Political Philosophy of the Western World

Politics are all around us, and it is important to be able to discuss them. The goal of this class is to help students develop opinions based on original source material and learn to discuss them in a respectful and mature way. Students will learn through reading primary source documents and discussing them as a group. Towards the end of class, students will synthesize their thoughts into a written argumentative essay. 

In this class, students will read the philosophy of different political ideologies and lead discussion on them. Each student will sign up for one week to lead the discussion. On their designated day, they will come to class with several discussion questions as well as some background research about the writer. Students will have a worksheet to fill out as they read if they find it helps to organize their thoughts. I will also offer historical context for each writer to further inform our understanding of their thoughts (for example, Engels writing during the Industrial Revolution, Paine writing during the American Revolution). 

Students will lead the discussion with their thoughts on the text at hand each week- I will not be lecturing. I will guide the discussion and moderate to ensure that everyone can share their thoughts, but also to encourage students to elaborate on their thoughts and cite examples. 

Each week, students will also submit a written response (3-5 sentences) of their reactions to the weekly reading. Students must read every week. 

Students will be responsible for 1 five paragraph essay. They will present it at the end of the semester. 

This class is modelled after a college/university course and is excellent preparation to that style of learning. Specifically, that means that students are required to read texts before class and come to class ready to discuss them. To help students, who may be new to this style of learning, there is a guided reading guide students may opt to fill out as they read. 

Readings will be between 400-800 words each week. The goal is for students to develop and defend opinions by interpreting primary sources, as well as effectively communicate them. 

Discussion will focus on questions like; what does this writer think the function of the state is? How does this writer feel about the concept of a state? Who benefits most under the ideology at hand? What would the ideology look like in the modern day? Does the ideology exist, in whole or in part, in the modern day? 

Paper topic: Choose one political philosophy and argue in its favor. Use real world examples and cite from at least 2 works we have read in class. Be sure to spend at least one paragraph anticipating and addressing counter arguments. 
Essays should be at least 5 paragraphs: an introduction, 3 body paragraphs, and a conclusion. 
Students will be required to hand in an outline.

Essays will be given feedback. Grades can be furnished upon request with the following breakdown: 25% class discussion, 25% written responses, 25% discussion lead, 25% final essay. If you would like a grade, you must tell me no later than the 2nd week of class. 

Readings are typed out, rather than scanned, for ease of students who may need to manipulate the text to accommodate for learning differences. 



Week 1: Introduction to political philosophy
-Guiding Questions
	What is the function of the state? How should we read primary source documents? 

Week 2: Mercantilism
A Letter Addressed by Louis XIV to the People of Marseilles, Louis XIV and Jean-Baptiste Colbert, 1664

 Week 3: Classic Liberalism
-John Locke, Two Treatises of Government, 1689 

Week 4: The Free Market
-Adam Smith, The Wealth of Nations, 1776 

Week 5: Republicanism
-Common Sense, Thomas Paine, 1776 

Week 6: Constitutional Monarchy
-Immanuel Kant, Perpetual Peace, 1795 

Week 7: Anarchy
-What is Property? Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, 1840 

Week 8: Communism
-Anti-Dühring, Frederick Engels, 1877 

Week 9: Leninism 
-The Marxist Theory of the State and the Tasks of the Proletariat in the Revolution, V. I. Lenin, 1918

Week 10: Fascism 
-The Social and Political Doctrine of Fascism, Benito Mussolini and Giovanni Gentile, 1932 

Week 11: Libertarianism 
-Atlas Shrugged; Ayn Rand, 1957 

Week 12: Developing a thesis & Writing an outline
HW: Write an outline and hand it in, due before next class. 

Week 13: Conservatism
- Speech to Conservative Party Conference; Margaret Thatcher, 1987 

Week 14: Writing an essay and citing sources.
HW: Complete essay, due before next class. 

Week 15: Presentations and closing discussions. 


In this class, students will...
read the assigned document every week.
submit a 3-5 sentence response to the document before class.
lead the discussion on one document, which student will sign up for before or on the first day of class.
write an argumentative essay in favor of one political ideology talked about in class, due on last day of class.
give a brief presentation of your essay on last day of class.

Any kind of bullying or belittling of others political beliefs will not be tolerated in this class. Students may not share opinions that put down others based on race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, ability, economic or social class. This class is strictly hate free.