PHIL 309i: Philosophy of Peace, Law, and Justice

Transcription

1 PHIL 309i: Philosophy of Peace, Law, and Justice Instructor: Nicholas Smaligo Class time: MWF, 1-1:50 pm Classroom: COMM 1018 Office: Faner 3021 CRN#: Office Hours: MW, 11am - 12pm A. Course Description The course is centered around interrogating the ideas of peace, law, and justice within our current context of globalization. The increasing interconnectedness of distant places through the global market has brought each of us into often unacknowledged material relationships with people living under very different legal and political structures and in very different social and ecological conditions. This course will challenge students to seriously think about what justice and peace could look like in this new situation. We will examine influential contemporary philosophical defenses and critiques of neoliberal globalization, with special attention to the possibilities for and challenges to global peace. This class fulfills the core curriculum for: Humanities B. Learning Objectives This course will be successful if students (a) understand various defenses and challenges to the concept of neoliberal globalization from a peace and justice perspective; (b) understand the tension between the concepts of peace, law, and justice in situations of conflict and oppression; (c) gain the tools to engage in critical reflection on the products they produce, buy, and sell in light of the interconnectedness fostered by the global economy; and (d) gain a deeper awareness of our their possibilities for thoughtfully acting as agents of social justice and peace. C. Required Texts (subject to change) Books to be purchased: Chomsky, Noam. Profit over People: Neoliberalism and Global Order. Fukuyama, Francis. The End of History and The Last Man. Mies, Maria and Bennholdt-Thomsen, Veronika. The Subsistence Perspective: Beyond the Globalized Economy. Books available online for free: Hobbes, Thomas. Leviathan. Kant, Immanuel. Perpetual Peace: A Philosophical Sketch. Locke, John. Second Treatise on Government. Marx, Karl and Engels, Friedrich. The Communist Manifesto. Rousseau, Discourse on the Origin of Inequality. Articles (available online, instructor will provide links) Graeber, David. Revolution in Reverse (or, on the conflict between political ontologies of violence and political ontologies of the imagination) Graeber, David. Concerning the Violent Peace Police. AK Thompson, Direct Action: Pedagogy of the Oppressed. Articles below from the Global Resistance Reader (GRR) will be ed by the instructor. Crimethinc. The Illegitimacy of Violence, the Violence of Legitimacy.

2 * The instructor may also provide short, supplementary handouts. D. Assignments There will be four (4) short take-home exams. These are really study questions for you to fill out and reflect upon during your readings, though they will be turned in and graded. Answers to these questions will form the basis of your Essays. Essay #1: Neoliberal Globalization and Perpetual Peace (~8 pages). This essay has four sections: (A) First, describe what is meant by neoliberal globalization from both the perspective of those who support it (Fukuyama) and those who criticize it (Chomsky, Mies, et. al.) (~2 pages). (B) What assumptions are being made about human social life and history in these theories. Does Graeber's critique of the myth of barter affect these assumptions? (~2 pages). (C) Third, describe Marx and Engels' theory of communist globalization and the reason why it has failed from both the perspective of critics and supporters of neoliberal globalization (~2 pages). (D) Finally, argue for one of the following theses: (a) Neoliberal globalization is a path to perpetual peace ; (b) Neoliberal globalization is a path to global civil war ; (c) another thesis of your choosing [must be discussed with the instructor first] (~2 pages). Essay #2: Integrating the Experience of the Local with Theory of the Global (~10 pages). There are four sections to this essay: (A) Pick one thing you own or use that you yourself did not produce. Find out everything you can about where it came from, who actually made it, what political, ecological, and social conditions needed to be in place for you to get it. Does the theory of neo-liberal globalization adequately describe how you came to use this particular product? Are violence and coercion (whether legitimate or illegitimate) involved in the production and distribution of this product are people injured in its production? Are communities displaced to gain access to raw materials for its production? Where does the waste produced by it go and who does it affect? Are those producing it subject to repressive governments? Are people, communities, and ecosystems helped by the production of this product? If so, how? (~2 pages). (B) Relate these reflections to the views of two three thinkers we have studied in this course. (~4 pages). (C) Argue for one of the following theses: (a) Whether it is morally defensible or not, neoliberal globalization is inevitable ; (b) Neoliberal globalization is consistent with concerns for global social justice ; (c) There are real alternatives to neoliberal globalization and social justice demands that we pursue them ; or (d) Marx was right: communist globalization is inevitable and neoliberalism is digging its own grave (~2 pages). (D) Finally, describe how these reflections change your perception and relationship with the object you began the essay discussing (~2 pages). Students who wish to write their second essay on another topic may do so after consulting with the instructor.

