Political Science 103 -- section S1 Modern Political IssuesThursday evenings, 6-9 pm
This course is an introduction to the nature of law, the state and citizenship -- as illustrated through some current controversies in Canadian politics (eg, capital punishment, the deficit, affirmative action, pornography and euthanasia). The course will begin with the fundamental principles of liberal democratic citizenship. Topics here will include the nature of law, fundamental rights, and constitutionalism, as illustrated through controversies over capital punishment and euthanasia. The second section of the course will focus on political topics involving issues of democracy in Canada. Topics here will include affirmative action, gay rights, regulation (gun control?) and a brief survey of the basic institutions of democratic government. The final section of the course will focus on issues of individual rights in relation to public authority, again with particular attention to some controversial issues. Topics here will include pornography, euthanasia, abortion, and the censorship of "politically incorrect" views. In addition, a considerable portion of class time will be given to the analysis of current affairs, including issues in international politics. Students will be expected to keep
informed about current affairs on a daily basis, and to
prepare for lectures by advance reading of assigned
material. Pop quizzes will be used each week to test and
reward preparation.
This section of the course has been designed to meet the needs especially of non-Arts students at the first year level, although hopefully it will appeal to other students as well. Students will be evaluated primarily on the basis of their grasp of the basic course material and their critical reflection on it, not on their essay writing skills. There will be two mid-term tests and a final examination, as well as regular pop quizzes. In addition students may -- if they want -- write an essay on one of the major course issues. Thus students will have a choice between two ways of being evaluated: with or without an essay:
You don't have to do anything to
indicate which format you want. If you don't do an essay,
your grade will be determined using the exam format. If
you do an essay, your grade will be calculated using both
formats, and you'll get whichever grade is better. Help!! This course has been deliberately designed to meet the specific needs of students who will be taking it. If there are other ways that the course can meet your interests or needs, please let me know. In particular, I hope you
will join with me in trying to make this course fun!
Let's face it: a three hour course at night at the first
year level - looks pretty deadly, doesn't it? How are we
all going to stay awake? I'll do my best to make it
interesting, and varied, and fun: but I'll need your
help, and the help of everyone in the class to
do this. We're all in this together, so please help me --
with suggestions, but also by letting me know when we
need breaks or a change of pace, etc,. Essays If you write an essay in
this course, it should be brief (1200-1500 words) and
critical, arguing a definite thesis in relation to the
topic, and making use of the course readings. Such essays
call for analysis and critical reflection; they are not
research papers. They will not require any reading or
research beyond the material assigned for the course; the
best way to do well on them is to prepare for each class
by doing the assigned reading in advance as indicated
above. PROPOSED TOPICS * Thurs., Jan 11 Introduction Thurs., Jan 18 Rights and Political Authority: capital punishment Thurs., Jan 25 Law and Punishment Thurs., Feb. 1 Democracy & Liberal Democracy / euthanasia Thurs., Feb. 8 Government in Canada / abortion Thurs., Feb. 15 Government in US / smoking Thurs., Feb. 22 Reading week: no class Thurs., Mar. 1 Ideologies (1): Free Enterprise vs Regulation / welfare state Thurs., Mar. 8 Ideologies (2): Role of The State / affirmative action Thurs., Mar. 15 Censorship vs Free Expression / pornography Thurs., Mar. 22 Issues; hate speech, sexual orientation Thurs., Mar. 29 Concluding Issues: rights and authority Thurs., Apr. 5 Final Exam *Note: All topics -- including the dates of tests -- are subject to change. All readings are required unless otherwise indicated,
and should be read before the class for which they are
assigned. Students are also expected to keep informed
about current affairs on a daily basis. All topics and
dates (including those for tests) are subject to change. Thurs., Jan 11 -- Introduction Thurs., Jan 18 -- Rights and Political Authority / capital punishment
Thurs., Jan 25 -- Law and Punishment
Thurs., Mar. 15 -- Censorship vs Free Expression / Pornography
