Uday Chandra E-mail: Office Hours: PLSC 101: Introduction to the Study of Politics

[Semester-Year]

Does politics refer merely to elections, politicians, and bureaucracies? If so, there is little reason to take any interest in it, because, for most of us, these are distant issues that impose themselves now and then on our lives. This course takes a drastically different view of politics. Politics is, first and foremost, the study of power in all its myriad facets. As such, this course will focus on power relations everywhere: in school, at home or at work, in Washington, or at political rallies and union strikes. We will read different theoretical accounts of power its modes, mechanisms, and meanings -- in society, as well as empirical accounts of the politics of class, race, gender, democracy, nationalism, war, and food. By the end, we will be able to debate and discuss the relative value of different methods and approaches used to study politics. Course Requirements Although this is an introductory course, it wont be easy. The readings for this course (approx. 50100 pages per class) are challenging, but they can teach you a great deal about politics. You will be best served by reading closely and participating actively in class. Everyone will be challenged to read, think, and develop well-reasoned, empirically-driven political arguments. At the end of the course, you should expect to think, read, write, and discuss about politics differently from now. If this course succeeds in its objectives, you should, at the very least, see the world very differently from the way you do now. This course will have its own blog, and every student is expected to read and contribute to the blog every week. The basic rule for blog posts is to respond to any part of the previous post and then add ones own questions, comments, criticisms, etc. Doing so will help us maintain a conversation thread and discuss the readings more effectively. Grading Grading for this course will be based on two 3-page film reviews (10% each), a 3-page word critical analysis of an article (10%), 5-page papers (15% each), a final exam (20%), and regular blog posts and class participation (25%). Note that the total adds up to 105 rather than 100 per cent. This is not an error, but a deliberate attempt to reward those who participate enthusiastically in the course. Please be aware that these rewards are available only to those who attend class regularly: unexcused absences, without good medical or personal reasons, will not be tolerated, and even one such absence shall lead directly to a grade of F for this course.

For those in regular attendance, the following numerical criteria will be used to compute the final grade: Above 85: A 45-54.5: B15-19.5: D Course Material Please purchase the following books for the course: Benedict Anderson, Imagined Communities (London, 1983). Frances Fox Piven and Richard Cloward, Poor Peoples Politics: Why They Succeed, How They Fail (New York, 1979). Robert Dahl, How Democratic is the American Constitution? (New Haven, 2002). Michael Pollan, The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals (New York, 2007). 75-84.5: A35-44.5: C+ Below 15: F 65-74.5: B+ 25-34.5: C 55-64.5: B 20-24.5: C-

These required [R] books have placed on two-hour reserve at the college library. All other readings are available in a course packet [CP] or online [O]. Course Schedule Session 1: What is Politics? Aristotle, The Politics, Book I.1-4 [CP] Adrian Leftwich, Thinking Politically: On the politics of Politics, In A. Leftwich (ed.), What is Politics? The Activity and its Study, pp. 1-22. [CP]

Session 2: The Social Bases of Power C. Wright Mills, The Structure of Power in American Society, The British Journal of Sociology 9 (1): 29-41. [O] Robert Dahl, Who Governs? Democracy and Power in an American City (selections) [CP]

Session 3: Theorizing the Modes of Power Peter Bachrach and Morton S. Baratz, "The Two Faces of Power," 56 (4): 947-52. [O] Steven Lukes , Power: A Radical View, Chapter 1 [CP]

Peter Digeser, The Fourth Face of Power, The Journal of Politics 54 (4): 977-1007. [O]

Assignment: Critically analyze C. Wright Mills argument in 800-1000 words. Are you persuaded by its central claim? Why or why not? Discuss with reference to the empirical data used to support Mills argument.

Session 4: Theorizing the Mechanisms of Power John Gaventa, Power and Powerlessness: Quiescence and Rebellion in an Appalachian Valley, pp. 129. [O] Michel Foucault, Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison, pp. 3-8 and 195-228. [O]

Session 5: Theorizing the Meanings of Power Clarissa R. Hayward, De-Facing Power, pp. 1-39. [CP] Clifford Geertz, Negara: The Balinese Theater State (excerpt) [CP]

Session 6: Is Resistance Possible? James C. Scott, Weapons of the Weak: Everyday Forms of Peasant Resistance, Chapters 2 and 8 [CP] Kevin J. OBrien, Rightful Resistance, World Politics 49 (1): 31-55. [O]

FILM SCREENING: Elia Kazan (dir.), Viva Zapata! (1952) [113 mins] Assignment: Write a film review of roughly 800-1,000 words. Explain the modes, mechanisms, and meanings of power at work in this representation of the Mexican revolution. What does resistance mean under the circumstances? Does the cinematic medium aid or hinder representations of power and resistance in the film? Work out an arguable thesis and defend it in your review. Do not merely summarize the plot of the film.

