GOVT 4354

Contemporary Political Thought

Fall 2007
Dr. Brian Bearry
Office: GR 3.704
Office hours: by appointment
Phone: x4966
Email: brian.bearry@utdallas.edu

Course Description:
It is the purpose of GOVT 4354 to investigate the moral and political controversies shaping contemporary
political thought. This semester we will explore the role of political science in the governance and politics
of modern liberal democracies and in liberal democratic social life; we will do so by investigating a
controversy within the discipline of political science itself--should political science be merely descriptive or
should it be prescriptive? And if prescriptive, can one really know and act on the nature of political things?
What is the role of reason and tradition in contemporary political life? We will discuss both the
possibilities and limits of political science by examining the political thought of four controversial
theorists: Robert Dahl, Leo Strauss, Michael Oakeshott, and Michael Walzer.

Course Objectives:
In addition to gaining insight into the possibilities and limits of political science in the governance of
contemporary daily life, the objective of this course to give you a working vocabulary and understanding of
current political theory and politics in regard to the liberal democratic regime.

Required texts:
Dahl, Robert. Democracy and Its Critics Yale University Press 1991
Michael Oakeshott. Rationalism in Politics and Other Essays. Liberty Press, 1991.
Leo Strauss. An Introduction to Political Philosophy: Ten Essays. Wayne State University Press, 1989.
Michael Walzer. Politics and Passion: Toward a More Egalitarian Liberalism. Yale University Press,
2004.

You may find Benjamin Constant’s The Liberty of the Ancients Compared with that of Moderns at
http://www.uark.edu/depts/comminfo/cambridge/ancients.html

Requirements, grading and participation:

There will be four exams and a quiz/participation grade for this course. Your final grade will be
determined as follows:

Four exams 20% each

Quiz/participation 20%
Total 100%

Attendance, etc.
Attendance is expected and required. Should you miss an exam due to an absence or tardy, a grade of “F” will be
assigned and will stand; the only exception will be for a previously approved excused absence. When challenging a
grade, it is the responsibility of the student to produce the requisite materials. 20% of your final grade will be
determined by attendance and quiz performance. Failure of four quizzes will result in the loss of 5% of your
participation grade; failure of six quizzes will result in the loss of your full participation grade. There will be a
course grade reduction of 5% for every two additional quiz failures. Should you miss a quiz due to an absence or
tardy, a grade of “F” will be assigned and will stand. There are no make-up quizzes or exams. Final grades are
determined at the instructor’s discretion. Attendance is expected and required. The exams will consist almost
equally of lecture and reading material.

Cell phones, pagers, palm pilots and any other electronic device that rings, beeps, clicks, whirrs, etc.; turn
them off.—should a student need to be reminded more than once, it is possible that he or she could lose
10% of the final grade or suffer removal from class.
Class rules and grades:

1. email: You must put your full name on all email correspondence. Emails sent without a name will not
be answered. We will NOT send exam, quiz, assignment and final grades via email. You may
receive your grades when exams, etc., are returned during or after class, or you may drop by my or the
TA’s office hours to receive your grades and other pertinent material. Grades and attendance will be
posted on WebCT.

2. In order for you to receive an excused absence, you must notify me or the Teaching Assistant prior
to class; or you must have a documented medical emergency; otherwise, all absences and each tardy
will be considered unexcused.

3. All grades are final (unless there is a mistake when determining a grade—this does happen).
The time to be concerned with a grade is during the semester, not after. When challenging a grade, it is the
responsibility of the student to produce the requisite materials. There is no extra credit given in this class.

4. NO LAPTOP COMPUTERS MAY BE USED IN THIS CLASS.

University Policy on Scholastic Dishonesty:

It is the policy of the University of Texas at Dallas that cheating and plagiarism will not be tolerated under
any circumstances. Violations will result in immediate disciplinary action to the fullest extent of the
policy. See the University catalog for a detailed explanation.

Reading and exam schedule:

Aug 20—course introduction
Aug 22—Constant, The Liberty of the Ancients Compared with that of Moderns, Dahl, ch. 1
Aug 27—Constant, The Liberty of the Ancients Compared with that of Moderns, cont. Dahl, chs., 2, 4, pp. 65-74
Aug 29—Dahl, chs. 6, 7, 8, 9
Sept 3—NO CLASS, LABOR DAY
Sept 5—Dahl, chs. 10, 11, 12, 13, 14
Sept 10—Dahl, chs. 15-21, 23
Sept 12— lecture, exam #1 review
Sept 17—EXAM #1
Sept 19—Strauss, “What is Political Philosophy?” pp. 3-39
Sept 24—Strauss, “What is Political Philosophy?” pp. 39-57
Sept 26—Strauss, “On Classical Political Philosophy,” & “The Three Waves of Modernity”
Oct 1—Strauss, “Natural Right and the Historical Approach”
Oct 3—Strauss, “An Epilogue,” & “What is Liberal Education?”
Oct 8—lecture, exam #2 review
Oct 10—EXAM #2
Oct 15— Oakeshott, “Rationalism in Politics”
Oct 17— Oakeshott “Political Education,” & “Political Discourse”
Oct 22— Oakeshott, “Masses in representative Democracy”
Oct 24— Oakeshott, “The Voice of Poetry in the Conversation of Mankind”
Oct 29—lecture, exam #3 review
Oct 31—EXAM #3
Nov 5—Walzer, Introduction, chs 1 & 2
Nov 7—Walzer, chs. 3 & 4
Nov 12—Walzer, chs. 5 & 6
Nov 14—Walzer, Conclusion, “The Communitarian Critique of Liberalism”
Nov 19—lecture and exam #4 review
Nov 21—reading day
Nov 26—EXAM #4