American Political Thought 4219-SB052
The aim of this class is to familiarize students with main concepts, currents, and traditions in American political thought. In the course of the class students will learn about the most important debates in American political thought. The departing premiss of the class is that political thought is a reflection on politics and hence it is a kind of political action. Accordingly, students will read primary sources - articles, pamphlets, correspondence, and documents - by the most important politicians, activists, and theorists. Initial meetings will be dedicated to historical issues (colonial thought, thought of American revolution, debates regarding the character of the Union, abolitionism), further meetings will be problem-based (justification of the separation from the British Empire, debates regarding the Constitution and the nature of American federalism, feminism, identity politics). Students will learn the fundamental concepts of American political thought (incl. democracy, republic, federalism, civil disobedience). The selection of readings reflects the diversity and richness of American political ideas. Students will be encouraged to critically reflect on the contemporary meaning of the ideas discussed in class.
Type of course
Mode
Prerequisites (description)
Course coordinators
Learning outcomes
KNOWLEDGE
- basic knowledge of the historical trajectory of American political thought
- basic knowledge of the main currents and authors in American political thought
- basic knowledge regarding political concepts
SKILLS:
- ability to discuss and understand sources from American political thought
- ability to summarize and analyze arguments in writing
- ability to prepare short written assignments in American political thought, using various sources and formulating a thesis
SOCIAL COMPETENCES:
- ability to discuss and argue in class, to cooperate with other students during in-class assignments
- Openness to various phenomena and ideas; recognition of and respect for cultural difference
Assessment criteria
Text analysis - in groups, subgroups, and individually
Participation
Reading memos
Mid-term and final open book tests during which students will need to prove their ability to understand, compare and contrast arguments
Grading scale (0-100)
Less than 60 points: 2
60-67: 3
68-74: 3+
75-82: 4
83-89: 4+
90 and more: 5
Bibliography
The course materials include on-line sources, scanned texts available on e-Kampus platform.
Thomas Paine, Common Sense, excerpts
Thomas Jefferson, Declaration of Independence
The Federalist Papers, excerpts
The Anti-Federalist Papers, excerpts
John C. Calhoun, Fort Hill Address, excerpts
Daniel Webster, The Constitution Not a Compact Between Sovereign States, excerpts
John L. O'Sullivan, The Great Nation of Futurity, excerpts
Herbert Hoover, “Principles and Ideals of the United States Government” Adres
Franklin D. Roosevelt, "Campaign Address on Progressive Government at the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco, California"
Henry David Thoreau, Resistance to Civil Government, wybrane fragmenty
Hannah Arendt, Civil Disobedience, excerpts
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, The Power of Nonviolence, wybrane fragmenty
bell hooks, Feminist Theory from Margin to Center, excerpts
Hany Charger, lone V. Quigley, and Ulrike Wiethaus, Foundations of Lakota Sovereignty, excerpts
Sheldon Wolin, The People’s Two Bodies, excerpts
Wendy Brown, Neoliberalism, Neoconservatism, De-Democratization, excerpts
Additional information
Additional information (registration calendar, class conductors, localization and schedules of classes), might be available in the USOSweb system: