Spring 2023  |  POL 3252W Section 001: Revolution, Democracy, and Empire: Modern Political Thought (65513)

Instructor(s)
Class Component:
Lecture
Credits:
3 Credits
Grading Basis:
Student Option
Instructor Consent:
No Special Consent Required
Instruction Mode:
In Person
Class Attributes:
UMNTC Liberal Education Requirement
Times and Locations:
Regular Academic Session
 
01/17/2023 - 05/01/2023
Wed, Fri 09:45AM - 11:00AM
UMTC, West Bank
Blegen Hall 250
Enrollment Status:
Open (35 of 58 seats filled)
Also Offered:
Course Catalog Description:
From the seventeenth through the nineteenth centuries, Europe and its colonies were wracked by large scale, sweeping changes: from the violent emergence of the sovereign state, to intense religious conflict, to geographic expansions at once transformative and brutal in search of new economic markets. These changes posed extraordinary challenges to usual ways of conceiving of political order and governance. Our course this semester will read these changes through three key concepts - revolution, democracy, and empire. Class discussion will seek to understand different meanings of these concepts, their political stakes, and ways of knowing how to move between political ideals and historical examples. Students will read a range of materials - from primary historical sources, to philosophic texts, political pamphlets and treatises, and travel journals - so as to study the effects on both the European context and beyond. prereq: Suggested prerequisite 1201
Class Notes:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/?asinha+POL3252W+Spring2023
Class Description:
LE Core: Arts & Humanities
LE Theme: Civic Life & Ethics

This course considers essential themes - revolution, democracy, and empire - in the development of modern political thought between the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries. Students will learn about key historical moments, such as the French Revolution and the American Revolution, and the long chains of antecedent events and political thought that precipitated these world-historical transformations. Students will also learn about the ramifications of these events and how they shaped politics in the nineteenth century and beyond. We begin with the natural law tradition, considering the intersections of liberty, equality, and authority, and the tensions between freedom and political obligation. The effect of commerce on politics, including colonization in the Americas and Asia, will be another crucial element of the course. Similarly, questions of democratic founding in the Enlightenment era, like in America (1776) or France (1789), alongside the limits of democratic politics will be particularly salient. In addition, the puzzle of the concurrent developments of democracy and imperialism will remain a key theme during the second half of the course. Finally, the course ends with a comprehensive reappraisal of the natural law and Enlightenment traditions, and a revolutionary proposal to reorganize society on more just and solidaristic grounds.

Readings range from primary texts in the history of political thought to journal and newspaper articles (40-60 pages a week). Thinkers covered in the course include Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, David Hume, John-Jacques Rousseau, John Stuart Mill, and Karl Marx. All readings will be available electronically.
Who Should Take This Class?:
No prerequisites. The class is suitable for all students. Having taken POL 1201 previously may be helpful.
Learning Objectives:

  • Identify and define ideas, solve problems of textual interpretation

  • Locate and critically evaluate information on revolution, democracy, and empire in the history of political thought

  • Analyze and interpret arguments, restate them orally and in written form

  • Compare, contrast, and connect thinkers and ideas across different historical periods

  • Communicate complex ideas both orally and in writing

  • Participate in debate and argument with peers

Grading:
Participation: 20%
Short Paper (1 page): 5%
Long Paper 1 (3 pages): 20%
Long Paper 2 (4 pages): 25% (includes first draft and redraft)
Final Essay (5 pages): 30%
Exam Format:
Writing assignments, submitted electronically.
Class Format:
50% Lecture
50% Discussion
Workload:
40-60 pages of reading per week
13-15 pages of writing overall
4 papers (this is a writing-intensive course)
Other Workload: Active participation in breakout groups and in weekly Google Doc
Textbooks:
https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/65513/1233
Instructor Supplied Information Last Updated:
31 October 2022

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