophical
texts written in different historical periods and in different styles. You will be required to
analyse and comment upon a short passage taken from the core readings. Please note
carefully:
 You must choose a different thinker for your essay from the one you write on in the
test
 It is your responsibility to make sure that you can sit the class test on this date. Only
in very exceptional circumstances will we consider making alternative arrangements.
For more information on missing tests, consult p. 51 of the Department of Political
Studies Coursework Guide.

The essay is due on Monday, October 4, at 3pm. It will be worth 25% of your final
grade. The essay is designed to help you learn to investigate a particular problem or issue in
the history of political thought in detail, and to construct an argument concerning it. It should
be 1500 words in length. You must provide a word count on the Departmental backing sheet
(see below for details). Essay questions and policies are listed below.

Your essay must be submitted in both hard copy and electronically, to Turnitin. This
service compares essays to an extensive electronic data base of published materials and past
essays, and is designed to detect plagiarism. Your tutor will discuss in tutorial how to avoid
plagiarism in your essays. Instructions for using Turnitin will be distributed in class and are
on the Cecil site for the course. Essays not submitted electronically to Turnitin will not be
marked.

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The final exam will be held in the examination period (nDeva will inform you of the time
and date around the middle of the semester). It will be 2 hours in length, and is worth 50%
of your final grade. In the exam, you will be asked to write three answers to a choice of
essay questions covering the materials in the course reader and in lectures and tutorials.

You will find general information about examinations at the University website:
http://www.auckland.ac.nz/uoa/pid/uoa-home/current-students/cs-academic-information/cs-examination-
information

All students are expected to have read and understood the latest version of The
Department of Political Studies Coursework Guide. We will assess your coursework with
this in mind. The 2010 edition is available free from the Department Office, or via the
Department website.

The test, exam and essay will include questions on all the major thinkers whom we are
discussing in lectures and tutorials, and for whom reading sources are listed below.

The grading system

Pass Grades: A+ 90-100%; A 85-89%; A- 80-84%; B+ 75-79%; B 70-74%; B- 65-69%
C+ 60-64%; C 55-59%; C- 50-54%
Fail Grades: D+ 45-49%; D 40-44%; D- 0-39%

Plussage
If your final exam mark is better than your coursework, your exam mark alone will be
counted as your final mark. If your exam mark is worse, your writing exercises, test and
essay together will count for 50% of your final grade (as per the mark breakdown above).
This system is called “plussage”. However, if either your test or your essay is not done, is
incomplete, or is not handed in on time, you cannot use plussage, even if your exam mark
is better. In this case, your coursework will still be counted towards your total grade. For
further clarification, see the 2010 Department of Political Studies Coursework Guide.

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ESSAY QUESTIONS AND GUIDELINES

You must hand your essay in at your tutorial, or make sure that you put it in the Political
Studies Department’s Essay Deposit Box, which is beside the front door of 14 Symonds St,
by the deadline. The deadline is 3pm, Monday, October 4. Your essay must include an
official Department Backing Sheet (available at the back of this Guide, from the Department
office at 14 Symonds St., or from the Department’s website) properly completed and stapled
to the back of your essay. It must also include a Turnitin receipt (see below.)

At 3pm on the due date, essays will be collected from the box and date and time-stamped
before being delivered to your tutors. Any essay received after 3pm on the due date will be
marked as late.

If for any reason you cannot make the deadline, please let your tutor know in advance. The
tutor may grant you an extension if you have a reasonable case, based on personal or health
issues. The following is adapted from the Department’s extension and penalization
policy, as described in the Coursework Guide:

An extension will only be granted when the 3 following conditions are satisfied:
1. There is 'good cause', backed up by documentary evidence if required by the tutor (or
convener).
2. If the tutor (or convener) authorizes an extension; it is entirely at their discretion, and
it is also completely at their discretion to decide how long an extension to grant
3. If you fill out the PS03 - Coursework Extension Form (available from
http://www.arts.auckland.ac.nz/departments/index.cfm?P=9072) and hand it in with
the hard copy of your assessed work. If the extension has been granted it will then be
signed by the staff member/tutor who agreed to the extension.

Good cause covers genuine cases which are not related to your academic work, such as
sudden illness (supported by medical certificate), death in the family, official leave of
absence or similar circumstances. Consult the Coursework Guide for more details on good
and bad cause.

