Philosophy 290 Social & Political Philosophy Course Home Page

Course Overview and Objectives
Among the most central questions of political theory are: What legitimates the state's exercise of power?  Are there limits to the just exercise of that power over citizens?  What ar the proper ends and goals of the state?  Do citizens have an obligation to obey the law?  In this course, we will critically examine answers given to these and other questions by several influential political philosophers.  Our primary goal is to reach a deeper understanding of the dominant political tradition in the West, namely political liberalism, and to come to terms with contemporary challenges to that tradition.  A second aim of the course is to refine our analytic skills--the ability to reconstruct, evaluate, and create arguments.

Instructor Information
Prof. Andrew P. Mills
Office: Towers 323
Office Phone: 823-1368
Spring Quarter Office Hours: M, W: 11-12 and 2-3 and by appointment.  I'm in my office every day, and I love to have visitors, so if you want to drop by, feel free to do so!!
E-mail: amills@otterbein.edu

Texts
The primary text for this class is:

Steven Luper (ed), Social Ideals and Policies: Readings in Social and Political Philosophy

Course Requirements
This is a text-based course, and it is imperative that you do the assigned reading (preferably twice) before coming to class each day.  If you don't do the reading, you will not learn the material, and you will find the lectures much more difficult to follow.  I have provided a number of study questions to help you focus your reading on the important themes.  If I see that students are not doing the reading, I may start having pop reading quizzes.

The second imperative is that you have an email account, and regular, reliable access to the internet.  Email is the best and quickest way I know of to communicate with all of you, and for you all to communicate with each other.  I will make regular updates to this website, and you should get in the habit of checking it daily.  If you do not have an email account, visit the Information Technology department, and get set up.  It is easy to do, and it is free.

Here's a breakdown of the graded work for the course.  Following this breakdown is a fuller description of each of the graded requirements
 

In-Class Exams
These will be standard essay exams. Some short answer, and some longer answer essay questions.  Dates for the exams are noted on the syllabus.

Short Writing Assignments
Periodically throughout the quarter, I will ask you to write about a particular passage, argument, or idea contained in our readings.  These short writing assignments (ranging from a paragraph to no more than two pages) will serve to draw attention to particularly puzzling and/or significant passages or ideas in our readings and prepare us to engage in a more reflective manner on this material.

End-of-Term Presentation
The last five days of the quarter will be given over to student presentations.  You will work on these in small groups (no more than three people per group).  Each group will be given a day of class in which to make their presentation.  The presentation should include time for questions and discussion by the rest of the class.  In addition to the in-class portion of your presentation, there will also be a written portion.  More details on the written portion will be disseminated later in the quarter, but each member of the group must prepare his or her own written portion.  The presentation should be on some topic related to the material we have covered in class, and the groups must get approval of their topic from Prof. Mills.  Presentations should show evidence of research beyond the materials in the book.  Two days in the ninth week of class will be "Library Days" in which groups can work on their presentations, but the best presentations will require work throughout the quarter.

Ethics Lab
The Ethics Lab will take place on the second day of class, and will be an in-class activity.

Final Exam
The final exam will be a cumulative exam.  It will be in-class, and will require you to write mid-length essays on central texts from the course of the quarter.  I will provide a study guide as the end of the quarter approaches.  So that you can get a sense of the form of the final exam, here is a link to the final exam from the Early Modern Philosophy courseI  taught last quarter.  The final exam for this class will be the same in format, though will, of course, focus on different texts.

Attendance
I will take attendance, and it will count toward your grade.  If you have to miss class, please notify me ahead of time.  In cases where you are missing class for an officially excuseable reason, please bring the relevant notes to me.  If you are going to miss more than 5 classes during the quarter, you should think about dropping the class.  For if you miss that many classes, it is not the case that you have actually taken the course.  If there are going to be persistent attendance worries, please see me and we can try to make some arrangements.  It is important that you show up having done the readings.  If I notice that students are not doing the readings, I may give some unannounced reading quizzes.

Participation
Participation, you will notice, is a different category from attendance.  Merely showing up and sitting in your seat will get you the attendance points, but it will not get you the participation points.  Asking questions during class, making comments that show evidence of having read and thought about the readings, and in general being engaged in the classroom are what will get you participation points.  Philosophy is an interactive discipline, and you will not learn the material if you do not take the risks and speak up in class.  Moreover, I cannot know just what it is you are not understanding unless you let me know, and that requires asking informed questions.

Opportunities for Extra Credit
You may earn up to 3 points (on a 100 point scale) of extra credit during the course of the term by attending academic talks and turning in a one-page summary of, reaction to, or discussion of the talk.  You will receive one point for each talk you attend, up to a maximum of 3 points.  You may attend any on-campus lecture (plays, musical perfomances, athletic events, etc. do not count), or, if you wish, an off-campus lecture (at OSU, for instance).  The written discussion should be turned in not more than 3 days after the talk, and should include the name of the speaker and the title of the talk.  For a listing of philosophy talks in the area, consult the For Otterbein Philosophers web page.

Policies on Late Papers, and Grades

Late work
Due dates for the short writing assignments will be specified when the assignments are given.  Late work will not be accepted without prior approval of the instructor.

What grades mean

A Excellent. An 'A' is awarded for original insight, sound reasoning, and the ability to evaluate the scope of the material studied. In addition, an 'A' indicates sensitivity to the important issues and an ability to carry on philosophical thinking beyond the confines of the text. In the case of written work, lucid, grammatically correct prose and clear organization are necessary to receiving a grade in the A range.  An ‘A' on a paper is like a rating of five stars on a movie--it is really something special.

B Good. A 'B' reflects an interpretive skill and a clear understanding of the meaning and interrelatedness of the course materials. A 'B' indicates the ability to report the views of others in one's own words with no glaring flaws, errors or misunderstandings. In the case of written work, 'B' papers include generally readable prose, which does not include too much irrelevant information or discussion off the assigned topic.

C Fair. A 'C' indicates a thorough familiarity with basic course materials. Work which receives a 'C' does more or less what was assigned, though is unable to move beyond the texts in any significant way (e.g., unable to clearly render in one's own words the views of others). In the case of written work, 'C' papers have numerous grammatical, spelling, stylistic, or organizational errors which make it difficult to understand written work, and/or frequent or significant forays into the realm of the irrelevant.

D Poor. A 'D' reflects only a minimal grasp of course material. 'D' work exhibits serious factual errors and misunderstandings.

F  Failure. An 'F' is assigned for failing work and indicates a lack of interest in the course and/or an ability to handle it. Work not handed in, or turned in late without the proper permission, will receive an F.

One Last Thing About Writing

You will notice that there is a fair bit of writing in this class.  One cannot learn philosophy via multiple choice exams, but one must learn it by writing. The writing takes the form of a number of brief assignments, so it should not be too onerous.  Developing the skill of getting one or two thoughts down in a page or two is a skill that will serve you well in other classes, and in your post-collegiate career.  If you can write well, you can think well.  Toward this end, let me encourage you to obtain, or have at your ready disposal, a good dictionary and a writer's aide, such as The Elements of Style by Strunk and White. You all should have copies of The Blair Handbook, and that will serve as well.  You will find these to be invaluable tools not only for this class, but for any class in which you are required to write essays. When it comes to the peculiarities of philosophical writing, the selections in the coursepack will be helpful.  As you can tell from the above elaboration of the grades, 'grammar counts'. If your writing is sloppy, your reader cannot figure out what it is you are trying to say, and, as a result, you will likely get a low grade. In the age of computers and spell-checkers, there is no excuse for misspellings, but do not rely on spell-checkers alone. Proof-read your papers. You might find it helpful, when proof-reading, to read your paper aloud; often times one's ear can catch awkward prose better than one's eye can.  Everyone who writes should read George Orwell's "Politics and the English Language".  If you haven't, or want to review, you can access it on-line here.

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