(All rights reserved)
DEPARTMENT
OF POLITICAL SCIENCE
UNIVERSITY
OF GHANA
FIRST
SEMESTER, 2018/2019
COURSE OUTLINE AND READING LIST
LECTURERS: PROFESSOR RANSFORD GYAMPO
COURSE OUTLINE AND READINGS
|
COURSE
TITLE
|
SOCIAL
AND POLITICAL THEORY (GROUPS A&B)
|
||
|
COURSE
CODE
|
POLI
442
|
||
|
COURSE
CREDITS
|
3
|
||
|
PURPOSE AND OBJECTIVES
|
Welcome to POLI 442, Social
& Political Theory. The course is designed to introduce you, to the
nature, scope and role of Social and Political Theory. The word Theory is
derived from the Greek word theoria which means mental focus. Social
and Political theorizing therefore becomes whatever a person discovers as a
result of serious introspective mental focus and speculations. Social and
Political theory as a distinct discipline emerged in the 20th century
and was largely equated with an attitude of critical thinking, based on
rationality, logic and objectivity, as well as the desire for knowledge
through a-posteriori methods of discovery, rather than a-priori
methods of tradition. The course presents an attempt to provide a
comprehensive taxonomy for explaining socio-political issues. For example,
there have been numerous coups and military interventions in Africa. An
attempt to study and observe these phenomena in order to provide a coherent
explanation falls within the realm of theorizing. It is logically plausible
for one to argue that social and political theorizing is part of political
philosophy as one cannot offer an explanation of a phenomenon without first
doing some serious thinking about it. With this in mind, it is easy to
link social and political theory to deep seated philosophical discussions.
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. We
must notify you in advance that given the somewhat abstract nature of this
course, it tends to be a “scare-crow” to many undergraduates. However, what
such students fail to realize is that far from being a thorn in their flesh,
social and political theory is their friend. Indeed, if you are interested in
Political Science, as we suppose, and if you are interested in pursuing
further studies in Law, then you should love social and political theory the
more. This is because, political theory is “the father of Political
Science.” Again some of the critical issues that would be thought in
Jurisprudence for law students are delved into by this course. It is
therefore important to study this course as it assures you of a firm
foundation and grounding for future political and intellectual discourses. It
helps you to appreciate “what is political” or the domain of politics;
approaches to the study of politics and other critical theories of politics
that helps you to better understand the key issues that would preoccupy you,
an upcoming Political Scientist. In our discussions, we will draw examples
from the global setting with emphasis on Africa and Ghana. Do not worry too
much about the seaming abstract nature of the course. We will contextualize
the issues and with examples that hinges on contemporary happenings in our
world today, we can assure you that we will certainly demystify every mystery
that surround the course.
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 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, Rooms
7&13
|
||
|
OFFICE HOURS
|
Mondays: 9.30am – 4.30pm
|
||
|
EMAILS
|
Professor Ransford Gyampo (vangyampo@yahoo.com or revgyampo@ug.edu.gh)
|
||
|
LECTURE PERIOD &
VENUE
|
Tuesdays 3.30pm-5.30pm @ JQB 22 (GROUP A)
Thursdays 5.30pm – 7.20pm @ JQB 19 (GROUP
B)
|
||
|
WEEK NO.
|
LECTURE TOPIC
|
TUTORIALS
|
ASSESSMENT
|
|
1
|
Nature and
Scope of Politics/ The Science of Politics
|
Teaching/Graduate
Assistants to assist students in discussing the nature and scope of “the
political”
|
|
|
2
|
Normative
Political Theory
|
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
|
Logical
Positivism/Behavioralism
|
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
|
Feminism
|
Students to discuss
the strengths and weaknesses of the Behavioral approach
|
|
|
7
|
Feminism
|
|
Interim
Assessment (30%)
|
|
8
|
Institutionalism/Liberalism
|
Students to
be guided in discussing the central issues of feminism as a theory
|
|
|
9
|
Institutionalism/Liberalism
|
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).
Mill,
J.S., Autobiography, (London, 1873).
Chodorow, Nancy (1989). Feminism and
Psychoanalytic Theory. (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press)
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
No comments:
Post a Comment