POS 392
American Political Thought
|
Professor Ronald Schmidt |
126 Bedford St. |
|
Spring 2003 |
780-4581 |
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Office Hours: Tu 2:30-5 or by appt. |
rschmidt@usm.maine.edu |
Through a close examination of a series of important readings in the history of American political thought, we will study the fundamental principles and practices of the American regime from the founding of the Republic through the debates over slavery and into the political dilemmas that continue to define and divide the U.S. We will examine original documents, autobiographies and histories to help gain an understanding of the roots of the debates that confront the United States. It would be impossible to cover all American political thought in one college term, so we will analyze a limited number of documents with particular attention to the questions of identity, membership and time. American political theorists have long promised to create new forms of political association while grappling with historical legacies from which they want to escape. We will focus our discussions on the effects of the attempt to create American political identities between the demands of utopian futures and haunted pasts. I will lecture on the readings and their historical context, but students will be required to participate in the analysis of our readings, and paper questions will draw on a wide variety of readings. Students will have some choice on which texts to write on, but will be expected to keep up with all the readings in order to participate in class discussions. The majority of the grade will be decided by three papers. See the departmental “Guideline for Writing Term Papers” for specifics on the rules of college composition. Plagiarism will not be tolerated and will result in a failing grade in the class.
Grades will be determined as follows:
First Paper (5 pages) – Due February 11: 15%
Second Paper (7 to 10 pages) – Due April 3: 30%
Final Paper (10 pages) – Due May 9, Noon: 40%
Participation: 15%
The assigned reading is below, and will be available at the bookstore and on reserve at the library:
POS 392 Reader
The Life and Selected Writings of Thomas Jefferson (Modern Library)
The Federalist Papers (New American Library)
Lincoln: Speeches and Writings (Library of America; Vintage Books)
The Education of Henry Adams (Modern Library)
Living My Life, Vol. I, Emma Goldman (Dover)
Twenty Years at Hull-House, Jane Addams (New American Library)
The Fire Next Time, James Baldwin (Vintage Books)
POS 392
Assignments
January 14
No reading assigned
Recommended reading: “A Model of Christian Charity,” John Winthrop
(Reader); The New England Mind, Miller; The Puritan Origins of
the American Self, Bercovitch
January 16
No reading assigned
Recommended reading: The Creation of the American Republic 1776-
1787, Wood; Radicalism of the American Revolution, Wood;
The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution, Bailyn
January 21
“A Summary View of the Rights of British America,” Thomas Jefferson
(Life and Selected Writings)
January 23
The Declaration of Independence, Jefferson
“Notes on the State of Virginia,” Queries 1, 6, 8
January 28
“Notes on the State of Virginia,” Queries 11, 14, Jefferson
“A Dissertation on the Canon and Feudal Law,” John Adams (Reader)
January 30
First Inaugural Address, Jefferson
“The Discourses on Davila,” John Adams (Reader)
February 4
The Federalist Papers, Nos. 1, 2, 3, 6, 10-12, 37-39
February 6
The Federalist Papers, Nos. 45, 49, 51, 55, 68, 70, 71, 78, 84, 85
The Constitution (Federalist Papers, pp. 529-550)
After the Founding: Slavery and the Individual
February 11
A Disquisition on Government, excerpts, John C. Calhoun (Reader)
Self-Reliance, Ralph Waldo Emerson (Reader)
First Paper Due
February 13
Cannibals All!, excerpts, George Fitzhugh (Reader)
Recommended reading: Benito Cereno, Herman Melville
February 18, 20
February 25
Lincoln: Selected Speeches and Writings: pp. 7-10, 13-21, 34-43, 60-65
93-99, 102-106
February 27
Lincoln: Selected Speeches and Writings: pp. 131-139, 200-208, 215-216,
233-237, 240-251, 284-293
March 4
Lincoln: Selected Speeches and Writings: pp. 300-315, 335-337, 338-342,
343-347, 368-369, 373-382, 405, 411-414, 419-421, 440-450
March 6
The Education of Henry Adams, Preface, Chs. 1-4, 7, 15-17
March 11
The Education of Henry Adams, Chs. 19-22, 25
March 13
The Education of Henry Adams, Chs. 28-31, 33, 35
March 18
Living My Life, Emma Goldman, Chs. 1-5, 8-11
March 20
Living My Life, Emma Goldman, Chs. 23, 24, 30, 34, 38
Spring Break
March 25, 27
April 1
No reading assigned
Recommended reading: The Collected Works of Justice Holmes:
Complete Public Writings and Selected Judicial Opinions
Of Oliver Wendell Holmes; The Works of William James;
The Metaphysical Club, Louis Menand
April 3
Twenty Years at Hull-House, Jane Addams, Chs. 1-6, 13-14
Second Paper Due
April 8
The Souls of Black Folk, W.E.B. DuBois, excerpts (Reader)
April 10
Constitutional Government, excerpts, Woodrow Wilson (Reader)
The New Freedom, excerpts, Woodrow Wilson (Reader)
April 15
Speeches and Writings, excerpts, Woodrow Wilson (Reader)
April 17
Lecture: Hannah Arendt
No reading assigned
Recommended reading: The Human Condition, Hannah Arendt; On
Revolution, Hannah Arendt; For Love of the World, Elizabeth
Young-Breuhl
April 22
“The Revolutionary Tradition and its Lost Treasure,” Hannah Arendt
(Reader)
April 24
The Fire Next Time, James Baldwin
Recommended reading: “Bullets or Ballots,” Malcolm X; “A Declaration
Of Independence,” Malcolm X
April 29
“The United States,” Samuel Huntington (Reader)
May 1
“Contingent Foundations: Feminism and the Question of
‘Postmodernism’,” Judith Butler (Reader)
“Ronald Reagan: The Movie,” Michael Rogin (Reader)
FINAL PAPER DUE: Friday, May 9, Noon in Professor Schmidt’s box
Should you need
services or accommodations due to a disability, please speak with me or contact
the office of Academic Support for Students with Disabilities, LB 242.