PS 225: Political Ideologies Winter 2014, MWF 9:00-9:50

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1 PS 225: Political Ideologies Winter 2014, MWF 9:00-9:50 Instructor: Robin Barklis Office: PLC Office Hours: MW 10:30 11:30 Course Description Ideologies are interrelated sets of ideas about politics, which can both shape our evaluations of existing political institutions and suggest paths forward, toward new and purportedly more just political arrangements. This course offers an overview of several prominent political ideologies varieties of liberalism, conservatism, nationalism, feminism, and others with a focus on how differing conceptions of human nature and society can lead to very different moral and political conclusions. We begin with an examination of the concept of ideology itself, tracing its history from early Marxists to 20 th century social scientists and contemporary postmodern critics. Next, we move to in-depth studies liberalism and conservatism, the foremost American political ideologies, before concluding with briefer examinations of feminism and identity politics, Marxism, and fascism. Requirements and Grading Required Texts There are three required texts for this class, which should be available from the UO bookstore. Occasionally additional readings will be made available as PDFs on Blackboard. [ID] David McLellan, Ideology, Second Edition (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1995). [PI] Matthew Festenstein and Michael Kenny (eds), Political Ideologies: A Reader and Guide (New York: Oxford University Press, 2005) [OP] Alan Ryan, On Politics: A History of Political Thought from Herodotus to the Present, Vol. 2: Hobbes to the Present (New York: Liveright, 2012) Evaluation Due Date Percentage Participation EVERYDAY 10 Essay 1 Jan Essay 2 Mar Midterm Feb Final Mar. 21, 10:15 25 Participation Your biggest responsibility for this course is to keep up with daily reading, and come to class ready to discuss. I know that not everyone likes to talk in class. If this is you, please come to see me in office hours to show that you re here and engaged in other ways. In addition to this, everyone s participation

2 grade will reflect their performance on three unannounced reading quizzes that will be given throughout the term. Essays There are two essays for this class. A prompt for the first, a short (3 page) introductory essay on the concept of ideology, will be distributed Jan. 17 and due two weeks later, on Jan. 31. A prompt for the second, a longer (5 page) essay will be distributed Feb. 17 and due Mar. 14. Essays will be graded down 5% for each day late. Exams There are two exams, containing short answer and essay questions. Study guides will be provided beforehand. No make-up examinations will be given without an excuse, which must be approved in advance (except in extreme circumstances). Excuses will only be approved for medical or family emergencies. Academic Misconduct This goes without saying: don t cheat. The work that you represent as being your own should be your own. If you have any questions about what that means, please consult UO s plagiarism information page at ( The Nature and Scope of Ideology Week 1 M, Jan. 6. Introduction W, Jan. 8. Ideology as Distortion: Marx David McLellan, Introduction and Marx (ID, 1-18) Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, The German Ideology (PI, 13-17) F, Jan. 10. The Marxist Tradition David McLellan, The Marxist Tradition (ID, 19-30) Antonio Gramsci, Selections from the Prison Notebooks (PI, 21-23) Louis Althusser, For Marx and Lenin and Philosophy (PI, 23-27) Week 2 M, Jan. 13. Non-Marxist Conceptions of Ideology David McLellan, The Non-Marxist Tradition and Ideology in the United States (ID, 31-55) Karl Mannheim, Ideology and Utopia (PI, 17-21) Michael Oakeshott, Rationalism in Politics (PI, ) W, Jan. 15. Ideology and (Political) Science David McLellan, Science, Language, and Ideology (ID, 56-70) F, Jan. 17. What, if anything, is Outside Ideology? David McLellan, Ideology and the End of History and Conclusion: An End to Ideology or Ideology Without End (ID, 71-83)