Remember that essays in this course are optional: you don't have to do one. If you do an essay, it should be 6-7 pages, double-spaced, and either typed or very neatly handwritten. (Handwritten essays should have a wide margin on the right hand side and at the top and bottom, to allow room for comments.) Essays must footnote sources and contain a bibliography (even if just one work). They must be submitted in the class period designated. Essays should be position papers: you are expected to take a definite position on the topic, and to argue this position carefully. Papers will be assessed by the quality of their arguments: whether they are effective (persuasive), well-organized, and clearly presented, with some appreciation for what might be said against it. The topics are generally stated quite broadly. You are free to "zero in" on some particular issue and to define the topic more narrowly. In fact, you will almost always have to do this. You are also free to discuss the topic with reference to one or more of the readings. But don't rehash the readings: use them to make your case. If you are not used to writing this style of essay, it is easy to learn. Perhaps the most important thing is to avoid three mistakes: 1. It isn't a "research paper". No credit will be given for the "amount" you have read. The essay will be judged just by the quality of its argument. I don't mean, of course, that you shouldn't read widely -- the more you read, the more effectively you will be able to argue your own position. But the key is to think. It is possible to do these essays just on the basis of the required readings so long as they are read carefully (the topics and readings have been devised with this in mind). 2. It isn't an "easy" research paper (ie a research paper where you don't have to do any work!). A position paper takes the same amount of time as a research paper, but you spend the time differently -- instead of reading and taking notes, you have to spend the same amount of time working out clearly what your position ("thesis") is and how to support it effectively. 3. It isn't an "opinion" (op-ed) piece: what's at issue is not what you think (how could anyone ever be graded on this basis?) but on how well you support your view. Everyone's opinions may be equal, but some arguments are better than others, and this is where you will be assessed. This, of course, is the tricky part -- but here are some tips:
Some Tips Remember that a major point of a class like this is to help you develop an appreciation of what kinds of arguments are better and worse on these issues. So the best way to develop this appreciation is to discuss the issues (in class, and with family and friends outside the class), paying careful attention both to what others say and to your own reactions to what they say. In this way you will develop a good, practical sense of your own position on the issues and how to support this position effectively. The key to your paper is your thesis -- the position you argue. Your main concern should be to work out exactly what this is. Your first paragraph should state this thesis clearly ("In this essay I will argue that ...") and indicate how you will argue it (eg: "I will argue this in three steps"). The rest of the paper should be organized around arguing this thesis as effectively as possible. Obviously, you can't say much in 6-7 pages, so you must choose the most important arguments. It may be necessary to define the topic more narrowly, focusing your paper on just one of the issues raised by the topic, or a specific claim made in one of the readings. Also, you might find it easier to argue a negative thesis (against a position or one of the claims made in the readings -- showing that it is wrong). For example: "It is sometimes said that capital punishment violates the principle of respect for life. In this essay I will argue that this is not true because ..." You should also consider possible objections to your argument, and how you might rebut them (in the example above, consider how an opponent of capital punishment might respond and what you would say in rebuttal). Here again, you should be brief and selective. You must expect to write more than one draft of the paper. Write the first draft in advance, then leave it for a few days and revise it critically. Examine your thesis (has it changed? have you stated it properly in the introduction?) and revise your arguments. Further topics may be added later to reflect particular issues that arise in the course. Euthanasia (Feb 15th) 1. Which of the judgements in the Rodriguez case was best, and why? 2. What penalty, if any, would you propose for Robert Latimer? 3. Why should support for euthanasia be restricted to special cases, eg, terminal and intolerably painful illness? If individuals have the right to decide for themselves whether to continue living, then they should be able to decide to end their lives for any reason they want, and the rest of us have a duty to respect their decision. Due: Thurs, Feb 15th . Grace period*: 1 week, to Thurs, Feb 22 by 4 pm (in our office: Tory 10-16)
1. Assuming (as in the Sharpe decision) that the possession of child pornography has not been shown to be a direct cause of sexual assaults against children, can the possession of such material be restricted? 2. "In reality, there's nothing wrong about censoring movies on moral grounds, so long as the morality involved is reasonable. It's unreasonable to censor sex in movies because there's nothing wrong with sex. But it's different if the movie shows a woman being beaten up. Obviously, it would be wrong to do this; and it would also be wrong to enjoy watching it. How could anyone disagree that it is wrong to enjoy such a movie! And if it would be wrong to enjoy the movie, why shouldn't it be censored?" Due: Thurs, March 22 (in class). Grace period: one week to Thurs, March 29th in class* * Essays are due in class on the date indicated: those submitted on time will be returned with comments as quickly as possible; those submitted in the grace period will be returned later, with few comments. Essays submitted after the grace period will be penalized 1/2 stanine immediately and 1/2 stanine for each weekday afterwards. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |