COURSE OUTLINE AND READING LIST - POLI 342: MODERN WESTERN POLITICAL THOUGHT

DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE

UNIVERSITY OF GHANA

SECOND SEMESTER, 2015/2016

   COURSE OUTLINE AND READING LIST

                     LECTURER:  KWESI JONAH & DR. EVANS AGGYREY-DARKOH

                                 

COURSE OUTLINE AND READINGS

COURSE TITLE	MODERN WESTERN POLITICAL THOUGHT
COURSE CODE	POLI 342
COURSE CREDITS	3
COURSE DESCRIPTION  AND OBJECTIVES	Modern Western Political Thought just like the Ancient and Medieval Political Thought discussed cover the writings of different political philosophers whose postulations cover areas such as politics, religion, economics, governance, dictatorship, monarchy, tyranny and many others. The course provides historical and analytical study of the works of some selected Modern Western Political thinkers. These philosophers include: Thomas Hobbes (the Leviathan), John Locke (the Second treatise of Government), Jean Jacques-Rousseau (On the Social Contract, Discourse on the origin and Foundations of Inequality among Men. Others are John Stuart Mill (On Liberty, and the Subjection of Women) and Martin Luther King, Jr. (Letter from Birmingham Jail). These philosophers continue to speak to us lucidly. The varied writings of these philosophers deal with issues concerning human existence and were necessitated by the fact that over the years, man has tried through several mechanisms to understand his environment, society, state and nation. In their totality, these environment, society, state and nation—constitute the dynamics as well as the complexities of political life and mankind’s existence. At the end of the course students should be able to do the following: Demonstrate a firm grasp of the main themes of the selected political thinkers. Outline the main tenets of the enlightenment. Appreciate the theoretical postulations and the controversies surrounding the western political thought. Explain the implications of the ideas of these western political thinkers on current political behavior.
OFFICE LOCATION	DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE, UNIVERSITY OF GHANA, ROOM 13
OFFICE HOURS	THURSDAY 1PM-5PM
EMAIL	eaggrey-darkoh@ug.edu.gh or eadarkoh@yahoo.com
LECTURE PERIOD & VENUE	MONDAY 11.30AM- 1.20PM- JQB 14 WEDNESDAY 1.30PM -3.30PM- JQB 14
WEEK NO.	LECTURE TOPIC	TUTORIALS	ASSESSMENT
1	MACHIAVELLI’S DISCOURSES ON THE BOOK OF LIVY	Teaching Assistants  help students to appreciate Machiavelli’s treatment of free republicanism
2	MACHIAVELLI’S DISCOURSES ON THE BOOK OF LIVY	Teaching Assistants  help students to appreciate Machiavelli’s treatment of free republicanism
3	THE POLITICS OF ENLIGHTENMENT	Teaching Assistants  help students unravel the politics of enlightenment
4	THE POLITICS OF ENLIGHTENMENT	Teaching Assistants  help students unravel the politics of enlightenment
5	THOMAS HOBBES	Teaching Assistants lead the discussion on the Hobbesean Social contract
6	THOMAS HOBBES	Teaching Assistants lead the discussion on the Hobbesean Social contract
7	JOHN LOCKE	Teaching Assistants lead discussion on Lockean social contract
8	JOHN LOCKE	Teaching Assistants lead discussion on Lockean social contract
9	JEAN -JACQUES ROUSSEAU	Teaching Assistants focus on the Rousseau’s social contract and the causes and origin of inequality among men
10	JOHN STUART MILL	Discussion on J.S. Mill’s utilitarianism and subjection of women
11	JOHN STUART MILL	Discussion on J.S. Mill’s utilitarianism and subjection of women
12	MARTIN LUTHER KING JNR.	Concentration is on the letter from Birmingham Jail and its implication for the civil rights movement in USA
13	MARTIN LUTHER KING JNR.	Concentration is on the letter from Birmingham Jail and its implication for the civil rights movement in USA
14	STUDENT REVISION
15-17	EXAMINATION (70%)

COURSE REQUIREMENTS

There will be thirteen weeks of lectures. Full participation in the lectures is a prerequisite for admission into the final examinations.

Each student must attend tutorials each week to be organized by tutorial assistants. Students are advised to effectively participate in the discussions. It must be emphasized that tutorials are not second lectures.

 Most of the reading materials exist in the Department of Political Science Library and the Balme Library. Some of the core readings are available in the General Office of the Department of the Political Science.  It imperative for students to read the materials much more intently in order to identify the hidden truths in the literature (read with understanding).

The assessment of this course will be done in two phases: interim assessment (30%) and a final examination (70%).

   

COURSE OUTLINE AND READING LIST

J. S. McClelland, A History of Western Political Thought, Routledge, London and New York, 2002.

Cohen Mitchell and Niccole Fermon (eds.), Readings in Political Thought, Princeton University Press, 1996.

William Ebenstein, Great Political Thinkers: Plato to Present, Dryden Press Illinois, 1989

J. S. McClelland, A History of Western Political Thought, Routledge, London and New York, 2002.

Forrest E. Baird and Walter Kaufman, Philosophic Classics: From Plato to Nietzsche, Prentice Hall, New Jersey, 1997.  

W.T. Jones, Masters of Political Thought: Machiavelli to Bentham, George C. Harrap, London, 1963.

Patrick Riley, “Social Contract Theory and its Critics” in Mark Goldie and Robert Wokler (eds.), The Cambridge History of Eighteenth-Century Political Thought, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2006.     

 William Ebenstein, Great Political Thinkers: Plato to Present, Dryden Press Illinois, 1989

J. S. McClelland, A History of Western Political Thought, Routledge, London and New York, 2002.

George Sabine and Thomas L. Thorson, A History of Political Thought, 4^th edition, Harcourt Brace, New York, 1989.

 

J. S. McClelland, A History of Western Political Thought, Routledge, London and New York, 2002.

George Sabine and Thomas L. Thorson, A History of Political Thought, 4^th edition, Harcourt Brace, New York, 1989.

John Gingell, Adrian Little and Christopher Winch, Modern Political Thought: A Reader, Routledge, London, 2000.

Cohen Mitchell and Niccole Fermon (eds.), Readings in Political Thought, Princeton University Press, 1996.

Cohen Mitchell and Niccole Fermon (eds.), Readings in Political Thought, Princeton    University Press, 1996.

Richard Bellamy and Angus Ross, A Textual Introduction to Social and Political Theory, Manchester University Press, Manchester and New York, 1996.

Forrest E. Baird and Walter Kaufman, Philosophic Classics: From Plato to Nietzsche, Prentice Hall, New Jersey, 1997.

World Book Vol. 4 (Chicago, 2006)

Cohen Mitchell and Niccole Fermon (eds.), Readings in Political Thought, Princeton    University Press, 1996.

Howard Zinn, “King Martin Luther Jnr”, in John A Garraty and Jerome L. Sternstein, (eds), Encyclopedia of America Biography 2^nd edition, Harper Collins Publishers, New York, 1996.