3 Clifford Geertz, Ideology as a Cultural System (PI, 32-35) Liberalisms Week 3 M, Jan. 20. NO SCHOOL: MARTIN LUTHER KING JUNIOR DAY W, Jan. 22. Conceptions of Liberty Benjamin Constant, The Liberty of the Ancients Compared with that of the Moderns (PI, 65-69) Isaiah Berlin, Two Concepts of Liberty (PI, ) Gerald MacCallum, Negative and Positive Freedom (PDF on Blackboard) F, Jan. 24. Locke Alan Ryan, John Locke and Revolution (OP, ) John Locke, Two Treatises of Government (PI, 60-65) Week 4 M, Jan. 27. Rousseau and Republicanism Alan Ryan, Rousseau (OP, ) Optional: Alan Ryan, Republicanism (OP, ) W, Jan. 29. The American Tradition Alan Ryan, The American Founding (OP, ) James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay, Federalist Papers, Nos. 10 and 51 (PDF on Blackboard) F, Jan. 31. Markets and Libertarianism Friedrich von Hayek, The Constitution of Liberty (PI, ) Friedrich von Hayek, Why I Am Not a Conservative (PDF on Blackboard) Robert Nozick, Anarchy, State, and Utopia (PI, ) Optional: Margaret Thatcher, In Defense of Freedom (PI, ) Week 5 M, Feb. 3. Mill Alan Ryan, Utilitarianism: Jeremy Bentham and James and John Stuart Mill (OP, ) John Stuart Mill, On Liberty and Chapters on Socialism (PI, 78-85) W, Feb 5. Contemporary Liberal Thought Alan Ryan, Democracy in the Modern World (OP, ) John Rawls, A Theory of Justice and Justice as Fairness: Political Not Metaphysical (PI, ) Optional: T.H. Green, Liberal Legislation and Freedom of Contract (PI, 85-90) Conservatism and Community

4 Week 5, continued F, Feb. 7. Introduction: Tradition and Rupture Alan Ryan, The French Revolution and Its Critics (OP, ) Edmund Burke, Reflections on the Revolution in France (PI, ) Joseph de Maistre, Considerations on France (PI, ) Week 6 M, Feb. 10. Hegel Alan Ryan, Hegel: The Modern State as the Work of Spirit (OP, ) Charles Taylor, Hegel: History and Politics (PDF on Blackboard) W, Feb 12. Conservatism, Relativism, and the Good William Graham Sumner, Folkways (PI, ) Alasdair MacIntyre, The Virtues, the Unity of a Human Life, and the Concept of a Tradition (PDF on Blackboard) F, Feb. 14. Neoconservatism William Kristol, The Politics of Liberty, the Sociology of Virtue (PI, ) Francis Fukuyama, The End of History and the Last Man (PI, ) Samuel Huntington, The Clash of Civilizations and the Recasting of World Order (PI, ) MIDTERM: MONDAY, FEBRUARY 17 Feminisms Week 7, continued W, Feb. 19. Feminism and the Struggle for Political Equality Mary Wollstonecraft, A Vindication of the Rights of Women (PI, ) John Stuart Mill, The Subjection of Women (PI, ) F, Feb. 21. Equality in Private Life Kate Millett, Sexual Politics (PI, ) Susan Okin, Justice, Gender, and the Family (PI, ) Carol Gilligan, In a Different Voice (PI, ) bell hooks, Feminism is for Everybody (PI, ) Week 8 M, Feb. 24. Deconstructing Gender Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex (PI, ) Julia Kristeva, Women s Time (PI, ) Judith Butler, Gender Trouble (PI, )

5 Nationalism and the Politics of Difference Week 8, continued W, Feb. 26. Nationalism Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Considerations on the Government of Poland (PI, ) Johann Gottfried von Herder, Yet Another Philosophy of History (PI, ) Frantz Fanon, The Wretched of the Earth (PI, ) F, Feb. 28. Multiculturalism Alan Ryan, Empire and Imperialism (OP, ) Bhikhu Parekh, Rethinking Multiculturalism (PI, ) James Tully, Strange Multiplicity (PI, ) Socialism and Communism Week 9 M, Mar. 3. Socialism before Marx Henri de Saint-Simon, On the Industrial System (PI, ) Robert Owen, Observations on the Effect of the Manufacturing System (PI, ) Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, What is Property? (PI, ) W, Mar 5. Marx Alan Ryan, Karl Marx (OP, ) Karl Marx, The Paris Manuscripts (PI, ) Optional: Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, The Communist Manifesto (PI, ) F, Mar. 7: Communism after Marx: Was Marx a Marxist? Alan Ryan, Socialisms (OP, ) Vladimir Lenin, What is to be Done? (PI, ) Optional: Leon Trotsky, Stalin (PI, ) Optional: Mao Tse-Tung, The Chinese Revolution and the Chinese Communist Party (PI, ) Fascism and Totalitarianism Week 10 M, Mar. 10. Fascism in the 20 th Century Alan Ryan, Marxism, Fascism, Dictatorship (OP, ) Benito Mussolini and Giovanni Gentile, The Doctrine of Fascism (PI, ) Optional: Adolf Hitler, Mein Kampf (PI, ) W, Mar. 12. Life under Totalitarianism Hannah Arendt, Total Domination (PDF on Blackboard)

6 Conclusions Week 10, continued F, Mar. 14. Conclusions Isaiah Berlin, In Pursuit of the Ideal (PDF on Blackboard) FINAL EXAM: FRIDAY, MARCH 21, 10:15 A.M.