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Unit outline_

GOVT2112: Introduction to Political Theory

Semester 1, 2024 [Normal day] - Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney

Political theory helps us to better understand the ideas that have shaped our politics, including freedom, equality, power, and justice. This unit of study will introduce students to major ideas and primary texts from the Western tradition of political thought. Authors may include Plato, Aristotle, Aquinas, Machiavelli, Hobbes, Rousseau, Mill, Marx, Arendt, Foucault, and Rawls.

Unit details and rules

Academic unit Government and International Relations
Credit points 6
Prerequisites
? 
12 credit points at 1000 level from Philosophy, Government and International Relations, Politics, International Relations
Corequisites
? 
None
Prohibitions
? 
None
Assumed knowledge
? 

None

Available to study abroad and exchange students

Yes

Teaching staff

Coordinator Alexandre Lefebvre, alex.lefebvre@sydney.edu.au
Lecturer(s) Alexandre Lefebvre, alex.lefebvre@sydney.edu.au
Tutor(s) John Brady, john.brady@sydney.edu.au
The census date for this unit availability is 2 April 2024
Type Description Weight Due Length
Assignment Final essay
Essay
50% Formal exam period
Due date: 03 Jun 2024 at 23:59
2500 words
Outcomes assessed: LO3 LO1 LO2
Assignment Midterm essay
Essay
40% Week 07
Due date: 08 Apr 2024 at 23:59
2000 words
Outcomes assessed: LO3 LO2 LO1
Participation Weekly Questions
Weekly questions, submitted online
10% Weekly n/a
Outcomes assessed: LO3 LO2

Assessment summary

Weekly Questions: Each week students are expected to prepare two questions based on the relevant reading. Each question can be as long as a paragraph or as short as a sentence. The questions will be counted, not graded. But to count they must reflect a real engagement with the relevant reading. (E.g., to ask when reading Tocqueville, “Why does Tocqueville hate democracy so much?” is not a real engagement. A good question is: “Tocqueville seems to have a lot of reservations about democracy: it can lead to uniformity, mediocrity, even despotism. How does he think democracy can be saved, without just going back to feudalism?”.) These questions must be submitted in print in person at the start of lecture each week. Submission during the mid-lecture break will not be accepted. Please write your name and tutorial time (e.g., Monday 1-2pm). Emailed submission or submission in tutorial will not be accepted. Submission by someone other than yourself will not be accepted. Each set of questions will count as 1% toward your final grade, up to a maximum of 10%.

Midterm Essay: On March 18th, you will receive a 2000 word (maximum) midterm assignment. Essay questions will be posted on Canvas. The midterm assignment is due April 8th.

Final Essay:  On May 6th, you will receive a 2500 word (maximum) final essay assignment. Essay questions will be posted on Canvas. The final essay is due June 3rd.

Assessment criteria

The University awards common result grades, set out in the Coursework Policy 2014 (Schedule 1).

As a general guide, a High distinction indicates work of an exceptional standard, a Distinction a very high standard, a credit a good standard, and a pass an acceptable standard.

Result name

Mark range

Description

High distinction

85 - 100

 

Distinction

75 - 84

 

Credit

65 - 74

 

Pass

50 - 64

 

Fail

0 - 49

When you don’t meet the learning outcomes of the unit to a satisfactory standard.

.

For more information see guide to grades.

Late submission

In accordance with University policy, these penalties apply when written work is submitted after 11:59pm on the due date:

  • Deduction of 5% of the maximum mark for each calendar day after the due date.
  • After ten calendar days late, a mark of zero will be awarded.

Academic integrity

The Current Student website provides information on academic integrity and the resources available to all students. The University expects students and staff to act ethically and honestly and will treat all allegations of academic integrity breaches seriously.

We use similarity detection software to detect potential instances of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breach. If such matches indicate evidence of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breaches, your teacher is required to report your work for further investigation.

Use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) and automated writing tools

You may only use generative AI and automated writing tools in assessment tasks if you are permitted to by your unit coordinator. If you do use these tools, you must acknowledge this in your work, either in a footnote or an acknowledgement section. The assessment instructions or unit outline will give guidance of the types of tools that are permitted and how the tools should be used.

Your final submitted work must be your own, original work. You must acknowledge any use of generative AI tools that have been used in the assessment, and any material that forms part of your submission must be appropriately referenced. For guidance on how to acknowledge the use of AI, please refer to the AI in Education Canvas site.

The unapproved use of these tools or unacknowledged use will be considered a breach of the Academic Integrity Policy and penalties may apply.

Studiosity is permitted unless otherwise indicated by the unit coordinator. The use of this service must be acknowledged in your submission as detailed on the Learning Hub’s Canvas page.

Outside assessment tasks, generative AI tools may be used to support your learning. The AI in Education Canvas site contains a number of productive ways that students are using AI to improve their learning.

Simple extensions

If you encounter a problem submitting your work on time, you may be able to apply for an extension of five calendar days through a simple extension.  The application process will be different depending on the type of assessment and extensions cannot be granted for some assessment types like exams.

Special consideration

If exceptional circumstances mean you can’t complete an assessment, you need consideration for a longer period of time, or if you have essential commitments which impact your performance in an assessment, you may be eligible for special consideration or special arrangements.

Special consideration applications will not be affected by a simple extension application.

Using AI responsibly

Co-created with students, AI in Education includes lots of helpful examples of how students use generative AI tools to support their learning. It explains how generative AI works, the different tools available and how to use them responsibly and productively.

Support for students

The Support for Students Policy 2023 reflects the University’s commitment to supporting students in their academic journey and making the University safe for students. It is important that you read and understand this policy so that you are familiar with the range of support services available to you and understand how to engage with them.

The University uses email as its primary source of communication with students who need support under the Support for Students Policy 2023. Make sure you check your University email regularly and respond to any communications received from the University.

Learning resources and detailed information about weekly assessment and learning activities can be accessed via Canvas. It is essential that you visit your unit of study Canvas site to ensure you are up to date with all of your tasks.

If you are having difficulties completing your studies, or are feeling unsure about your progress, we are here to help. You can access the support services offered by the University at any time:

Support and Services (including health and wellbeing services, financial support and learning support)
Course planning and administration
Meet with an Academic Adviser

WK Topic Learning activity Learning outcomes
Week 01 Introduction to Political Theory Lecture and tutorial (3 hr) LO2 LO3
Week 02 Plato, The Republic, on Power and Justice. Reading: Book 1 (all), Book 2 (up to 367e) Lecture and tutorial (3 hr) LO1 LO2 LO3
Week 03 Plato, The Republic, on Justice. Reading: Book 2 (from 368a-end), Book 3 (all), Book 4 (all) Lecture and tutorial (3 hr) LO2 LO3
Week 04 Plato, The Republic, on Truth and Politics. Reading: Book 5 (all), Book 7 (all). Book 6 is optional reading. Lecture and tutorial (3 hr) LO2 LO3
Week 05 Plato, The Republic, on the Imperfect Regimes. Reading: Book 8 (all), Book 9 (all), Book 10 (614b-621d) Lecture and tutorial (3 hr) LO1 LO2 LO3
Week 06 Tocqueville, The Advent of Democracy, Reading: Democracy in America, Hardcopy book pages: 3-15, 27-65, 82-93 PDF pages: 79-89, 97-128, 140-149 Lecture and tutorial (3 hr) LO1 LO2 LO3
Week 07 Tocqueville, The Tyranny of the Majority, Reading: Hardcopy book pages: 165-172, 235-258, 274-288, 298- 302 PDF pages: 205-212, 265-284, 297-308, 317-320 Lecture and tutorial (3 hr) LO1 LO2 LO3
Week 08 Tocqueville, The Three Races. Reading: Hardcopy book pages: 302-348, 358-361 PDF pages: 321-352, 360-363 Lecture and tutorial (3 hr) LO1 LO2 LO3
Week 09 Tocqueville, The Cultural Life of Democracy. Reading: Hardcopy book pages: 399-415, 417-424, 479-492, 500-517, 530- 532 PDF pages: 391-409, 412-418, 471-487, 495-511, 525-527 Lecture and tutorial (3 hr) LO1 LO2 LO3
Week 10 Rawls, Justice as Fairness. There are two readings for this week. 1. Rawls, "The Four Roles of Political Philosophy" (short excerpt from Rawls's final book, Justice as Fairness: a Restatement). Posted on Canvas. 2. A Theory of Justice: Preface for the Revised Edition, Preface, Chapter 1. Justice as Fairness. Lecture and tutorial (3 hr) LO1 LO2 LO3
Week 11 Rawls, Freedom and Equality. Reading: A Theory of Justice, Chapter 2. The Principles of Justice, Chapter 3. The Original Position. Lecture and tutorial (3 hr) LO1 LO2 LO3
Week 12 Rawls, Why Be Just? Reading: A Theory of Justice, pages 347-350, and Chapter 9. The Good of Justice. Lecture and tutorial (3 hr) LO1 LO2 LO3
Week 13 Rawls, Why Be Just? Reading: A Theory of Justice, pages 347-350, and Chapter 9. The Good of Justice. Lecture and tutorial (3 hr) LO1 LO2 LO3

Attendance and class requirements

Students are expected to attend a minimum of 90 per cent of timetabled activities for a unit of study. This includes both lectures and tutorials. 

You will need to attend the lecture in order to submit weekly questions. If you are unable to consistently attend lectures in person for good reasons (for example, a disability accommodation), please send me an email at alex.lefebvre@sydney.edu.au to discuss. 

Please bring a hard or soft copy of the weekly reading to the lecture and tutorial. This unit of study is based on close textual analysis and you'll be lost without having the reading at hand.

Study commitment

Typically, there is a minimum expectation of 1.5-2 hours of student effort per week per credit point for units of study offered over a full semester. For a 6 credit point unit, this equates to roughly 120-150 hours of student effort in total.

Required readings

Plato, The Republic. Translated by Tom Griffith. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press: 2000. This edition is preferred, though translations by Reeve or Bloom are fine as well. Available for purchase through Amazon or else accessible online via the library.
 

Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America. Translated by Harvey C Mansfield and Delba Winthrop. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000. THIS EDITION IS REQUIRED. Available for purchase through Amazon or else accessible online via the library.
 

John Rawls, A Theory of Justice, Revised Edition. Harvard: Harvard University Press, 1999.  THIS EDITION IS REQUIRED (and make sure that you don't buy/read the original 1971 edition). Available for purchase through Amazon or else accessible online via the library.

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An aim of this class is to closely engage with a limited number of primary texts in order to dwell on key themes, and, more generally, to slow reading down. Students are not expected to read more widely than the required readings. 

If, however, you wish to consult secondary scholarship on Plato, Tocqueville, and Rawls I recommend the following, all of which can be found either online or in the library. 

Plato:

  • Nickolas Pappas, Routledge Philosophy Guidebook to Plato and the Republic (Routledge, 1995).
  • Julia Annas, Plato: a Very Short Introduction (Oxford, 2003).
  • Plato entry in the Stanford Encyclopaedia of Philosophy.

Tocqueville:

  • James Schleifer, The Chicago Companion to Tocqueville's Democracy in America (Chicago, 2022).
  • Olivier Zunz, The Man Who Understood Democracy: the Life of Alexis de Tocqueville (Princeton, 2022).

Rawls: 

  • Samuel Freeman, Rawls (Routledge, 2007).
  • Plato entry in the Stanford Encyclopaedia of Philosophy.

If you'd like more reading suggestions, please email me.

Learning outcomes are what students know, understand and are able to do on completion of a unit of study. They are aligned with the University's graduate qualities and are assessed as part of the curriculum.

At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:

  • LO1. contrast the following major political theorists: Plato, Tocqueville, and Rawls
  • LO2. develop critical reading skills of primary texts.
  • LO3. analyse core concepts in modern political theory, such as power, consent, sovereignty, rights, democracy, equality, justice, and pluralism

Graduate qualities

The graduate qualities are the qualities and skills that all University of Sydney graduates must demonstrate on successful completion of an award course. As a future Sydney graduate, the set of qualities have been designed to equip you for the contemporary world.

GQ1 Depth of disciplinary expertise

Deep disciplinary expertise is the ability to integrate and rigorously apply knowledge, understanding and skills of a recognised discipline defined by scholarly activity, as well as familiarity with evolving practice of the discipline.

GQ2 Critical thinking and problem solving

Critical thinking and problem solving are the questioning of ideas, evidence and assumptions in order to propose and evaluate hypotheses or alternative arguments before formulating a conclusion or a solution to an identified problem.

GQ3 Oral and written communication

Effective communication, in both oral and written form, is the clear exchange of meaning in a manner that is appropriate to audience and context.

GQ4 Information and digital literacy

Information and digital literacy is the ability to locate, interpret, evaluate, manage, adapt, integrate, create and convey information using appropriate resources, tools and strategies.

GQ5 Inventiveness

Generating novel ideas and solutions.

GQ6 Cultural competence

Cultural Competence is the ability to actively, ethically, respectfully, and successfully engage across and between cultures. In the Australian context, this includes and celebrates Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, knowledge systems, and a mature understanding of contemporary issues.

GQ7 Interdisciplinary effectiveness

Interdisciplinary effectiveness is the integration and synthesis of multiple viewpoints and practices, working effectively across disciplinary boundaries.

GQ8 Integrated professional, ethical, and personal identity

An integrated professional, ethical and personal identity is understanding the interaction between one’s personal and professional selves in an ethical context.

GQ9 Influence

Engaging others in a process, idea or vision.

Outcome map

Learning outcomes Graduate qualities
GQ1 GQ2 GQ3 GQ4 GQ5 GQ6 GQ7 GQ8 GQ9

This section outlines changes made to this unit following staff and student reviews.

Readings have been changed to include ancient political thought.

This unit of study introduces students to three masterpieces of political thought, selected from the ancient, modern, and contemporary traditions. Through a close reading of these texts, we will extract and examine major topics from the history of Western political theory and show their relevance for today.

We begin with the first book of political philosophy ever written, Plato’s Republic (375 BCE). It has been said that philosophy after Plato amounts mostly to footnotes to his work and, while an exaggeration, there is a grain of truth to it. With the Republic, we will investigate questions that have never ceased to occupy philosophy, such as: Is it good to be just? What is the best (and worst) type of regime? And does politics have any connection to truth?

Next, we will spend four weeks with Alexis de Tocqueville’s Democracy in America (1835/1840), arguably the greatest book ever written on either democracy or America. Tocqueville himself was an aristocrat and clearly saw both the pros and cons of the coming democratic age. With him we will explore ideas of freedom, equality, individualism, majority rule and tyranny of the majority, racism and genocide, and power.

Finally, we turn to John Rawls’s A Theory of Justice (1971), which is the most influential book of political philosophy of the twentieth century. With him we will look at ideas of justice, impartiality, fairness, merit, self-interest, moral education, shame, and love.

Disclaimer

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