Penalisation policy for late work submitted in hard copy to the office (and electronically
to turnitin if undergraduate) after 3pm on the deadline with no extension

1. Essays submitted up to two days late will lose 5 percentage points available for this
assignment

2. Essays submitted between three days and one week late will lose 10 percentage
points available for this assignment

3. Essays submitted between one week and two weeks late will lose 25 percentage
points available for this assignment

4. Essays submitted more two weeks past the due submission date will not be accepted
and the student will be given a 0% mark for the essay.

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Turnitin
All undergraduate work must be submitted electronically to Turnitin, as well as in hard
copy to the office. Instructions about this are available in the 2010 coursework guide, the
departmental website, and from your tutor or course convener. If you hand in a hard copy,
but do not submit your essay to turnitin by the same deadline, it will be deemed as not handed
in; and vice-versa. You must submit a copy of your turnitin receipt with the hardcopy of
your essay.

Plagiarism and academic honesty

The University of Auckland will not tolerate cheating, or assisting others to cheat, and views
cheating in coursework as a serious academic offence. The work that a student submits for
grading must be the student's own work, reflecting his or her learning. Where work from
other sources is used, it must be properly acknowledged and referenced. This requirement
also applies to sources on the world-wide web. A student's assessed work may be reviewed
against electronic source material using computerised detection mechanisms. Upon
reasonable request, students may be required to provide an electronic version of their work
for computerised review.

Academic referencing
Information about how to cite references may be found in the Department’s 2010
Coursework Guide.

Essay Topics

1. Describe and discuss Plato’s arguments concerning the role of women in the ideal
state. Do these mean that Plato was an early feminist?
2. Outline and discuss the criticisms Aristotle makes of Plato’s views on the ideal state.
How would you respond, on behalf of Plato?
3. ‘Law’ is a rational ordering of things which concern the common good; promulgated
by whoever is charged with the care of the community.’ Discuss this definition of law
with reference to Aquinas’ account of the relationship between eternal law, natural
law and human law.
4. To what extent could we see Machiavelli as the first modern political theorist?
5. Discuss Hobbes’ concept of natural law and the role it plays in the formation of civil
society.
6. Examine the political implications of Locke’s claim that human being are ‘naturally’
in a ‘state of perfect freedom’.
7. In The Social Contract, Rousseau writes:
‘The people of England regards itself as free; but it is grossly mistaken; it is free
only during the election of members of parliament. As soon as they are elected,
slavery overtakes it, and it is nothing. The use it makes of the short moments of
liberty it enjoys shows indeed that it deserves to lose them.’
Discuss with reference to Rousseau’s views on freedom and political participation.
8. Consider the implications of Paine’s distinction between ‘government’ and ‘society’
for his views on the nature and extent of legitimate political authority.
9. Describe and discuss Wollstonecraft’s view of virtue.
10. Discuss the relationship between Mill’s defence of the rights of women and his
arguments for liberty.

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 11. Discuss the significance of Marx’s and Engel’s claims concerning the revolutionary
role of the bourgeoisie for their understanding of the nature of human liberation and
the process through which it will be realised.
12. How does Kropotkin’s theory of mutual aid reinforce his claims about anarchism?

A note on essay writing

The essay topics in the course are closely related to the central texts of the major thinkers
covered, and a considerable portion of your essay will be devoted to explaining and
expounding what is going on in the texts. But you are also expected to make original
comments. These comments are likely to be of two kinds. One sort involves clarifying your
own understanding of the key idea referred to in the question, and then using this as a
yardstick to evaluate the idea. The other sort of comment involves focussing on the
consistency and/or coherence with which the idea expounded has been defended by the
theorist. In both cases, you should strive to be critical (pointing out flaws and shortcomings,
etc.) and constructive (suggesting ways of remedying the faults, or sketching a revised and
more satisfactory way of handling the issue). The secondary readings suggested below will
be important here in helping you to understand the texts, and stimulating your thoughts about
possible reactions to the theories we shall be discussing.

TEXTS, READINGS AND RESOURCES

Required Text

Course reader
This reader contains the core readings required for this course. They are essential for
preparing your test, exam and essay, and will be discussed in lectures and tutorials. You will
find the lectures much easier to follow if you complete the reading for each thinker before the
lecture for which it is assigned.

These readings are only extracts from the larger works from which they are taken, and you
may also wish to consult the full copies of these larger works. You can find the full text of
all the writers’ relevant works on the web; and the University Library subscribes to a data-
base called Past Masters, which has almost all of them on it. Besides being available
electronically, they are available for borrowing in the Short Loans Collection in the
University Library. You can also purchase cheap editions of them from the University
Bookstore or second-hand.

Recommended Readings

All the books listed below are in the short loans collection in the University library. The
short loans collection is located on Level 1 of the Kate Edger Information Commons, 9
Symonds St. Call numbers are listed after each text.

The library also has a wide range of electronic resources dealing with political thought,
accessible from the Learn page. (Go to databases, then click on the appropriate letter - eg., R
for Routledge. Then click on CONNECT.) You might try:

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 The Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Oxford Reference Online
Philosophers Index

You are expected to consult some of the secondary sources listed here for your essay and
exam. You may also seek out your own secondary readings. You can search for articles on
the various thinkers via JSTOR or Expanded Academic in the Library’s databases. This is a
collection of academic journal articles, most of which also exist in hard copy in the Library.
You should note that there is a great deal of information available on the Web about these
thinkers, but not all of it is reliable or authoritative. You should discuss sources you find
yourself with your tutor before relying on them in your essay and exam.

One reliable and interesting source is Philosophy Bites – a website with podcasts of famous
contemporary philosophers talking about philosophical ideas and writers. Not all of it is
relevant to political philosophy, but I suggest starting with Melissa Lane on Plato and
Totalitarianism and Simon Blackburn on Plato’s Cave.
http://www.philosophybites.libsyn.com/

General readings for orientation

Burns, J.H. and Goldie, M., The Cambridge History of Political Thought, 1450-1700 (320.9
C17b)
Coleman, Janet. A History of Political Thought: from Ancient Greece to early Christianity
(320.9 C69)
Coleman, J.A. A History of Political Thought: from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance
(320.9 C69)
Goldie, M. and Wokler, R., The Cambridge History of Eighteenth-Century Political Thought
(on order in the library, call number to be advised)
Hampsher-Monck, I. A History of Modern Political Thought (320.9 H23)
McClelland, J.S. A History of Western Political Thought (320.011 M12)
Morrow, J. History of Political Thought: A Thematic Introduction (320.9 M88) and the
second edition of this text (320.9 M88 2005)
Okin, S.M. Women in Western Political Thought (301.412 O41)
Plamenatz, John. Man and Society 2 vols (320.9 P69)
Redhead, B. From Plato to Nato (320.9 P71)
Shanley, Mary L. and Pateman, Carole, Feminist Interpretations and Political Theory
(320.01 F32)
Smits, Katherine, Applying Political Theory: Issues and Debates (on order in the Library.)
Wolin, Sheldon S. Politics and Vision: Continuity and Innovation in Western Political
Thought (320.09 W86 2004)

Readings on particular authors

Plato
Plato, The Republic. (Any of the versions edited by the following will do: G.R. F. Ferrari, 8
88.4 Gr Yf; D.Lee 888.4 GrYLe; G.M.A. Grube trans., 888.4 GrYg).

Annas, J. An Introduction to Plato’s Republic (888.4 Gr Van)

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Bambrough, J.R. “Plato’s Political Analogies”, ch. 12 in Bambrough, ed. Plato, Popper and
Politics: New Essays on Plato and Aristotle (184.1 Vbam)
Coole. D. Women in Political Theory, ch. 2 (301.412072 R43 1993)
Cross, R. and Woozley, A.D. Plato’s Republic: A Philosophical Commentary (888.4 Gr Vcr)
Okin, S.M. Women in Western Political Thought, ch. 1 (301.412 O41)
White, N.P. A Companion to Plato’s ‘Republic’, sections II and III (888.4 Gr Vw)
Wood, E. and N. Class Ideology and Ancient Political Theory, ch. 4 (320.938 W87)

Aristotle
Aristotle, The Politics. (Any of the versions translated and/or edited by the following will do:
S. Everson, 888.5 GpolYe; E. Baker, 185 A71p; T.A. Sinclair, 888.5 GpolYs 1981)

Johnson, Curtis N. Aristotle’s Theory of the State, chs. 8-9 (888.5 GpolVj)
Keyt, D.A. A Companion to Aristotle’s Politics, espec. Essays by Bradley, Fortenbaugh and
Mulgan (888.5 GpolVk)
Mulgan, R.G. Aristotle’s Political Theory (185.1 Vmu)
Okin, S.M. Women in Western Political Thought, ch. 2 (302.412 O41)

Thomas Aquinas
Black, A. Political Thought in Europe, 1250-1450 (320.094 B62)
Coleman, J. A History of Political Thought from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance
(320.9C69)
Copleston, F.C. Aquinas (189.4 T45Vc)
Finnis, J. Aquinas (189.4 T45Vf)

Christine de Pizan
Broad, Jacqueline A history of women’s political thought in Europe, 1400-1700 (320.082
B86)
Green, Karen, Healing the body politic: the political thought of Christine de Pizan (843.21
Vg)
Langdon Forhan, Kate, The political theory of Christine de Pizan (843.21 Vfo)

Niccolo Machiavelli
Machiavelli, The Prince (any recent edition. Try: 321 M14Yr or 854.31 GpYs, both in short
loan, or 54.31 GpYm in the library).
The Discourses (also any recent edition. Try: 854.31 GdiYm or 854.31 GdiY).

Bock, G., Skinner, Q. and Viroli, M. Machiavelli and Republicanism (321 M14 Vboc)
Mansfield, H. Machiavelli’s Virtue (321 Vman)
Pitkin, H. Fortune is a Woman: Gender and Politics in the Thought of Niccolo Machiavelli
(321 M14 Vp)
Pocock., J.G.A. The Machiavellian Moment: Florentine Political Thought and the Atlantic
Republican Tradition (320.109 P74)
Skinner, Q. Machiavelli (854.31 Vsk)

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Thomas Hobbes
Hobbes, Leviathan (Try: 320.1 H68Lt, 320.1 H68Lm or 320.1 H68Lo).

Hampton, J. Hobbes and the Social Contract (192.9 H68Vh)

McPherson, C.B. The Political Theory of Possessive Individualism: Hobbes to Locke (320.1
M17)
Pateman, C. “’God Hath Ordained to Man a Helper’: Hobbes, Patriarchy and Conjugal
Right”, in Pateman, C. and Shanley, M.L. Feminist Interpretations and Political
Theory (320.01 F32)
Tuck, R. Hobbes (192.9 H86Vtu)

John Locke
Locke, Two Treatises of Government, ed. Peter Laslett (320.1 L81 la)

Dunn, J. “Locke” in B. Redhead, ed. From Plato to Nato (320.9 P71)

Grant, R.W. John Locke’s Liberalism (192.2 Vgr)
Hampsher-Monck, I. A History of Modern Political Thought (320.9 H23)
Parry, G. John Locke (192.2 Vp)

Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Jean-Jacques Rousseau, The Social Contract and Discourses, trans. G.D.H. Cole (848.5
R86duc 1993 in short loan).
Cranston, M. and Peters, R. S., Hobbes and Rousseau: A Collection of Critical Essays (192.9
H68Vc)
Grant, R.W. Hypocrisy and Integrity: Machiavelli, Rousseau and the Ethics of Politics (172
G76)
Riley, P. The Cambridge Companion to Rousseau (848.5 R86Vri)
Sklar, J. Men and Citizens: A Study of Rousseau’s Social Theory (848.5 R86Vsh)

Thomas Paine
Ayer, A.J. Thomas Paine (320.1 P14Ya)
Claeys, G. Thomas Paine: Social and Political Thought (320.1 P14Vc)

Edmund Burke
Freeman, Michael, Edmund Burke and the critique of political radicalism (825.62Vf)

Lock, F. P., Edmund Burke (825.62 YL)

O’Gorman, Frank Edmund Burke; his political philosophy (825.62 Vo)

Mary Wollstonecraft
Mary Wollstonecraft, Vindication of the Rights of Women. (Any of the versions edited by the
following will do: Tomaselli, 323.4 W86Et; Brody-Kramnick, 323.4 W86v 1982k)

Vogel, U. “Rationalism and romanticism: Two strategies for women’s liberation”, ch. 2

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 in Judith Evans, et al., Feminism and Political Theory (301.412 F32e)
Randall, J. The Origins of Modern Feminism, espec. Ch. 2 (301.412 R39)
Gatens, M. “Rousseau and Wollstonecraft: Nature vs. Reason”, in Women and Philosophy.
Supplement to Janna L. Thompson, ed. Australian Journal of Philosophy 1986, pp.
1-15 (305.4 T46).

