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General Information

Course ID (CB01A and CB01B)
POLID005.
Course Title (CB02)
Introduction to Political Thought and Theory
Course Credit Status
Credit - Degree Applicable
Effective Term
Fall 2023
Course Description
A survey in the field of political theory including how to interpret, discuss, critique, debate and write about classical and contemporary political thought and theory. Both classic or traditional approaches as well as more current and contemporary paradigms specific to constituent groups traditionally excluded will be examined. Through this course of study, students will learn to think and discuss critically, about both classic and modern issues in politics (e.g., individual versus community rights, freedom, equality and distributional justice, environmental sustainability and generational equity, the "rights" of nature and non-human life, power, sovereignty and the state, etc.).
Faculty Requirements
Course Family
Not Applicable

Course Justification

This course meets a general education requirement for °®¶¹´«Ã½, CSUGE and IGETC and will be required for the AA-T degree in Political Science. This course provides an introduction to Political Thought and Theory. It examines the history of political thought and theory.

Foothill Equivalency

Does the course have a Foothill equivalent?
No
Foothill Course ID

Course Philosophy

Formerly Statement

Course Development Options

Basic Skill Status (CB08)
Course is not a basic skills course.
Grade Options
  • Letter Grade
  • Pass/No Pass
Repeat Limit
0

Transferability & Gen. Ed. Options

Transferability
Transferable to both UC and CSU
°®¶¹´«Ã½ GEArea(s)StatusDetails
2GDX°®¶¹´«Ã½ GE Area D - Social and Behavioral SciencesApproved
2GES°®¶¹´«Ã½ GE - Environment Sustainability and Global CitizenshipApproved
CSU GEArea(s)StatusDetails
CGDYCSU GE Area D - Social SciencesApproved
IGETCArea(s)StatusDetails
IG4XIGETC Area 4 - Social and Behavioral SciencesApproved
C-IDArea(s)StatusDetails
POLSPolitical ScienceApprovedC-ID POLS 120

Units and Hours

Summary

Minimum Credit Units
4.0
Maximum Credit Units
4.0

Weekly Student Hours

TypeIn ClassOut of Class
Lecture Hours4.08.0
Laboratory Hours0.00.0

Course Student Hours

Course Duration (Weeks)
12.0
Hours per unit divisor
36.0
Course In-Class (Contact) Hours
Lecture
48.0
Laboratory
0.0
Total
48.0
Course Out-of-Class Hours
Lecture
96.0
Laboratory
0.0
NA
0.0
Total
96.0

Prerequisite(s)

Corequisite(s)

Advisory(ies)

EWRT D001A or EWRT D01AH or ESL D005.

Limitation(s) on Enrollment

Entrance Skill(s)

General Course Statement(s)

(See general education pages for the requirements this course meets.)

Methods of Instruction

Lecture and visual aids

Discussion of assigned reading

Discussion and problem solving performed in class

In-class essays

In-class exploration of Internet sites

Quiz and examination review performed in class

Homework and extended projects

Field observation and field trips

Guest speakers

Collaborative projects

Assignments

  1. Verbal: Students will engage, participate and be informed in one or more of the following verbal(oral) exercises: in-class discussions, small problem solving groups, listening partnerships, presentations, interview assignments, persuasive dialectics.
  2. Written: Students will engage in a variety of critical writing exercises including some combination of the following (In each format, students will demonstrate their critical knowledge, understanding and comprehension of and ability to evaluate and apply the theoretical and methodological perspectives presented in class presentations or exercises, assigned readings, or field research. Students will write a minimum of 2500 words during the quarter.):
    1. weekly study question assignments,
    2. journal entries,
    3. short papers,
    4. term papers,
    5. mid-term essays.
  3. Reading: Students will carry out daily reading assignments from original and secondary sources of political theory as well as contemporary news and political journals (sources may be a combination of hard copy and online).
  4. Field Research and Participant Observation: Students may choose an individual or group service learning or civic engagement project related to course content at the beginning of the term.
  5. Collaborative Learning: students may engage in in-class and out-of-class small group research projects and/or problem-solving groups.

