DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE
UNIVERSITY OF GHANA
SECOND SEMESTER, 2016/2017
COURSE OUTLINE AND READING LIST
LECTURER: DR. EVANS AGGREY-DARKOH &
NENE-LOMOTEY KUDITCHAR
COURSE OUTLINE AND READINGS
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COURSE
TITLE
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MODERN WESTERN POLITICAL
THOUGHT
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COURSE
CODE
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POLI 342
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COURSE
CREDITS
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3
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COURSE
DESCRIPTION AND OBJECTIVES
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Modern Western
Political Thought just like the Ancient and Medieval Political Thought
discussed in the first semester covers 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: Machiavelli (the Discourses on the Book of Livy), 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:
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OFFICE
LOCATION
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DEPARTMENT
OF POLITICAL SCIENCE, UNIVERSITY OF GHANA,
DR.
AGGREY-DARKOH ROOM 13; NENE- LOMOTEY KUDITCHAR ROOM 14.
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OFFICE
HOURS
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DR.
AGGREY-DARKOH: THURSDAY, 2PM-5PM OR BY APPOINTMENT.
NENE-LOMOTEY
KUDITCHAR: MONDAY, 2PM- 4.30PM OR BY APPOINTMENT.
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EMAIL
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LECTURE
PERIOD & VENUE
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MONDAY
11.30AM- 1.20PM- JQB 14
WEDNESDAY
1.30PM -3.30PM- JQB 14
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WEEK
NO.
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LECTURE
TOPIC
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TUTORIALS
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ASSESSMENT
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1
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MACHIAVELLI’S
DISCOURSES ON THE BOOK OF LIVY
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Teaching Assistants help students to appreciate Machiavelli’s
treatment of free republicanism
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2
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MACHIAVELLI’S
DISCOURSES ON THE BOOK OF LIVY
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Teaching Assistants help students to appreciate Machiavelli’s
treatment of free republicanism
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3
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THE
POLITICS OF ENLIGHTENMENT
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Teaching Assistants help students unravel the politics of
enlightenment
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4
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THOMAS HOBBES
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Teaching Assistants lead the discussion
on the Hobbesean Social contract
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5
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THOMAS
HOBBES
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Teaching Assistants lead the discussions
on the Hobbesean Social contract
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6
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JOHN
LOCKE
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Teaching Assistants lead discussions on
Lockean social contract
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7
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JOHN
LOCKE
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Teaching Assistants lead discussion on
Lockean social contract
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INTERIM
ASSESSMENT
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8
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JEAN
-JACQUES
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Teaching Assistants focus on Rousseau’s
social contract and the causes and origin of inequality among men
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9
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ROUSSEAU
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Teaching Assistants focus on the
Rousseau’s social contract and the causes and origin of inequality among
men
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10
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JOHN STUART MILL
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Discussion on J.S. Mill’s
utilitarianism and subjection of women
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11
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JOHN STUART MILL
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Discussion on J.S. Mill’s
utilitarianism and subjection of women
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12
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MARTIN LUTHER KING JNR.
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Concentration is on the letter from
Birmingham Jail and its implication for the civil rights movement in USA
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13
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MARTIN LUTHER KING JNR.
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Concentration is on the letter from
Birmingham Jail and its implication for the civil rights movement in USA
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14
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STUDENT
REVISION
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15-17
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EXAMINATION
(70%)
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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, 4th 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, 4th 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 2nd edition, Harper Collins Publishers, New
York, 1996.
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