John Stuart Mill

John Stuart Mill, “On Liberty” and “The Subjection of Women” (any edition, try: 192.7 Ery,
323.44 M64 or 192.7 Ec)

Berlin, I. “Two Concepts of Liberty”, in his Four Essays on Liberty 9323.4 B51)
Hampsher-Monk, I. A History of Modern Political Thought ch. 8 (320.9 H23)
Okin, S.M. Women in Western Political Thought ch. 9 (301.412 O41)
Shanley, M.L. “Marital Slavery and Friendship: John Stuart Mill’s The Subjection of
Women, in Shanley and Pateman, eds. Feminist Interpretations and Political Theory
(320.01 F32)
Smits, ‘John Stuart Mill and the Social Construction of Identity,’ History of Political
Thought
XXV, 2 (2004), pp. 298-324.
Ten, C.L. Mill on Liberty (192.7 Vten)

Karl Marx
Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, Manifesto of the Communist Party. Printed in many
editions including: A.J.P. Taylor, ed. (335.4 M39GmY 1967); R. Tucker, ed. The Marx and
Engels Reader (335.4 M39Ftu); McLellan, ed. Marx: Selected Writings (335.4 M39Fmacl).

Avineri, S. The Social and Political Thought of Karl Marx (335.4 M39 Vav)
Carver, T. “Karl Marx” in Redhead, ed. Plato to Nato (320.9 P71)
Carver, T. The Cambridge Companion to Karl Marx, essays by Miller and Reiman (335.4
M39 Vcarv).
Elster, J. An Introduction to Marx (335.4 M39 Vek)

Peter Kropotkin
Peter Kropotkin, “Modern Science and Anarchism”, in I.L. Horowitz, ed. The Anarchists
(301.153 H81).

Avrich, P. The Russian Anarchists, chs. 2,3,8 (335.830947 A96)

Crowder, G. Classical Anarchism, ch. 4 (335.83 C95)
Miller, M.A. Kropotkin (335 K93 Ym)
Mortland, D. Demanding the Impossible, ch. 5 (320.57 M86)
Woodcock, G. Anarchism: A History of Libertarian Ideas and Movements, espec. ch. 7, but
also see chs. 10, 13 (335.83 W88a)

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 LECTURE SCHEDULE AND READINGS

Week 1

Wednesday, July 21
Introduction (Dr. Smits)
 Course administration
 Reading political thought
 The ‘western canon’

Friday, July 23
Plato (Dr Smits)
 Political culture in classical Athens
 Dialogues as a form of political theory
 The just state and the just individual
 Plato’s ideal state
 The principle of specialization
 The Guardians and expert rule
 Plato’s cave and the theory of the forms
 The role of women
 Forms of government and political corruption

Week 2

Wednesday, July 28
Plato (Dr Smits)
See topics above

Friday, July 30
Aristotle (Dr Smits)
 Aristotle’s organic model
 The concept of telos
 Slavery
 The role of women
 The state as an association
 The state and ‘the good life’
 Constitutions and their classification
 Who should rule: the one, the few and the many
 Mixed government

Week 3

Wednesday, August 4
Aristotle (Dr Smits)
See topics above

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Friday, August 6
Aquinas (Prof. Morrow)
 Christianity and politics
 Law and the state
 ‘Eternal’ ‘natural’ and ‘human’ law
 Christian rule and the ideal of princely virtue

Week 4

Wednesday, August 11
Aquinas and de Pizan (Prof. Morrow)
See topics above, also:
 Christine de Pizan and the idea of the body politique
 Parts of the body politique and their duties: princes, nobles and the common people
 Princely virtues

Friday, August 13
Machiavelli (Dr. Smits)
 The context and impact of The Prince
 The Renaissance political world and its values
 Virtue and corruption,
 Machiavelli’s view of history
 Maxims for princes
 Raison d’etat
 Power, politics and fortune

Week 5

Wednesday, August 18
Machiavelli (Dr. Smits)
See topics above

Friday, August 20
Hobbes (Dr. Smits)
 The destruction of traditional society in Europe and the emergence of the modern
world
 The impact of the Protestant Reformation and the emergence of capitalism
 Hobbes and the English Civil War
 Hobbes’ view of human nature and the ‘state of nature’
 The laws of nature
 The importance of contract
 The purpose and role of government
 The nature of political obligation

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 Week 6

Wednesday, August 25
Hobbes (Dr. Smits)
See topics above

Friday, August 27
Test

Mid-semester Break

Week 7

Wednesday, September 15

Locke (Prof. Morrow)

 The nature of political society
 The state of nature and the necessity for political society
 Natural rights and political authority
 Resisting unjust rule

Friday, September 17
Locke (Prof. Morrow)
See topics above.