Methods of Evaluation

  1. Study question assignments in which students will demonstrate their understanding of assigned readings, particular theorists and/or classical questions in political theory.
  2. Weekly journal entries in which students will demonstrate their understanding of assigned readings, particular theorists and/or classical questions in political theory.
  3. Short analytical papers in which student will demonstrate their capacity to produce a well-developed argument in defense of a particular position.
  4. In-class or take-home quizzes in which students will demonstrate their understanding of assigned readings, particular theorists and/or classical questions in political theory.
  5. Essay-format mid-term exams designed to evaluate student's abilities to recall relevant, factual, and theoretical information presented from required reading and texts, as well as lecture and discussion. Additionally, format will require the student to demonstrate the ability to evaluate alternative solutions to problems posed by the exam questions..
  6. Multiple-choice/objective midterm exam in which students will demonstrate their understanding of assigned readings, particular theorists and/or classical questions in political theory.
  7. Comprehensive essay-format final exam designed to evaluate student's abilities to recall relevant, factual, and theoretical information presented from required reading and texts, as well as lecture and discussion. Additionally, format will require the student to demonstrate the ability to evaluate alternative solutions to problems posed by the exam questions..
  8. Multiple-choice/objective final exam designed to evaluate student's abilities to recall relevant, factual, and theoretical information presented from required reading and texts, as well as lecture and discussion.
  9. Comprehensive research paper in which students will demonstrate their ability to think about and discuss both classic and modern issues in politics and apply the themes being studied to contemporary situations.
  10. Completion of service learning/civic engagement assignment in which students will demonstrate their ability to apply a range of theoretical perspectives on classical and contemporary political problems to current situations.
  11. Participation and oral reports in which instructor(s) will critically assess student's engagement in and contribution to classroom discussions and activities, and evaluate his/her preparation, performance, and abilities to analyze course material.
  12. Online chats, discussion forums and Wiki paper evaluations in which students will demonstrate their ability to interpret, discuss, critique, debate and write about classical and contemporary political thought and theory on a peer-to-peer and collaborative basis.

Essential Student Materials/Essential College Facilities

Essential Student Materials: 
  • None.
Essential College Facilities:
  • None.

Examples of Primary Texts and References

AuthorTitlePublisherDate/EditionISBN
Terence Ball, Richard Dagger and Daniel O'Neill, Political Ideologies and the Democratic Ideal, 10th Edition, (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson, 2017)
Cynthia Kaufman, Ideas for Action, 2nd Ed (Oakland, CA: PM Press, 2016)
Carolyn Merchant, Ecology: Key Concepts in Critical Theory, 2nd Ed (Amherst, NY: Humanity Books, 2008)
John Hoffman & Paul Graham, An Introduction to Political Theory, 3rd Edition (2015)

Examples of Supporting Texts and References

AuthorTitlePublisher
Plato, The Trial and Death of Socrates
Sir Thomas More, Utopia
Baradat, Leon P., Political Ideologies, Their Origin and Impact. Tenth Edition, 2009.
John Stuart Mill, On Liberty
Crenshaw, Kimberle, Critical Race Theory: Key Writings That Formed the Movement. New Press, 1996.
Dahl, Robert. Dilemmas in Pluralist Democracy. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1982.
John-Jacques Rousseau, The Basic Political Writings (Donald A. Cress and David Wootton, eds) 2012
Dahl, Robert A., Stinebrickner, Bruce. Modern Political Analysis (Sixth Edition). Prentice Hall. 2003.
Ball, Dagger, and O'Neill. Ideal and Ideologies: A Reader, 9th edition. Pearson. 2014.
Friedan, Betty. The Feminine Mystique. New York: Heath, 1963.
Gorz, Andre. Ecology as Politics. Boston: South End Press, 1980.
Hooks, Bell, Feminism is for Everyone. Boston: South End Press, 2000.
Losco, Joseph / Williams, Leonard. Political Theory: Classic and Contemporary Readings (Volume II; Second Edition). Roxbury. 2003.
Marx, Karl. (David McLellan, ed.) Karl Marx Selected Writings. New York: Oxford University Press, 1987.
Rawls, John, A Theory of Justice. Belknap Press, 1999
Williams, Patricia. The Alchemy of Race and Rights (Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press, 1992).

Learning Outcomes and Objectives

Course Objectives

  • Evaluate the importance of the study of political theory as a means for understanding important political, economic, social, juridical and environmental phenomena.
  • Explain the way in which political theory is developed by, shaped by and applied to real world events and decision making.
  • Assess the historical, ecological, and social framework surrounding the generation of traditional as well as newly developed political theories and ideologies.
  • Distinguish and compare the defining elements of each body of theory and identify the methodologies or critical units of analysis each uses to understand, explain and predict political behavior.
  • Compare and contrast the different assumptions and values about "human nature" and "reality" embedded in each body of theory and examine the way these starting premises shape the questions asked and conclusions reached.
  • Evaluate the usefulness of each body of theory towards a better and more comprehensive understanding of political life and political institutions, and in shaping goals, strategies and opportunities for civic participation and activism.
  • Synthesize the various theoretical frameworks examined and develop an independent model that can be tested.

CSLOs

  • Evaluate the major paradigms of political thought filtered through views on human nature and the good society.

  • Demonstrate the capacity to analyze critically and apply political theory to contemporary issues.

Outline

  1. Evaluate the importance of the study of political theory as a means for understanding important political, economic, social, juridical and environmental phenomena.
    1. Assess the importance of the study and application of political theory to the field of political science and related sub-disciplines.
    2. Identify how political theory allows students to enhance and expand an understanding of: their personal and political lives at both the community and global level; and the interconnectedness of economic prosperity, social equity and environmental quality.
    3. Critically assess comparative political theory as a channel for opening up, broadening and deepening alternate global views that will allow students to appreciate and understand political behavior and perspectives of groups and cultures other than their own.
  2. Explain the way in which political theory is developed by, shaped by and applied to real world events and decision making.
    1. Explore, compare and contrast the way in which the same or similar political theory varies in its application from one political setting to another.
    2. Critically assess the relational political dynamics among various groups in society, e.g., oppressor/oppressed, leaders/followers, those in power/those relatively powerless, privileged/underprivileged, enfranchised/disenfranchised.
    3. Appraise how the implementation of a particular political theory will affect a given group's recognition of what constitutes legitimacy as well as what influences their adherence and motivations to that particular body of political theory.
      1. Example 1: How does Environmental Theory legitimize the following question: "Do trees have rights?"
      2. Example 2: In what ways do theories arising from a liberal capitalist worldview influence whether and how workers might organize collectively to assert claims for a greater share of the fruits of their labor?
      3. Example 3: How does feminist theory reshape popular notions of what constitutes "work" in society and how such "work" (e.g., domestic/family responsibilities) should be rewarded?
  3. Assess the historical, ecological, and social framework surrounding the generation of traditional as well as newly developed political theories and ideologies.
    1. Identify how political theory is dynamic, fluid and subjective, rather than static, objective or fixed.
    2. Critically examine the inherent bias existing in all political theory and analyze how subjectivity affects perceptions of political life and ideological leanings.
      1. Example 1: Contemporary U.S. feminist theory arising in the context of a declining economic system that forces even larger numbers of women into the paid wage labor market, while at the same time increasing visibility of women in roles of political power.
      2. Example 2: The origins and different applications of the ideological spectrum in the United States and Europe; demonstrating the more conservative and less social democratic approach of the U.S.
      3. Example 3: The development of critical race theory in the post-colonial and civil rights eras.
      4. Example 4: Environmental theory developing in a world where diminishing resources, environmental degradation and life sustainability are clashing with post-industrial and newly developing states' models for growth.
  4. Distinguish and compare the defining elements of each body of theory and identify the methodologies or critical units of analysis each uses to understand, explain and predict political behavior.
    1. Identify the way each body of political theory uses different "lenses" to view political life and how this selectively shapes and presents world views, perceptions and biases.
    2. Identify, distinguish and compare each body of theory's defining and central points of reference, methodologies, and units of analysis.
      1. Example 1: Marxist theory's use of economic class as determined by one's relationship to the means of production and attendant stratifications.
      2. Example 2: Capitalist theory's focus on monetary transactions (e.g. GDP) and individual human "utility" as a primary measurement of human happiness and its use of the state's fiscal authority to exacerbate inequality (e.g. through reduction of income taxation) to promote selective wealth-building for individuals.
      3. Example 3: Feminist theory's use of gender as a salient point of reference towards a better understanding of political, social and sexual discrimination, and empowerment.
      4. Example 4: Environmental theory's prioritization of sustainability, balance and inclusion across both human and non-human systems as a salient point of analysis.
  5. Compare and contrast the different assumptions and values about "human nature" and "reality" embedded in each body of theory and examine the way these starting premises shape the questions asked and conclusions reached.
    1. Establish how every theoretical framework and/or ideology uses as its starting point some set of assumptions about the nature of reality.
    2. Assess the meaning and associated assumptions regarding "human nature" held by various perspectives.
    3. Identify the underlying assumptions of various schools of political theory as well as their assumptions regarding the interplay between nurture and nature and political behavior.
    4. Critically appraise which set of assumptions are most probable and most useful in predicting and shaping human political life.
      1. Example 1: The assumption in most liberal and conservative theory that "human nature" is to be both acquisitive and narrowly self-interested.
      2. Example 2: The assumption in much Marxist theory that humans are motivated to fulfill their "human essence" or "species being" through the labor process.
      3. Example 3: The assumptions in most political theory that prioritize human needs over those of all other species.
  6. Evaluate the usefulness of each body of theory towards a better and more comprehensive understanding of political life and political institutions, and in shaping goals, strategies and opportunities for civic participation and activism.
    1. Apply current and classic political theories to contemporary local and global political conditions and institutions.
    2. Identify the validity of each theory's precepts when applied to real life situations and whether (or not) they prove useful in illuminating and emphasizing different facets of social, economic, environmental and political life.
      1. Example 1: Assessing whether Marxism, with its emphasis on class relations, has anything useful to say about the situation of women in contemporary society.
      2. Example 2: Evaluating whether J. Rawls' "veil of ignorance" provides a useful model for addressing and evaluating applications of social justice and the politics of race and gender.
    3. Apply various theories to student's own personal life situations and the institutional settings (their local eco-systems, the workplace, school, the church, local community groups, governmental bureaucracies, etc.) through which they participate in the politics of everyday life.
    4. Assess whether such applications and examinations allow students to come to new conclusions about goals, strategies, and possibilities for participation in political life and thereby encourage students themselves to become political theorists and citizens with the capacity for political agency.
  7. Synthesize the various theoretical frameworks examined and develop an independent model that can be tested.
    1. Identify how political theories are often not monolithic nor necessarily incompatible.
    2. Blend, re-formulate, innovate and adapt various political theories to help identify with students' own theoretical frameworks for understanding the political life of human societies.
      1. Example 1: carrying out a research assignment in which students examine some contemporary political phenomenon and then develop a comprehensive hybrid political theory to explain the political behavior they observe.
      2. Example 2: utilizing Rawls' "veil of ignorance" and concept of social justice, establish a process by which contemporary society can be measured on its level of fairness.
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