Session 7: Does Class Matter? Ed Vulliamy, US in denial as poverty rises, The Observer, 3 November 2002 [O]

B. Ehrenreich, The Rich Are Making The Poor Poorer, The Nation, 13 June, 2007. [O] D. Baltzell and H.G. Schneiderman, The Protestant Establishment Revisited, Introduction, Chapters 1, 5 [CP]

Session 8: Theorizing Class Power J. Locke, The Second Treatise of Government, Chapter 5 (On Property) [CP] Lisa Wade, David Harveys Marxist Analysis of the Global Recession [O]

Session 9: Resisting Class Power F.F. Piven and R. Cloward, Poor Peoples Politics: Why They Succeed, How They Fail, Introduction, Chapters 1-2 [R]

Session 10: The Politics of Race A.W. Marx, Race-Making and the Nation-State, World Politics 48 (2): 180-208. [O] P. Bourgois, "Understanding Inner City Poverty: Resistance and Self-Destruction Under U.S. Apartheid." In J. MacClancy (ed.), Exotic No More: Anthropology on the Front Lines, pp. 15-32. [O] T. Shelby, Justice, Self-Respect, and the Culture of Poverty [CP]

PAPER #1 DUE

Session 11: Theorizing Race W.E.B. DuBois, The Souls of Black Folk, Chapter 1 [CP] W.F.Tate, "Critical Race Theory and Education: History, Theory, and Implications." Review of Research in Education, Vol. 22. (1997), pp. 195247. [O]

Session 12: Resisting Race F.F. Piven and R. Cloward, Poor Peoples Politics: Why They Succeed, How They Fail, Chapter 8 [R]

Session 13: Theorizing Gender Simone de Beavoir, The Second Sex, Introduction: Woman as Other [O] Shulasmith Firestone, The Dialectic of Sex, Introduction [O] Chandra Mohanty, Under Western Eyes: Feminist Scholarship and Colonial Discourses [O]

Session 14: Gender and the Politics of Everyday Life Gloria Steinem, If Men Could Menstruate [O] FILM: Pride and Prejudice [127 mins] Assignment: Write a film review of roughly 800-1,000 words. How do notions of race, class, and gender affect your understanding of the film? In your review, explore how any two of these identities interact with each other.

Session 15: Democracy in America I Robert Dahl, How Democratic is the American Constitution? Chapters 1-3 [R]

Session 16: Democracy in America II Robert Dahl, How Democratic is the American Constitution? Chapters 4-7 [R]

Session 17: Nations and Nationalism I Benedict Anderson, Imagined Communities, Chapters 1-5 [R]

Session 18: Nations and Nationalism II Benedict Anderson, Imagined Communities, Chapters 6-11 [R]

Session 19: Making War

Charles Tilly, The Politics of Collective Violence (selections) [CP]

Session 20: Understanding War Paul Collier and Anke Hoeffler, Greed and Grievance in Civil War [O] James D. Fearon and David Laitin, Ethnicity, Insurgency and Civil War, American Political Science Review 97(1), pp. 75-90 [O] Elisabeth Wood, Insurgent Collective Action and Civil War in El Salvador, Introduction [CP]

PAPER #2 DUE

Session 21: We are What we Eat I Michael Pollan, The Omnivore's Dilemma, pp. 15-56, 65-99, 123-33 [R]

Session 22: We are What we Eat II Michael Pollan, The Omnivore's Dilemma, pp. 134-84, 208-38 [R]

Session 23: Methods and Approaches to the Study of Politics I Gary King, Robert Keohane, and Sidney Verba, Designing Social Inquiry, pp. 1-11, 75-114 [CP] Henry Brady and David Collier, Rethinking Social Inquiry, Chapters 2-4 [CP]

Session 24: Methods and Approaches to the Study of Politics II Dvora Yanow and Peregrine Schwartz-Shea, Interpretation and Method, Chapters 2, 4, 21-22 [CP]

FINAL EXAM