3 E. Grading Policies Four (4) Take Home Exams: 40 points. Each exam is worth 10 points (or 10% of your final grade). 2 Essays: 60 points. Each essay is worth 30 points (or 30% of your final grade). Grading Scale Students' final grades will be determined with the following scale based on the total number of points they have accrued: = A (4.0); = B (3.0); = C (2.0); = D (1.0); Below 60 = F (0.0) SIU Policy on Incomplete as a Course Grade: The following text is taken from the Course Catalogue, p. 32: An INC is assigned when, for reasons beyond their control, students engaged in passing work are unable to complete all class assignments. An INC must be changed to a completed grade within a time period designated by the instructor but not to exceed one full semester from the close of the term in which the course was taken, or graduation, whichever occurs first. Should the student fail to complete the course within the time period designated, not to exceed one full semester, or graduation, whichever comes first, the incomplete will be converted to a grade of F and the grade will be computed in the student's grade point average. Students should not reregister for courses in which and INC has been assigned with the intent of changing the INC grade. Re-registration will not prevent the INC from being changed to an F. F. Classroom Protocol Electronic gadgets distract students and the instructor from the material and from one another. For this reason, they must be out of sight and out of use at all times during our 50 brief minutes of class time. If you text during class you will simply be asked to leave for the day. I will not be taking attendance (we only have 50 minutes!!!). Students who miss class are responsible for contacting other students to get notes, announcements, assignments. You are expected to have read all assigned texts in advance of the class for which they are scheduled. These are fascinating and challenging texts. If you do not keep up with the readings, you will be lost and and at a tremendous disadvantage when it comes to writing your papers. In this course, we will be dealing with topics about which many people feel very passionate or are extremely sensitive. Honesty is encouraged. However, disrespectful language, talking over others, or dismissing the perspectives of others will not be tolerated. Sometimes we talk over others or dismiss their views without noticing. Step up/step back : If you tend to feel very comfortable speaking in class, experiment with staying quiet for a while and practicing active listening; if you tend to feel less comfortable speaking in class, I invite you to speak up. I will do my best to ensure that this is a safe-space for discussion and exploration of challenging ideas. If you think I am not doing that, or could do that better, please let me know. Oops, ouch. Sometimes people express views that they don't realize are offensive to others. Often this creates a difficult situation: those offended by the remarks often feel reluctant to speak up. When they do speak up, the person who has made the remark can sometimes get very defensive. In this course, I want to experiment with a tool called oops, ouch. If someone says something you think is offensive, you can simply say ouch. The speaker is allowed to keep speaking without interruption, and is asked to reflect, on their own time, why their words may

4 have been taken as offensive to another person. The aim of this tool is to allow conversation to go on without interruption, while nonetheless alerting us to the way others are experiencing our words. We'll see how it goes. G. SIUC Student Conduct Code (excerpt) Southern Illinois University Carbondale (SIUC) is dedicated not only to learning, research, and the advancement of knowledge, but also to the development of ethical and responsible persons. The university seeks to achieve these goals through sound educational programs and policies governing conduct that encourages independence and maturity. By accepting membership in this university, an individual joins a community characterized by free expression, free inquiry, honesty, respect for others, and participation in constructive change. All rights and responsibilities exercised within this academic environment shall be compatible with these principles. Acts of Academic Dishonesty constitute a breach of the student conduct code. Dishonesty includes: 1. Plagiarism, representing the work of another as one s own work; 2. Preparing work for another that is to be used as that person s own work; 3. Cheating by any method or means; 4. Knowingly and willfully falsifying or manufacturing scientific or educational data and representing the same to be the result of scientific or scholarly experiment or research; 5. Knowingly furnishing false information to a university official relative to academic matters; 6. Soliciting, aiding, abetting, concealing, or attempting acts of academic dishonesty. NOTE: If you plagiarize or cheat, the penalty will be at least a 0% on the assignment. H. Emergency Procedures SIU is committed to providing a safe and healthy environment for study and work. Because some health and safety circumstances are beyond our control, we ask that you become familiar with the SIU Emergency Response Plan and Building Emergency Response Team (BERT) program. Emergency response information is available on posters in every building on campus and in the Emergency Response Guideline pamphlet. It is also available on BERT s website at and on the Department of Safety s website Instructors will provide guidance and direction to students in the classroom in the event of an emergency affecting your location. It is important that you follow these instructions and stay with your instructor during an evacuation or sheltering emergency. The Building Emergency Response Team will provide assistance to your instructor in evacuating the building or sheltering within the facility. I. Resources for Additional Academic Help If you have any type of special need(s) or different ability for which you require accommodations to promote your learning in this class, please contact me as soon as possible. The office of Disability Support Services (DSS) offers various support services and can help you with special accommodations.

