Time Schedule:
David Watkins
POL S 318
Seattle Campus
Major thinkers and themes in American political and cultural development from Puritan origins to the Civil War.
Class description
This course will provide an overview of significant contributions to American political thought, beginning with political controversies in the colonies at the long founding moment of the United States, and taking us into the 21st Century. It's impossible to cover this range with the breadth and depth I'd like to, so we'll read short excerpts of major American political thinkers, including Madison, Paine, Jefferson, Stanton, Croly, Hamilton, Franklin, Spencer, Dewey, Bourne, Stanton, Fitzhugh, Emerson, Douglass, Lincoln, King Jr., Malcolm X, and others.
We'll consider a variety of important questions regarding these traditions:
What are the main threads in American political ideology? Has American political thought cast American identity as "distinctive," and if so, how? How has the tradition of American political thought shaped our political institutions and political practices? How have American notions of democracy, justice, and citizenship evolved and changed over the years.
Student learning goals
Read and comprehend complex theoretical arguments.
Express a critical understanding of those arguments verbally and in writing.
Understand the main ideological currents of American political thought.
Assess the impact of those ideological trends on contemporary political debates and institutions.
General method of instruction
Lectures with student participation; Class discussion.
Recommended preparation
No previous coursework is necessary, although some background knowledge in American History will be helpful.
Class assignments and grading
Midterm (take home) 30%, Final (in class) 30%, Essay on W.E.B. DuBois, The Souls of Black Folk (30%), Quizzes and participation (10%).
