COURSE OUTLINE AND READING LIST FOR POLI 442: SOCIAL AND POLITICAL THEORY FOR 2018, 2018

DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE

UNIVERSITY OF GHANA

FIRST SEMESTER, 2017/2018

   COURSE OUTLINE AND READING LIST

                     LECTURERS: Professor Ransford Gyampo & Dr. Evans Aggrey-Darkoh

                                 

COURSE OUTLINE AND READINGS

COURSE TITLE	SOCIAL AND POLITICAL THEORY
COURSE CODE	POLI 442
COURSE CREDITS	3
PURPOSE AND OBJECTIVES	The course critically examines the nature and scope of social and political theory. It reviews and analyzes the scope of “the political” and examines the scientific nature of Political Science as a discipline. The course also deals with the expositions of classical thinkers that must often be contextualized to help in understanding contemporary issues of social and political discourse. Other critical theories and concepts that are interrogated in the Course include normative political theory, logical positivism/behavioralism, institutionalism, feminism, liberalism, communitarianism, constitutionalism as well as democracy as a theory.   At the end of the course, you should be able to: ·         Define politics from your own perspective; ·         Explain the realm and domain of politics ·         Explain the scientific methodology and approach to the study of politics ·         Identify and explain the basic tenets and features of normative political theory, logical positivism/behavioralism,  institutionalism, liberalism, communitarianism, etc ·         Define and explain the basic features of feminism, noting its relevance in modern times ·         Distinguish between Constitutionalism and Rule of Law ·         Explain the nature of modern democracy etc, etc
OFFICE LOCATION	Department of Political Science, University of Ghana, Room 7
OFFICE HOURS	Mondays: 9.30am – 4.30pm
EMAIL	vangyampo@yahoo.com or revgyampo@ug.edu.gh
LECTURE PERIOD & VENUE	Tuesdays 15.30-17.20@JQB 22 (GROUP A) & Thursdays 17:20-19.20@ JQB 19 (GROUP B)
WEEK NO.	LECTURE TOPIC	TUTORIALS	ASSESSMENT
1	Nature and Scope of Politics	Teaching/Graduate Assistants to assist students in discussing the nature and scope of “the political”
2	The Science of Politics	Teaching/Graduate Assistants to assist students in defining and discussing the science of politics.
3	Normative Political Theory	Students to identify and discuss the main arguments of normativism
4	Normative Political Theory	Students to discuss the contributions of NPT to the study of politics as well as its weaknesses
5	Logical Positivism/Bahavioralism	Students to discuss the main arguments of logical positivism
6	Logical Positivism/Bahavioralism:	Students to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the Behavioral approach
7	Institutionalism		Interim Assessment (30%)
8	Feminism	Students to be guided in discussing the central issues of feminism as a theory
9	Liberalism/Communitarianism	Teaching Assistants to lead discussions on feminism
10	Constitutionalism/Rule of Law	Students to discuss the differences (if any)between constitutionalism and rule of law
11	Constitutionalism/Rule of Law	Students to identify the factors that promotes constitutionalism in a state
12	Nature of Modern Democracy	Student to subject Abraham Lincoln’s definition of democracy to critical scrutiny
13	Nature of Modern Democracy	Is democracy the most preferred form of government? What are its strengths and weaknesses? Teaching Assistants must lead discussions in offering answers to these questions
14	STUDENT REVISION
15-17	EXAMINATION (70%)

SUGGESTED COURSE READINGS

Sabine George,  A History of Political Theory, (New York: Holt Rinehart and Winston, 1961).

Berlin, Isaiah, Political Ideas in the Twentieth Century, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002).

Barker, Ernest, Principles of Social and Political Theory , (Oxford: Clarendon, Press, 1951).

Raphael, D.D., Problems of Political Philosophy, (London: Pall Mall Press, 1970).

Mead, Margaret Sex and Temperament: In Three Primitive Societies  (New York: Harper Collins Publishers Inc, 2001).

Dunn, John (ed.), Democracy: The Unfinished Journey, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1992).

Pateman, Carole The Sexual Contract  (NY: Polity Press, 1988).

Paris, D. C. & James F. Reynolds, The Logic of Political Inquiry, (New York: Longman Inc., 1983).

Landau, Martin, Political Theory and Political Science, (New Jersey: Humanities Press, 1979).

Chodorow, Nancy, Feminism and Psychoanalytic Theory. (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1989)

Bernstein, Richard,   The Reconstruction of Social and Political Theory, (New York: Harcourt Brace, 1977).

Bryant, C.G.A.,  Positivism in Social Theory and Research, (London: Macmillan Publishers Ltd, 1985).

Heywood, Andrew,  Political Theory: An Introduction, Second Edition, (New York: Palgrave, 1999).

Gamble, A., An Introduction to Modern Social and Political Thought, (London: Macmillan Education Ltd, 1981).

Gyampo, R.E.V., The State of Political Institutions in Ghana (Saarbrucken: Lambert Academic Publishing, 2013).

Gyampo, R.E.V. and Graham E. “Constitutional Hybridity and Constitutionalism in Ghana” Africa Review, Vol (6), Issue 2, 2014, pp. 138-150.

Iain, Mclean, Oxford Concise Dictionary of Politics,(New York: Oxford University Press, 1996).

McClelland, J.S.,   A History of Western Political Thought, (London: Routhledge, 2002).

Merriam, Charles, New Aspects of Politics  (Chicago: University of Chicago).

Bellamy, Richard and Angus Ross (eds.), A Textual Introduction to Social and Political Theory, (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1996).

MacKinnon, Catharine.  Feminism Unmodified: Discourses on Life and Law (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1987).

Koerner, Kirk. Liberalism and its Critics. (Oxford: Taylor & Francis, 1985).

REQUIREMENTS/ GENERAL INFORMATION

·         Extensive Reading (at least 70% of the required reading materials) is a MUST.

·         There would be 13 weeks of lectures and students must endeavor to attend all lectures. The course shall not be done by correspondence.

·         Students must be punctual in attending all lectures. No lateness would be tolerated

·         Students MUST attend tutorials regularly and make MEANINGFUL contributions to class discussions.

·         An Interim Assessment would be conducted and would constitute 30% of the final grades of students. The final exam would account for 70% of students’ grade.

• For information on Grading Scale, students may refer to Undergraduate Handbook for details.

·         Students MUST comport themselves during lectures. No acts of indiscipline such as ringing of mobile phones and all other acts that could distract the attention of other students while lectures are on-going would be tolerated.

·         Students MUST read the University’s Policy on Plagiarism and adhere to it strictly in their readings and writings.