YORK
UNIVERSITY
DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL
SCIENCE
AP/POLS 1000C 6.0
Fall/Winter 2019-2020
INTRODUCTION TO POLITICS:
EXPLORING THE
DEMOCRATIC EXPERIENCE
Lecture Time: Thursdays,
12:30 –
14:30
Lecture Location: CLH
B
Professor: Rodney
Loeppky
Office Location: Ross
S631
E-mail: rloeppky@yorku.ca
Office Hours: Thursday,
14:30-16:30
Telephone: 416-735-2100
x 30085
Course Description
This course introduces students to the study of politics.
Special emphasis is
given to different origins and understandings of democracy,
problems in
democratic theory, and the real world practices of democratic
states. More
specifically, the course is designed to introduce a number of
basic concepts,
which can be employed to understand, explain, and raise critical
questions
about important democratic institutions and processes.
Goals of the course
The primary goal of the course is to discuss some of the basic
concepts of
politics, introducing various debates that provide students with
a solid basis
to conceptualize and think critically about political life,
political values,
and political processes. Alongside this, the material is
intended to
further develop certain critical skills: theoretical
conceptualisation,
maximized comprehension of lectures and readings, utilisation of
library
resources, and communication of thoughts and research findings
in both written
and oral forms. Ultimately, the aim is to encourage an informed
and active
interest in political life and provide the skills to critically
examine public
discourse and the exercise of power.
Class Format
There is a 2-hour lecture, once a week, and tutorial discussion
groups for an
extra hour. The weekly readings are arranged such that page
numbers should not
be too onerous for students. Mandatory readings should,
ideally, be read
prior to the week’s lectures and tutorial discussions.
Students are,
naturally, encouraged to pursue extra readings of particular
interest to them
in relation to both the lectures and tutorials.
For written
assignments, students must read
supplementary materials. You are therefore encouraged to begin
cultivating the
habit of exploring the additional readings referred to in text
bibliographies.
This will not only help students learn how to use Scott Library,
but it will
get them into research habits that will be necessary for the
rest of their
undergraduate career.
Course
Materials
1. Required
texts:
Robert Garner et al., Introduction
To
Politics: Second Canadian Edition (Toronto: Oxford
University Press, 2017).
Held, David. (2006). Models of Democracy. Third Edition.
Stanford, Wiley.
*Available
from
Bookstore in e-text format.
2. Four reading items (marked in the readings below) will be
placed at the
Reserve Desk of the Scott library.
Course Requirements,
evaluation and due
dates
The most important requirement of the course is to attend and be
prepared for
lectures and one tutorial seminar each week. Being prepared
means having
completed the required readings in order to be able to follow
lectures and to
participate in tutorial discussion groups. 10% of your final
grade is reserved
for attendance and participation in
the
tutorials, and how this 10% is distributed and awarded is under
the
discretionary power of your tutor.
The first term paper (1250 words) will be due on November 7th
in
your tutorial. It will constitute 20% of your final
grade.
Studying political life involves learning how to think
theoretically and
conceptually about political processes and linking these
abstractions to the
real world of political and social events. The aim in a
term paper is to
utilise such techniques to make an argument concerning
a particular
theme or event. This paper will be focused, above
all, on your
ability to relate an event or process to a concept or concepts
in the study of
politics, and you will be required to utilise a minimum of 5
sources (beyond
course materials). Details on the assignment will be
distributed
well prior to the due date.
The second term paper (2500 words) will involve a research essay
and will be
due on March 20th in your tutorial.
It will
constitute 30% of your final grade. This paper will be more
extensive than the
first, and you will be given the space to explore a topic more
thoroughly. At the same time, the expectations will be
higher – you will
be required, for instance, to utilise a minimum of 8 sources
(beyond course
material). As such, it is strongly advised that you
utilise your TA as a
resource (during office hours!), in order to work out the
framework,
argumentation and substance of your paper.
All papers
should be typed, double-spaced
and should not be longer than the number of words
assigned. Please
include a word count on the final page.
Late
submissions are accepted without
penalty only under exceptional circumstances (such
as illness)
and medical notes are required.
Please read carefully the materials on academic dishonesty
appended to this
course outline. Violations are subject to severe penalties,
which can be easily
avoided by observing simple rules.
**Note: Two
hours (October 3rd)
will be devoted to paper writing, and I will endeavour to make
clear what is
expected of students, as well as equip them with strategies and
techniques to
write a credible academic paper. Importantly, however, it
is critical to
bear in mind that writing, just like reading, takes
practice. For the
overwhelming majority of students, it is an ability that evolves
dramatically
over the long course of their undergraduate degrees, and it is
something you
only acquire through repeated exercise. Post-secondary
institutions
require a higher standard of quality and originality, and, for
most students,
this takes time to develop. Some will inevitably feel
frustrated with
this process. As such, take the critical feedback on your
work seriously,
talk about it with your tutor, and see what you can do to build
on your
experience for the next paper. Students who make this
effort – regardless
of their initial skill level – do improve with time.
An online mid-term examination will be held on November
28th.
It will cover material up to and including week 11 and will
constitute 20% of
your final grade
An in-class final
examination will
be held on April 3rd. It will cover material
from the second
semester, while making reference to themes covered in the first
semester.
