SYLLABUS
POLITICAL SCIENCE
530
Spring 2005
Office ZU 306 – 815-753-9675
Email: t70jns1@wpo.cso.niu.edu
Hours: T & W 1-2
This seminar is the required course for students with an area of study concentration in Politics and the Life Sciences. It presents a survey of the theoretical and methodological approaches in political science known as biopolitics. Biopolitics is a term that embraces behavioral research in political science, studies in public policy and inquiry into fundamental problems of political philosophy.
Theoretical approaches include ethology, sociobiology or evolutionary psychology and cognitive neuroscience. Practical concerns in behavioral biopolitics include problems of authority, dominance, leadership, decision making and political judgment, socialization and mass attitudes, conflict and cooperation, political development and ethnic nationalism, among others. These concerns are explored in relation to the diverse fields of political science, including legislative, judicial and presidential politics, elections and campaigns, political behavior, international relations, public administration, comparative politics and political theory. Biopolicy and political development linkages are also considered with respect to problems of public health and nutrition, epidemic disease, famine, and drugs.
The objective of this seminar is to provide a broad based survey of theory and research across these different problem areas of biopolitics. This is a foundation seminar for more specialized courses in behavior, policy and political theory in biopolitics and is a relevant complement to programs of study in other areas of political and social science.
The only formal textbook for this seminar is Marcus, et al (2000) Affective Intelligence. All other readings will either be on library reserve or downloadable via JSTORE or electronic reserves.
(1) a research design paper of 10-12 pages due after Spring
break -- Outline and format to be
explained by the instructor on
(2) Major term research paper of about 20pp. – 50% (due last class period)
(3) Participation and presentations of assigned readings --10%
(4) Take home final exam – 20%
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Week & Topic |
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18-Jan |
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1Brief Meeting Bonnicksen& Tweed |
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25-Jan |
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2 Introductory/ Overview |
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1-Feb |
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3 Ethology[Schubert returns] |
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8-Feb |
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4 Sociobiology |
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15-Feb |
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5 Neuroscience |
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23-Feb |
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6 Leadership |
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2-Mar |
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7 Dominance |
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9-Mar |
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8 Aggression & Conflict |
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23-Mar |
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9 Cooperation Coalitions & Altruism [research design due] |
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6-Apr |
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10: Appearance Stereotypes & Phenotype: Age & Sex |
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13-Apr |
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11 Appearance Stereotypes & Phenotype: Attractiveness& Ethnicity |
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20-Apr |
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12 Emotion & Political judgment |
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27-Apr |
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13 Stress, Health & Personality |
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4-May |
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14 Public Health & Political Development |
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11-May |
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15 Evolutionary Theory and Ethnic Nationalism[ |
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take home final exam due] |
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1. “Biology and Politics: Political, Practical and Philosophical Issues” A. Somit and M. Watts
2. “Contributions of Biopolitics to Mainstream Political Science: Implications for Political Philosophy” R. Hartigan
3. “Biology and Public Administration” J. Losco
4. “Biopolitics and the Study of International Relations: Implications, Results and Perspectives” V. Falger
[previous 4 are in Somit and Peterson (1994) Research in Biopolitics: Biopolitics and the Mainstream JAI Press.
5. “The New Darwinian Naturalism in Political Theory” L. Arnhart [in Am. Pol. Sci Rev. (1995)
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Eibl-Eibesfeldt,
2. Schubert, G. “Primate Politics”
3. Schubert, G. “Political Ethology”
4. Peterson and Somit, “Research Methods Derived from the Life Sciences”
5. Salter, F. “Drawn by the Light: Visual Recording Methods in Biopolitics”
6. Schubert, J. “Verbal, Vocal and Visual Aspects of Political Speech”
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2. Trivers, R.L. “The Evolution of Reciprocal Altruism” in Caplan (1978)
3. Johnson, G. “In the Name of the Fatherland” (1987) International Political Science Review
4. Irons, W. “Natural Selection, Adaptation, and Human Social Behavior” in Chagnon and Irons, Evolutionary Biology and Human Social Behavior
5. Losco, J. “Sociobiology and Political Science” in Somit and Peterson (ed) Research in Biopolitics, vol. 4, pp. 151-178
6.
Schubert, J. and M. Tweed. “Ethnic Diversity,
Population Size, and Charitable Giving at the Local Level in the
THEORETICAL APPROACHES—NEUROSCIENCE