Discipline: Philosophy Degree Credit  [X]
Non Credit  [ ]
Nondegree Credit  [ ]
Comm Service  [ ]
 

Riverside Community College District
Integrated Course Outline of Record

Philosophy 33


COURSE DESCRIPTION
33 Introduction to Social and Political Philosophy Units: 3.00
 
Prerequisite(s): None.

Advisory: Qualification for ENG 1A
An introduction to issues in social and political philosophy. Discusses both the development of political philosophy in response to varying historical problems and the application of political philosophy to contemporary issues; topics studied include ancient Greek, social contract, communist, and modern political philosophy. 54 hours lecture.
 
SHORT DESCRIPTION FOR CLASS SCHEDULE
Introduction to issues in social and political philosophy.
 
ADVISORY ENTRY SKILLS
Before entering the course, students will be able to:
  1. Write English at paragraph and essay level, including avoidance of egregious errors in grammatical usage and mechanics;

  2. Create coherent and unified paragraphs, short essays, and reports in response to assigned topics and prompts;

  3. Conduct limited research with primary and secondary sources and to employ standard conventions for documentation of source material;

  4. Recognize key ideas in college level texts and employ critical thinking skills to the analysis of such texts in both discussion and written form.
STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES
 Upon successful completion of the course, students should be able to:

1.   Recognize and explain different understandings of the nature and
      purpose of society.

2.   Analyze basic concepts that comprise the building blocks of political
      philosophy.

3.   Interpret primary texts from philosophy and demonstrate how they 
      respond to the political problems faced by the societies which 
      produced them.

4.   Evaluate the degree to which various political concepts and
      philosophies explain the relationship between all members and 
      classes of society.

5.   Appraise the potential relevance of earlier political philosophies to 
      contemporary political problems.

6.   Formulate and defend one’s own textual interpretation, perspective
      on political theory, and philosophical position in both oral and 
      written work
 
COURSE CONTENT
  TOPICS
 

Instructor’s approach to course content may be historical or topical.  Students will read primary works from at least one Greek, one early modern, and one modern political philosopher.

  1. Introduction to problems of political philosophy
  2. Ancient political philosophy: 
    1. Plato:  ideas of justice and the soul; the class structure of the Republic; theory of forms; the critique of existing regimes
    2. Aristotle:  the nature of the polis; theory of the different constitutions;
  3.  Early modern/social contract theory
    1. Machiavelli:  the prince and the people; perspective and political knowledge; relationship between monarchies and republics; character of political founders
    2. Hobbes:  the state of nature; theory of human nature; the sovereign and the social contract
    3. Locke:  the state of nature; nature of rights to property; nature of law;
    4. Rousseau:  the origin of inequality; the origin of civil society; the social contract; the ideal republic
  4. Modern political philosophy
    1. Hegel and Marx:  dialectical materialism; class formation and structure; labor theory of value; class antagonism
    2. Bentham and Mill: utilitarianism
  5. Contemporary political philosophy (at least one of the following)
    1. Frankfort School
    2. Hannah Arendt
    3. John Rawls
 
METHODS OF INSTRUCTION
 Methods of instruction used to achieve student learning outcomes may include, but are not limited to:

  • Present class lectures/discussions/demonstrations in order to familiarize students with the nature and purpose of society and the basic concepts that comprise the building blocks of political philosophy.
  • Create small group activities in order to provide an opportunity to appreciate how political problems and diverse political perspectives can be addressed by philosophical theory.
  • Develop and assign class exercises that require analysis and understanding of the texts and independent and rational thinking about the political problems faced by the societies which produced those texts.
  • Show videos/films/recordings in order to focus discussion on the degree to which various political concepts and philosophies inform contemporary society.
  • Conduct individual conferences in order to assist in the organization of essays and encourage independent thought about political theory and political life.
  • Develop and assign web-enhanced/online/distance learning tasks such as further reading, investigation of social and political philosophy websites to deepen understanding of the contexts and traditions in which political and philosophical discussion is conducted, and discussion board postings that allow the student to express reasoned viewpoints about assigned topics.
  • Invite guest lecturers to class in order to present contemporary problems in political philosophy and encourage independent and rational discussion of contemporary political thought.
 
METHODS OF EVALUATION
 Students will be evaluated for progress in and/or mastery of learning outcomes by methods of evaluation which may include, but are not limited to:

  • Present class lectures/discussions/demonstrations in order to familiarize students with the nature and purpose of society and the basic concepts that comprise the building blocks of political philosophy.
  • Create small group activities in order to provide an opportunity to appreciate how political problems and diverse political perspectives can be addressed by philosophical theory.
  • Develop and assign class exercises that require analysis and understanding of the texts and independent and rational thinking about the political problems faced by the societies which produced those texts.
  • Show videos/films/recordings in order to focus discussion on the degree to which various political concepts and philosophies inform contemporary society.
  • Conduct individual conferences in order to assist in the organization of essays and encourage independent thought
  • bout political theory and political life.
  • Develop and assign web-enhanced/online/distance learning tasks such as further reading, investigation of social and political philosophy websites to deepen understanding of the contexts and traditions in which political and philosophical discussion is conducted, and discussion board postings that allow the student to express reasoned viewpoints about assigned topics.
  • Invite guest lecturers to class in order to present contemporary problems in political philosophy and encourage independent and rational discussion of contemporary political thought.
ASSIGNMENTS

Required Reading Assignments


Required Writing Assignments


Other Outside-of-Class Assignments
 
COURSE MATERIALS
 All materials used in this course will be periodically reviewed to ensure that they are appropriate for college level instruction. Possible texts include:

  • Morgan, Michael L.. Classics of Moral and Political Theory. Indianapolis: Hackett, 1992.
  • Aristotle. Politics. New York: Penguin, 1962.
  • Marx, Karl and Friedrich Engels. The Communist Manifesto. New York: Penguin, 1967.
  • Plato. The Republic. Arlington Heights: AHM Publishing, 1979.
  • Rousseau, Jean-Jacques. The Social Contract. New York: Penguin, 1968.
  • Sterba, James . Social and Political Philosophy : Classical Western Texts in Feminist and Multicultural Perspectives. Belmont: Wadsworth, 2002.
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