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Professor Pevnick
rp90@nyu.edu
Office Hours: Tuesday 2-4pm
19 West 4
th
St., #326










Introduction to Political Theory

Course Description:

This course is an introduction to the history of political theory. We will study many of the great
texts of the Western tradition. These works raise important questions about the nature of
individual rights, the roots of government authority, the circumstances of legitimate revolution, the
justification of religious tolerance, and the meaning of political ideals such as liberty, equality, and
justice.
Despite the age of some of the texts with which we will wrestle, the purpose of the course is not
exclusively historical. Instead, part of the reason that these texts are widely seen as classics is
because they continue to shape and inform the analysis of current political phenomena. It is
through the categories and concepts created, clarified, and challenged by these thinkers that we
conceptualize, understand, and assess our political lives.
The course has three major goals. First, students should take from the course a substantive
familiarity with many of the greatest texts in the Western tradition and a sense of the major lines of
argument and schools of thought within that tradition. This familiarity with core texts provides an
important background for further study in political theory both contemporary and historical.
Second, the texts we will read are rich and multifaceted. This is part of what has allowed them to
capture and hold the interest of audiences for many generations. There is great intellectual reward
to be had by working through the ideas of the canonical authors. For the same reason, however,
these texts elude simple summary and authoritative interpretation. Indeed, the second major goal
of the course is to learn to read, understand, and appreciate complex works.
Third, studying the classic treatments of core political concepts should allow us to gain a greater
sophistication and perspective in our own deployment of them. In other words, it should make us
more reflective and self-conscious about the way that we employ political concepts (such as
equality, liberty, legitimacy, and justice).
Required Texts:

Students must purchase the following books. Please pay special attention to securing the correct
edition. This is important for two reasons. First, we will be referring directly to the texts in class.
This can only be efficiently done if we all have the same pagination. Second, we will often be
working with translations. There is tremendous variance in the quality and accuracy of
translations. In some cases, a poor translation can make the text extremely difficult to understand.
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Plato The Republic Translated by G.M.A. Grube (Hackett)
Thomas Hobbes Leviathan (Penguin Classics)
John Locke Political Writings ed. David Wootton (Hackett)
John Stuart Mill On Liberty and Other Essays (Oxford Worlds Classics)
The Marx-Engels Reader ed. Robert Tucker (WW Norton)
Jean-Jacques Rousseau Discourse on the Origin of Inequality (Hackett)
Jean-Jacques Rousseau On the Social Contract (Hackett)
John Rawls A Theory of Justice Revised Edition (Harvard, 1999)

With the possible exception of A Theory of Justice, used copies of all of these books are available at
very low prices. Please bring texts to class so that we can easily consult them.
Requirements & Grading:

Grades will be determined as follows:
1. Reading Quizzes (30%)
2. Mid-Term Exam (30%)
3. Final Exam (30%)
4. Attendance & Participation in Discussion Sections (10%)

Reading Quizzes:

Over the course of the semester, there will be 4 brief reading quizzes which will be administered
prior to the days lecture. They will focus on basic questions about the reading, such that they
should be relatively easy for students who have done the readings with the required care. The idea
is only to ensure that students are coming to lecture having already done the necessary background
work. The schedule of the quizzes will not be announced in advance. Although students will not be
permitted to retake the quizzes if they miss class (or arrive late), we will take the average of each
students best three quizzes in calculating final grades.

Exams:
The main objectives of the exams are to assess the extent to which students have diligently pursued
the reading, followed lectures and understood the courses key concepts. The exams will cover
material from readings and lectures.
Missed Exams: Students who miss an exam will receive a grade of zero on that exam.

If there are extenuating circumstances (illness or family emergency), please discuss them with your
teaching assistant prior to the exam or deadline. Although relaxation of the general policies is
possible when circumstances warrant, this will require documentation.

