POLS 2023/3143
Introduction to Political Theory
Zap # 1653
Meets: MW 4:00-5:15 PM
Room: PH 314
Fall 2009
Credit Hours: 3
Instructor: Dr. Ken Hicks
Office: Will Rogers Auditorium Basement Room 110
Telephone: (918) 343-7687
Email: kennethhicks@rsu.edu
Webpage: http:www.rsu.edu/faculty/hicks

Corrected PDF copy of syllabus available here.

Course Introduction and Objectives

 

Text Box: “Instead of predictions, I would suggest that theorists have been intent on posting warnings.” Sheldon S. Wolin

 

Political theory is a subset of the discipline of political science, and has a number of interrelated concerns. Political philosophy began as the study of the traditions of political philosophy, ranging from the pre-Socratic Greeks to medieval European theological texts to modern thinkers such as Machiavelli, Hobbes, and Marx. In the middle of the 20th century, political theory was increasingly viewed as a beginning point for the behavioral study of political phenomenon. Many political theorists insist that the core purpose of political theory is to provide the critical framework for questioning basic organizing principles of society with a view to its reordering. Others offer much more limited analytical aspirations, contending that political theorists should confine themselves to the study of the study of the potential meaning immanent in political narratives. This course is organized into three units -- with one introducing students to ancient and medieval theorists, another dealing with selected modern theorists, and a third dealing with the concerns of critical theorists –with the intent to provide a survey of the core traditions of political theory.

Successful students in this course will:

Ř  be able to associate ideas and concepts to specific political theorists;

Ř  be able to competently employ the vocabulary of political theory;

Ř  be able to trace the evolution of political ideas from the ancient to the modern to the post-modern;

Ř  have an enhanced ability to engage with others in political discourse analyzing contemporary political issues;

Ř  possess a greater awareness of the relevance of perennial issues (e.g. justice, order, equality, freedom, etc.) for understanding contemporary events.

In short, this course is designed to expose students to an approach to thinking about politics that will materially aid their comprehension of other political science courses, but will also help them think analytically about broader human concerns as well.