Course Syllabus

Aristotle thought of politics as “the highest form of human activity” in keeping with this tradition the course is a general examination of politics, not as a specific set of behaviors within a culture, but as the human activity through which cultures are created.

TEXTS: 
Harris. COWS, PIGS, WARS & WITCHES 
Schuman & Wirth. A Preface to Politics: THE REAL ISSUES
Stewart. UNDERSTANDING POLITICS 
Bellamy. LOOKING BACKWARD

 EXPECTATIONS: Normal (2hrs outside work for every class hour = 15 hrs. per week)

Although attendance is not mandatory, students are responsible for everything that happens during class sessions—graded in-class exercises/quizzes are always a possibility

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ASSIGNMENTS: FIRST HALF COURSE GRADE

(All grades are on the standard 4.0 pt. scale. To calculate your grade from the running % total on Canvas convert the % to a decimal and multiply by 4.)

Module 1:

Response to introductory readings: Preface (4pts)

Political Compass (post 2pts, Plot and submit 2pts)

https://www.politicalcompass.org/ (Links to an external site.)

Harris Discussions TBA

Module 2:

Preface Reaction Papers (RA 1-9, 4pts ea.)

(Instructions for assignments are posted under REACTION PAPERS in Module 2.)

"My Way" paper (12 pts)

(Instructions for “My Way” are posted in Module 2.)

All assignments for the first half are worth 4 points except "My Way" which is worth 12 for a total of 60.

SECOND HALF COURSE GRADE

Module 3:

FINAL PROJECT: One half of Course Grade 
Dead Scribbler Quizzes (5 pts)

Read Looking Backward and prepare Stewart Charts for Bellamy’s Boston 2000 (5pts)

(You will read about Bellamy's best world in Looking Backward and prepare a set of Stewart charts as practice for the final.

Final Paper (15 pages) 40pts

LOOKING BACKWARD 2050 

"For at least another hundred years, we must pretend to ourselves and to everyone that fair and foul and foul is fair; for foul is useful and fair is not. Avarice and usury and precaution must be our gods for a little longer still. For only they can lead us out of the economic necessity into daylight." 
- John Maynard Keynes 


The final paper is the capstone of the course in which you should accomplish two tasks: 

A. 20 points: Imagine! Go to sleep and wake up in your Best World 2050. Show me what life will be like if we meet Lord Keynes' schedule? Deal with the culture as Bellamy did. Don't go for the technological fix. 

B. 20 points: Analysis of your 2050: Do an analysis of your best world using Stewart's Cultures/Structures framework. (Each chapter in the text illustrates how this is done and provides you with the format and a model. However, since you have imagined a better world, you will not be able to copy any of the coding from the text because it represents current or past situations.)  Remember the purpose of this half of the final is to demonstrate that you have mastered the mechanics of Stewart's framework by using it to explain your own original material.

LEARNING OUTCOMES 

The purpose of the Introduction to Politics course is to expand the student's understanding of the scope of the human activity called Politics by placing it in a broader historical and comparative cultural context. 

Students will understand that cultures define the scope and nature of the political differently, will be aware of the truncated nature of "politics" in the United States, and will be able to see and explain how their cultural understandings both positive and the negative produce what is referred to as the "best system ever". 

Students will know the difference between a system and a community. 

Students will understand that societies change over time and they will be equipped with a conceptual framework which will allow them to deal effectively with cultural change and to compare different political cultures. 

Students will be introduced to a cross section of the seminal thinkers who have given us our understanding of politics and they will be able to match the individuals with their ideas and show how they contribute to the establishment and maintenance of different cultures.

Central Washington University is committed to creating a learning environment that meets the needs of its diverse student body. If you anticipate or experience any barriers to learning, discuss your concerns with the instructor.  Students with disabilities should contact Disability Services to discuss a range of options to removing barriers, including accommodations.  Disability Services is located in Hogue 126. Call (509) 963-2214 or email ds@cwu.edu for more information.