POLSCI- 412
Contemporary
Political Theory 
While the 19th century and its political and cultural formations
set
a strong foundation for the philosophies considered modern,
social/economic/political
changes in late 20th century and the 21st century have called many of
the
underlying assumptions in those philosophies into question. The
political
world is characterized by increasing fragmentation, the breakdown of
the
nation state, and increasingly tight connections economically, at the
same
time that cultural difference and resistance become stronger. The
strong belief in human rationality and reason as the best means to
organize a society
and make political decisions has been called into question by the
excesses
of technology and consumption, disputes that seem to be based on
irreconcilable
positions, and the irrationality associated with the spread of
global
terrorism and its tactics. The growth and sophistication of the media
and
the ability to doctor images and text calls into question the basic
(and
naive) belief that appearance is reality. There is a blurring of
boundaries
between areas once presumed to be distinct, and there is an endless
configuration
of new forms of identity constantly being formed and reformed in ways
that
institutions have not anticipated.. Above all, contemporary theory
offers
a deep skepticism towards political institutions and philosophical
foundations.
In this class, we will examine critically the premises and
historical
roots of contemporary theories of politics and discuss their
implications.
We will also examine some of the major schools of contemporary thought
to
see whether they work better at explaining the complex
political/cultural/economic
world we find ourselves living currently. Finally, our focus will be on
the
practical applications of the theories developed by contemporary
theorists.
Seven
Blind men and the elephant.
Presentation
guidelines and examples
Grading
Criteria
university
non-discrimination policy
Week 1 (1/21/09)
What is contemporary theory?
Intro remarks
Week 2 (1/26/09-1/28/09)
Frederich Nietzsche
Nietzsche Beyond
Good
and Evil (look at chapters 1 and 4).d
notes on
Nietzsche
Week 3 (2/2/09-2/4/09)
Existentialism
Jean-Paul Sartre 1946. "Existence and
Humanism'
notes on
Sartre
Week 4 (2/9/09-2/11/09)
Simone
DeBeauvoir 1949. Intro
to The Second Sex: "Women as Other"
notes on Simone
DeBeauvoir
Week
5 (2/16/09-2/18/09)
critical
theory
Herbert
Marcuse.
1964. One
Dimensional Man
notes on
Marcuse
second set of
response questions- existentialism, due 3/9/09
Week
6 (2/23/09-2/25/09)
Adorno
and Horkheimer. 1944. Culture
Industry
notes on adorno
and horkheimer
Week 7 (3/2/09-3/4/09)
Week
8 (3/9/09-3/11/09)
Jurgen
Habermas
1987.
A
Theory of Communicative Ethics
notes on habermas
3rd set
of response questions, due april 1, 2009
SPRING
BREAK--NO CLASS- (3/23/09--3/25/09)
Week 10 (3/30/09-4/1/09)
post-modern
theory & discourse analysis
Foucault The
Archeology of Knowledge (excerpts)
notes on foucault
Week
11
(4/6/09-4/8/09)
post-colonial
studies
Franz
Fanon
The
Wretched of the Earth- excerpts
notes on fanon
Week
12 (4/13/09-4/15/09)
Vine
De Loria
Jr. Thoughts on
Western Science:critical inquiry
notes on DeLoria
response
questions 4- due 4/27/09
Week
13 (420/09-4/22/09)
technology/media
studies
Donna HarawayThe
Promise
of Monsters
notes on haraway
Week 14 (4/27/09--4/29/09, 5/4/09)
Howard
Rheingold 2004. Phones, Fashions,
Self
and Society
2003. Disinformocracy in
Virtual Communities
rheingold
5/6/09
overview
overview of major
themes
presentations
5/11/09, 5/15/09 (3:15-5:15 pm)
presentations