It will constitute 20% of your grade.
Summary:
Tutorial
participation
10%
Research paper #1 (1250 words), due
November 7th 20%
Mid-term Online exam –November 28th
20%
Research paper #2 (2500 words), due March
20th 30%
Final In-class exam –April 3rd
20%
Note: Students who encounter extenuating circumstances during
the term which
may interfere with the successful completion of exams or other
course
assignments should discuss the matter with their tutorial leader
or course
instructor as soon as possible. Students with physical,
psychiatric or learning
disabilities may request reasonable accommodations in teaching
style or
evaluation methods, as outlined in Appendix A of the Senate
Policy on Students
with Special Needs. They should advise the director at the
earliest
opportunity, so that appropriate arrangements can be coordinated
with the
Office for Persons with Disabilities, the Counseling Development
Centre or the
Learning Disabilities Program.
Fall Term
PART I.
Introducing Politics
Week 1
September 5 – Introduction
to Course
– The Terrain of Politics: Politics, Power,
and Theory
–
Required Readings: Garner et
al., Introduction, Ch. 1, 2
Week 2
September 12
– The Goals of
Politics: Justice and Ethics?
-- Democracy and its Complexities
Required Readings: Garner et al.,
Ch.3, 4.
***September
17th is the last date to enrol without permission
of course
instructor.
Week 3
September 19 – Democracy and
its Complexities (cont.)
– The Political
Spectrum: Liberalism and its Radical Alternatives
Required Readings: Garner et al., Ch.5
Week 4
September 26 – The Political Spectrum:
Liberalism and its Radical
Alternatives (cont.)
Required Readings: Garner et al., Ch.6
PART II.
Democracy in History -- Origins and Models
September 26 – Ancient Athens and
Democracy
Required Reading: Held, Ch.1
Week 5
October 3 – Essay Writing
in Politics
– Essay Writing in Politics
Week 6
October 10 -- Ancient Rome
and the Republican Tradition
Required Readings: Marcus
Tullius Cicero, De re
publica (Cambridge Harvard
University Press, 1959), Book I (pp.2-9, 57-107)**On Reserve.
**Also available
online in the library catalogue.
Held, Chapter 2
OCTOBER 12-18 -- READING WEEK
– No Classes or Tutorials.
***October
22nd is the last date to enrol with permission of
course instructor.
Week 7
October 24 -- Liberalism and
Liberal Democracy
Required
Reading: Held, Chapter 3
Week 8
October 31 – The Radical
Turn
Required Reading:
Held, Chapter 4
PART III. The
Modern State
Week 9
November
7– States: their
function and purpose
Required Reading: Garner et al.: Ch.7,
8
***Essay #1 due in
tutorial on NOVEMBER 7th, in your tutorial.
Week 10
November 14 – Representation:
Electoral Politics and Electoral
Systems
.
Required Reading: Garner et al.: Ch.9
Week 11
November 21 – Executive Power and the
Judicial
Required
Reading: Mark Dickerson and Thomas Flanagan, An Introduction to Government and Politics, 7th ed.
(Toronto:
Nelson/Thompson, 2006), pp.444-54; 466-80. **On Reserve
Week 12
***November 28th – Online
Mid-term Exam.
Winter Term
PART
IV. The 20th Century and ‘Democracy’ in
Action
Week 1
January 9 – War, Depression and
Fascism.
Required Reading:
Eric
Hobsbawm, Age of
Extremes (London:
Abacus, 1994), pp.22-35, 49-53, 85-97. **On Reserve
Week 2
January 16 – The Athenian Heritage?
Elitism, Technocracy and
Legitimacy
Required Reading:
Held, Chapter 5
Week 3
January 23 – Pluralism and its Critics
Required Reading:
Held, Chapter 6
PART V.
‘Consensus’ and ‘Crisis’ in the Postwar Order
Week 4
January 30 – Postwar ‘Consensus’ and
its Erosion
Required Reading: Held, Ch.7
Week 5
February 6 – The Rise and Fall of the
Communist World
Required Reading: Held, Ch.8
***Last date to
drop courses without
receiving a grade – February 3rd
Week 6
February 13 – Reconsidering Politics,
Reconsidering Governance:
Political
Culture, Civil Society, and New Social Movements
Required Reading: Garner et al.,
Ch.12, 13.
***February 15th-21st
– Reading Week – No Classes or Tutorials
Week 7
February 27 – Gender & Diversity
Required Reading: Garner et al., Ch.6
(Review, especially
pp.119-124).
VI. A Global
Politics?
Week 8
March 6 – International Relations and
the Post-Cold War World
Required Reading: Garner et al.,
Ch.15, 17.
Week 9
March 13 – Finance, Trade and
Governance
Required Reading: Garner et al.,
Ch.19, 20.
Week 10
March 20 – Finance, Trade and
Governance (cont.)
–
The Cold War, Decolonisation and the
‘New’ Politics of the South
Required Reading: Garner, Ch.16.
****Essay #2 due in
tutorial on March 20th, in your tutorial.
VII. Prospects for
Democracy
Week 11
March 27 – Democratic
Autonomy
Prospects for Democracy?
Required Reading: Held, Ch.10.
Week 12
April 3 – In
Class Final Exam.