5 You may with to contact DDS at or go to Room 150 at Woody Hall to verify your eligibility and options for accommodations related to your special need(s) or different ability. J. Saluki Cares The purpose of Saluki Cares is to develop, facilitate and coordinate a university-wide program of care and support for students in any type of distress physical, emotional, financial, or personal. By working closely with faculty, staff, students and their families, SIU will continue to display a culture of care and demonstrate to our students and their families that they are an important part of the community. To make a referral to Saluki Cares click, call, or send: (618) ; or [email protected]. K. Weekly Schedule (subject to change) * THIS IS A TENTATIVE SCHEDULE. It will likely be changed. In response to our conversations in the first few weeks of class, the instructor will add, subtract, or rearrange the course material. For updated reading assignments/discussion topics, please go to the course website: peacelawandjustice.wordpress.com Section 1: What do we need out of this class? Week 1: A discussion of our expectations and desires from this course. 1/13: What is the context in which we ask about peace, law, and justice? 1/15: Discussion of globalization 1/17: Discussion of fracking Week 2: Uprooting some basic assumptions 1/20 (M): No Class: Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Birthday 1/22 (W): Graeber, Debt: The First 5,000 Years, ch.2 1/24 (F): Graeber, Debt (cont.) Week 3: Beginning with an alternative vision 1/27 (M): Mies and Bennholt-Thomsen, The Subsistence Perspective, /29 (W): (cont.) 1/31 (F): (cont.) Section 2: Globalization towards Communism: Marx and Engels Week 4: All that is solid melts into air. 2/3 (M): Manifesto of the Communist Party (MC), Preamble; ch.1 2/5 (W): MC, Ch. 2 2/7 (F): MC, Ch. 3 Week 5: The (supposed) Self-Destruction of Capitalism 2/10 (M): MC, Ch. 4 2/12 (W): Discussion. 2/14 (F): Discussion; Take Home Exam #1 due Section 3: Capitalist Globalization Defended: Francis Fukuyama Week 6: Neo-Liberal Ascendance 2/17 (M): The End of History (EH), 1-54

6 2/19 (W): EH, /21 (F): EH, Week 7: The Last Man 2/24 (M): EH, /26 (W): EH, /28 (F): Take Home Exam #2 due Section 4: Capitalist Globalization Criticized: Noam Chomsky Week 8: The Hidden Violence of Neoliberal Expansion 3/3 (M): Profit over People (PP), /5 (W): PP, /7 (F): PP, Week 9 3/8 316: No Classes, Spring Vacation Week 10: The Hidden Resistance to Neoliberal Expansion 3/17 (M): PP, ; Subcomandante Marcos, The Fourth World War has Begun 3/19 (W): PP, /21 (F): Essay #1 due Section 5: The Global Justice Movement Week 11: Conceptual Tools for Resistance 3/24 (M): Mittelman and Chin, Conceptualizing Resistance to Globalization in Global Resistance Reader (GRR). 3/26 (W): Gramsci, State and Civil Society in GRR. 3/28 (F): Cheru, The Silent Revolution and Weapons of the Weak: transformation and innovation from below in GRR. Week 12: The Power of Social Movements 3/31 (M): Klein, Farewell to the 'End of History' in GRR. 4/2 (W): Drainville, Quebec City 2001 and the making of transnational subjects GRR. 4/4 (F): Rupert, The New World Order: passive revolution or transformative process? in GRR; Take home exam #3 due Section 6: The Occupy Movement Week 13: Readings TBA 4/7-4/11 Week 14: Readings TBA 4/14 4/18 Section 7: Regarding Violence and Political Imagination Week 15: State Violence and Non-State Violence 4/21 (M): Crimethinc., The Legitimacy of Violence, the Violence of Legitimacy. 4/23 (W): Graeber, Concerning the Violent Peace Police. 4/25 (F): AK Thompson, Direct Action: Pedagogy of the Oppressed.

7 Week 16: Imagining Justice 4/28 (M): Graeber, Revolution in Reverse 4/30 (W): Discussion. 5/2 (F): Take home exam # 4 due Finals Week 5/5 5/ 9: Essay #2 due by NOON on 5/9