Week 8

Wednesday, September 22
Rousseau (Dr. Smits)
 The context and impact of Rousseau’s ideas
 The origins of inequality and civil society
 Rousseau’s state of nature
 The conflict between pity and reason
 The formation of civil society
 Law and freedom in the social contract
 The ‘General Will’
 Democracy and community
 The role of the Legislator

Friday, September 24
Rousseau (Dr. Smits)
See topics above

Week 9

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Wednesday, September 29
Burke (Prof. Morrow)
 Burke on the necessity for government
 Society and tradition
 The virtues of the English constitution

Friday, October 1
Paine (Prof. Morrow)
 The English debate on the French Revolution
 ‘Natural’ rights and legitimate government
 Paine’s critique of monarchy and his defence of representative government

Week 10

Essay Due, Monday, October 4

Wednesday, October 6
Wollstonecraft (Dr. Smits)
 Women in the history of political thought
 The rights of man and women’s rights
 The social construction of gender
 Women and the ‘manly virtues’
 The education of women

Friday, October 8
Mill (Dr. Smits)
 Nineteenth century revisions of liberalism
 Mill on civilization and human progress
 The principle of liberty
 Mill’s individuality
 The harm principle
 Democracy and the ‘tyranny of the majority’

Week 11

Wednesday, October 13
Mill (Dr. Smits)
 Mill on the character of women, ‘nature v. nurture’
 The family as a ‘school of despotism’
 The social and individual damage caused by the subjection of women
 The subjection of women and Mill’s “On Liberty”
 The limits to Mill’s feminism

Friday, October 15
Marx (Prof. Morrow)

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See topics above

Week 12

Wednesday, October 20
Marx (Prof. Morrow)
 Modes of production and the explanation of society and the state
 The nature of capitalism
 Class and the state under capitalism
 The fate of capitalism and the liberation of humanity
 Anarchism and revolution

Friday, October 22
Kropotkin (Prof. Morrow)
 Anarchists and statists
 The principle of mutual aid
 Law, economics and political thought

TUTORIAL PROGRAM

Tutorials will be held weekly from the second week of the semester. Students should be
enrolled in a tutorial group via nDeva prior to the start of tutorials.

You must enrol in a tutorial. The administration of the course is carried out via the tutorial
system. If you do not enrol, the tutors will not know you exist, and you will not have your
course work marked and commented on. 10% of the course work requirement will be
carried out in tutorials.

Skills teaching in tutorials

In addition to discussing the lecture and course materials, tutorials this year will also
cover key skills essential to success in the course, and for your future work in Political
Studies. These include: being an active student, effective use of resources and
literature, test-taking, essay planning and writing, and exam preparation. These skills
will help you develop and perform more effectively not just in this course, but
throughout your university career and beyond.

Following is a schedule of tutorial topics. Where the topic includes discussion of course
material, students will be expected to have read and to be ready to discuss the pages
prescribed them for each class (these will be taken from the assigned readings in the course
guide.)

Week 2
Course admin, general advice, being an active student, introduction to skills teaching, and the
Class Test (1 hour)

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Week 3
Plato

Week 4
Reading scholarly works, effective use of readings and resources
Aristotle
Tutorial writing assignment 1

Week 5
Aquinas
Test preparation
Tutorial writing assignment 2

Week 6
de Pizan
Writing essays: choosing a question, research plan, essay planning, structuring an argument,
referencing and learning from sample work
Tutorial writing assignment 3

Week 7
Machiavelli and Hobbes

Week 8
Locke
Tutorial writing assignment 4

Week 9
Rousseau
Tutorial writing assignment 5

Week 10
Paine and Burke

Week 11
Exam preparation
Wollstonecraft and Mill

Week 12
Marx

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