POLITICAL SCIENCE
497:
SMALL GROUP
DISCUSSION IN POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY
TOPIC: Creation,
Self-Exploration and Society
Fall 2008
Northern
Department of Political Science
Ms. Allison Githens
Office: POLS Teaching Assistant Lounge DU 476
Email: agithens@niu.edu
Class Time: Wednesday, 3:30PM - 6:10PM
Classroom: DU 464
Office Hours: Tuesday, 3p.m. – 4p.m.; Thursday 2p.m. – 3:15p.m.; or by appointment
Course Objectives
and Goals:
Welcome to POLS 497-01! POLS 497 is a small group seminar which focuses more on discussion than lecture. The topic of POLS 497 varies from professor to professor, this section will focus on the philosophical topic of self-creation. Self-creation, most loosely, states that a person will decide their own values and create their own direction in life.
The objective of the course is to familiarize students with the philosophical concept of self-creation. Furthermore, the instructor wants to work with students to increase their analytical skills and learn to look deeper into readings than just reading for content. Students should not only learn what the author is writing in the form of words, but be able to interpret and gain a deeper meaning of the readings. Many of the readings for this class were written to inspire people and hopefully the students will be inspired as well. Additionally, students will work on their writing and discussion skills.
Classroom
Etiquette:
Cell Phones: Turn off your cell phone or put it on vibrate. Do not leave class to accept phone calls unless it is an emergency. Additionally, you should not accept phone calls while in the classroom. Cell phones are very disruptive and limit the learning process. Do not text during class; the sound made from texting is very annoying and loud. Using a cell phone during class will not be tolerated.
Speaking: Do not hold private conservations during class, it is rude and will cause other students to feel uneasy. If you would like to contribute to the discussion please raise your hand or speak up. Do not interrupt other students. This is a philosophy course and disagreements will only be natural. If you disagree with your classmate, disagree politely and kindly. Do not make personal attacks. Please remain respectful at all times.
Lateness: If you are late to class, please enter the class room quietly and take your seat.
Sleeping, eating, and etc.: Sleeping during class will not be tolerated. If a student is caught sleeping during class, he/she will be asked to leave the class. Eating in class is permitted as long as students do not make a disruption. If you eat during class, do not make a lot of noise or a mess.
University
Policies:
Academic Dishonesty: Regarding plagiarism, the NIU Undergraduate Catalog
states: "students are guilty of plagiarism, intentional or not, if they
copy material from books, magazines, or other sources without identifying and
acknowledging them. Students guilty of or assisting others in, either cheating
or plagiarism on an assignment, quiz, or examination may receive a grade of F
for the course involved and may be suspended or dismissed from the
university." The above statement encompasses a paper written in whole or
in part by another; a paper copied word-for-word or with only minor changes
from another source; a paper copied in part from one or more sources without
proper identification and acknowledgement of the sources; a paper that is
merely a paraphrase of one or more sources, using ideas and/or logic without
credit even though the actual words may be changed; and a paper that quotes,
summarizes or paraphrases, or cuts and pastes words, phrases, or images from an
Internet source without identification and the address of the web site.
Students with Disabilities: Under Section 504 of the
Rehabilitation Act of 1973, NIU is committed to making reasonable
accommodations for persons with documented disabilities. Those students with
disabilities that may have an impact on their coursework must register with the
Center for Access-Ability Resources (CAAR) on the fourth floor of the
Attendance and
Participation:
Students should come to class having read all of the week’s assigned readings and ready to discuss the material. In philosophy there are no wrong answers, please do not feel intimidated to speak and participate in class. Attendance and participation count for a large portion of your grade and it would behoove you to attend every class and participate. Understandably, there may be times when a student cannot come to class due to illness or family emergency. If the illness or family emergency is documented, the student might be able to have the absence excused.
If you are more than five minutes late, you are absent. This is not done as a punishment to students, but as a way to prepare students for “the real world.” When you leave NIU and begin your career, tardiness will not be accepted and it will only be a little accepted here.
Department
Website:
Students are encouraged to use the political science department’s website to answer their questions about their degree and keep up to date on any changes within the department. My NIU allows the student to check the status of their degree, grades, and financial aide. Both of these websites can be found on Blackboard.
Required Texts:
See Course Documents section of Blackboard for all of your reading materials.
Point
Distribution: 100 Points
Five Journals: 50 Points (50 Percent)
Points Blackboard Postings: 20 Points (20 Percent)
Attendance and Participation: 30 Points (30 Percent)
Journals:
A three page journal article will be due at the beginning of each class period except for the first class.
The journal should be a reaction to the week’s readings and not a summary. Papers that place too much emphasis on summarizing the week’s readings will receive a lower grade than papers that are written as a reaction. When writing the journals, students should discuss their reactions to the week’s readings, the significance of the readings and how the readings contribute to self-development. Try to look deep into the readings and form an argument on your reaction and thoughts on the readings. For the purpose of this assignment, the student may use the first person.
Please do quality work. The assignments for this course are not demanding and are meant to serve as a tool to help the student better understand the material and promote discussion.
Journals should be written using a computer with 1 inch margins, double-spaced, and12-point Times New Roman font. Using a large font to skip on paper length will result in a lower grade.
Journals are due at the beginning of class (3:30pm). Late journals will be penalized by lowering the journal grade a letter grade (if the journal is one day late it will be lowered from an A to a B) for each day the journal is late.
Blackboard
Postings:
The students are expected to participate in Blackboard discussions. Class is held every other week, so Blackboard will serve as a means of communication and discussion between classes. Only one Blackboard session will be open during a Blackboard discussion week. The professor will post a topic for discussion and students are expected to participate. Check the thread throughout the week because you will be expected to participate more than once. If you responded to another student’s post, be respectful of the other student’s opinion. Additionally, if you are writing a response, please click on the respond link to the previous student’s thread. If you are starting a new discussion, please create a new thread. This will be done so the discussion can remain more organized.
Schedule:
Week 2, September
3: Introduction
Assignment: None
Lecture: Class Introduction & Overview
Introduction of Basic Concepts
General Discussion on Self-Creation
Week 4,
September 17: Existentialism
Assignment: Journal 1 due at the beginning of class
Lecture: What is existentialism and how does it relate to everyday life.
Week 6, October
1: Nihilism
Assignment: Journal 2 due at the beginning of class
Lecture: What is nihilism and how it relates to politics and society.
Week 8,
October 15: Self-Creation and Society I:
Assignment: Journal 3 due at the beginning of class
Lecture: Discuss the difference between the average person and the self-created person.
Week 10, October
29; Self-Creation and Society II:
Assignment: Journal 4 due at the beginning of class
Lecture: French existentialism and philosophy.
Week 12,
November 12: Wrap-Up
Assignment: Journal 5 due at the beginning of class
Lecture: Overview the readings from the class and bring all the materials together. What did you learn from this course and how will you use it in your future life.
The professor
reserves the right to modify the syllabus at any time via verbal announcement
in class or posting on Blackboard.