POLITICAL SCIENCE 198: ENLIGHTENMENT POLITICAL THOUGHT

Marquette University

Spring 2005, MW 2:25-3:40, Lalumiere 288

Professor Ryan Hanley

Office: WW 419; 288-3420; ryan.hanley@marquette.edu

Office Hours: MW 1:00-2:25 and by appointment

Course Description: Capitalism, constitutionalism, individualism, pluralism and religious toleration: our contemporary understanding of each of these fundamental doctrines of contemporary liberalism is the direct product of the political philosophy of the Enlightenment.  Through sustained engagement with the principal texts of Enlightenment political thought, students will be introduced to the original arguments for individual rights, representative government, popular sovereignty, free enterprise, religious toleration, and freedom of conscience and speech. Also, through careful study of selected contemporary critiques of the Enlightenment, the seminar will explore the political, cultural and religious traditions that the Enlightenment sought to displace as well as the possible consequences of its abandonment of such traditions.

Attendance and Expectations: Attendance at every meeting is expected; repeated absences will result in your expulsion from the course. But students are expected to do more than simply show up; adequate preparation prior to each class and active participation in class are also necessary if one hopes to master the material and receive a high grade. While preparing for class you should read assignments with the maximum possible care; prior to each meeting I will distribute via email a list of study questions to help focus your preparation. Your reading response papers (see below) will also provide you with opportunities to gather your thoughts prior to each meeting. While in class you are expected to listen carefully to the contributions of your colleagues and to engage them through your own contributions. Those inexperienced in or uncomfortable with talking in class are encouraged to come to see me early in the semester so that we can together develop useful strategies for effective participation.

Requirements and Grading: Your final grade will be comprised of three components: class participation, the cumulative average of your reading response papers, and a final paper of 10-15 pages for undergraduates or 15-25 pages for graduate students. Each component will constitute one third of the final grade. Reading response papers should be no more than a page and will be due at each meeting of the seminar; late papers will not be accepted. The final paper is due at the end of the final week of class, but students are also required to submit at midterm a three-page exploration of the problem they intend to examine in their final paper; the grade for this assignment will be factored into the grade for the final paper. Finally, students will be required to attend a private writing development meeting with me during the second half of the semester in which we will discuss your writing performance to this point and together develop a strategy for composing the final essay.

Texts and Schedule of Reading Assignments: All books available at BookMarq; editions and translations strongly recommended but not required.

Week 1: Introduction; Kant, “What is Enlightenment?”

Weeks 2-3: Locke, Second Treatise of Government, ed. Laslett (Cambridge, 1988)

Weeks 4-5: Voltaire, Treatise on Tolerance, tr. Masters (Cambridge, 2000)

Weeks 5-6: Hume, Essays: Moral, Political and Literary, ed. Miller (Liberty Fund, 1985)

Weeks 7-8: Madison, Hamilton and Jay, The Federalist, ed. Kramnick (Penguin, 1987)

Weeks 8-10: Rousseau, First and Second Discourses, in Basic Political Writings, tr. Cress (Hackett, 1987)

Weeks 11-12: Rousseau, Social Contract, in Basic Political Writings

Weeks 13-14: Burke, Reflections on the Revolution in France, ed. O’Brien (Penguin, 1986)

Week 15: de Maistre, Considerations on France, tr. LeBrun (Cambridge, 2000)

Schedule of Written Assignments:

Friday, March 11^th: Exploration Due

Friday, May 6^th: Term Paper Due