Recitations:
The material we will be covering is complex and difficult. It is to your great benefit to discuss the
issues and arguments covered in reading and lectures with your peers and teaching assistant.
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For this reason, attendance of recitation is required. Additionally, in order to maintain a consistent
community in discussion sections, students are to attend only the recitation section in which they
are enrolled.
Attendance, thoughtful participation and respectful engagement with the ideas of fellow students
are a means not only towards ones own learning, but also an important element of the recitations
overall success. Thus, one has to earn credit for participation by actively and informatively
engaging in recitation. This entails coming prepared with questions, informed criticisms and
comments on the readings.
Academic Integrity:
It is expected that all assignments will be solely the work of the student. As such, students should
be careful to properly reference the ideas and words of others. Plagiarism and other forms of
academic dishonesty will not be tolerated.
Course Schedule & Readings:
Please note that this schedule is subject to change depending on our progress over the course of the
semester.
1. Introduction (9/3)
Ancient Political Theory
2. Plato: Introduction & Thrasymachuss Challenge (9/5)
a. Republic Book 1
3. Plato: The Ring of Gyges (9/10)
a. Republic Books 2-3
4. Plato: The Just City (9/12)
a. Republic Book 4-5
5. Plato: Democracy & The Just Person (9/17)
a. Republic Book 9
6. Aristotle: The Good Life (9/19)
a. Nicomachean Ethics Book 1 Ch. 1-5, 7-9, & 12-13; Book 2; & Book 10 Ch. 6-9
(Blackboard)
7. Aristotle: Civic Priority, Slavery, & Constitutions (9/24)
a. Politics Book 1, Chapters 1-7; Book 3, Chapters 6-13; & Book 4, Chapter 11
(Blackboard)
The Social Contract Tradition
8. Hobbes: Introduction, Materialism & the State of Nature (9/26)
a. Leviathan Hobbess Introduction and Chapters 11-13
9. Hobbes: The Social Contract (10/1)
a. Leviathan Chapters 14-18
10. Hobbes: The Argument for Absolute Sovereignty (10/3)
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a. Leviathan Chapters 19-21, 26, and 30
11. Locke: Natural Law & Punishment (10/8)
a. 2
nd
Treatise, Chapters 1-4.
i. 6 is of particular importance
12. Locke: Property, The State of Nature & Consent (10/10)
a. 2
nd
Treatise, Chapters 5, 7-9, 11, and 14.
Fall Break (No Class 10/15)
13. Locke: Consent (Continued) and Duties of Charity (10/17)
a. 1st Treatise, 42

14. Locke: Political Society & Revolution (10/22)
a. 2
nd
Treatise, Chapter 19
b. A Letter Concerning Toleration (All)
10/23: Mid-Term Exam Due
The Utilitarian Tradition
15. Jeremy Bentham (10/24)
a. The Principles of Morals and Legislation, Chapters 1-4 (Blackboard).
16. John Stuart Mill (10/29)
a. Utilitarianism pp. 136-143 and 176-201
17. John Stuart Mill (10/31)
a. On Liberty pp. 5-29, 59-76, 83-93, 104-106, and 120-128.
18. John Stuart Mill (11/5)
a. The Subjection of Women pp. 471-501, 521-523, and 557-582.
The Critical Tradition
19. Rousseau (11/7)
a. Discourse on the Origin of Inequality (All)
20. Rousseau (11/12)
a. On the Social Contract Books 1 & 2.
21. Rousseau (11/14)
a. On the Social Contract Books 3 & 4.
22. Marx (11/19)
a. Marx-Engels Reader pp. 3-6, 472-500, and 760-765.
23. Marx (11/21)
a. Marx-Engels Reader pp. 203-217, 329-343, 361-364, & 525-542.
Contemporary Liberalism
24. Berlin (11/26)
a. Two Concepts of Liberty (All) (Blackboard)
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Thanksgiving 11/28: No Class
25. Rawls: Introduction: Overview & Method (12/3)
a. A Theory of Justice
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1-4, 7-9, 11, and 22.
26. Rawls: The Main Arguments (12/5)
a. A Theory of Justice 12-13, 15-17, 20-21, 24, 26, and 29-30.
27. Rawls: The 2
nd
Principle (12/10)
a. A Theory of Justice 31, 67 & 87.
b. Justice as Fairness: A Restatement Figure 1 and 34-40 (Blackboard)
28. Rawls: The First Principle (12/12)
a. The Basic Liberties and their Priority pp. 289-310 & 340-356 (Blackboard)




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All assignments for A Theory of Justice refer to section numbers. So, 1-4 is equivalent to pp. 3-19 (in the
revised edition).