AHUM 22A10 - ABCs of Politics: Theoretical and Practical Perspectives on Contemporary Politics (The)

This course explores some of the central texts, thinkers, and debates of contemporary political theory. Inspired by Gilles Deleuze's Abécédaire, it is organized around a series of thematic sessions, each devoted to a key political question explored through the work of a major political thinker.

The course is divided into three parts. The first (Rethinking Freedom in the Aftermath of WWII) introduces the discipline of political theory and examines competing conceptions of freedom, as well as the political and social conditions that sustain or threaten it, through the works of Isaiah Berlin, Friedrich Hayek, Hannah Arendt, and Herbert Marcuse. The second (Justice and the Foundations of Political Order) turns from questions of freedom to debates about justice, political authority, equality, gender, and community. Beginning with John Rawls's influential theory of justice, it examines a series of responses and critiques through the writings of Robert Nozick, Susan Moller Okin, and Alasdair MacIntyre. The final part examines several enduring controversies in democratic politics: multiculturalism, freedom of expression, sexuality and political power, and the ethics of war.

Although the course is organized primarily around themes, chronology is not absent: the first two parts broadly trace the development of political theory since the Second World War in the order in which its central debates emerged. Throughout the course, attention will be paid not only to the arguments themselves but also to the historical and political contexts in which they arose.

Objectives

• To introduce students to some of the major texts, thinkers, and debates in contemporary political theory, and to examine the meaning and justification of the key questions, arguments and concepts at their centre.
• To develop the analytical, interpretive, and critical skills necessary to engage with complex theoretical arguments and assess their relevance to contemporary political debates, institutions, and controversies.
• To cultivate the habits of close reading and reflection, and an appreciation of the aesthetic and intellectual pleasures that arise from sustained engagement with great works of political thought.

Prior knowledge is not required.

Reading for the first session:

•Berlin, Isaiah. "Does Political Theory Still Exist?" In Philosophy, Politics and Society, 2nd series, edited by P. Laslett and W.G. Runciman. Oxford: Blackwell, 1962. (selected excerpts).

•Strauss, Leo. "What Is Political Philosophy?" In What Is Political Philosophy? And Other Studies. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1988 [1957]. (selected excerpts).

• The course is divided into twelve weekly lectures and seminar sessions.
• Lectures are organized around major questions in political theory and use assigned texts as points of entry into broader theoretical and political debates. Attention is paid to the arguments themselves, their historical contexts, and their continuing significance for contemporary political life.
• Seminar sessions are designed to encourage close reading and critical engagement with the course material. Each seminar pairs a central text with a second work that extends, challenges, or reframes its arguments. Through guided discussion, students will examine competing interpretations, formulate and defend their own arguments, and test theoretical claims against alternative frameworks.

To successfully complete the course, students must pass both the final examination and the seminar component.

• Final Examination (33% of the final grade)

The final examination (closed book) consists of two parts:

Part 1: Essay question (approximately 1,000 words)

Students will answer one broad essay question requiring them to engage with and compare several texts discussed during the semester.

Part 2: Short questions (approximately 500 words each)

Students will answer two or three short questions focusing on specific concepts, arguments, or debates examined during the course.

• Seminar Evaluation (67% of the final grade)

The seminar grade is composed as follows (percentages refer to the seminar grade):

• Participation 10%
• Five in-class reading quizzes (multiple-choice) 40%
• Midterm examination 50%

The reading quizzes are designed to encourage regular engagement with the assigned readings and preparation for seminar discussions. Detailed information regarding the quizzes and the midterm examination will be provided during the first seminar session.