Introduction to Political Thought: In Translocal and Comparative Perspectives--Syllabus
POLS H171
Spring 2021
T. Donahue-Ochoa
tjdonahueAThaverford.edu
TF 1:10-2:30
https://haverford.zoom.us/j/92664836948
Meeting ID: 926 6483 6948
Passcode: 199627
Faculty Office Hours: W, 3-5 (click for sign-ups) till end of March, or by appointment (e-mail me)
TA Office Hours: Now till end of March
Course Worksheet with Pod Assignments
Do markets and individuality ground freedom and fairness? Or are they tools of white supremacy and domination? Do we need national solidarity to challenge tyranny and empire? Or is nationhood itself tyrannical? Does peace require enlarged sympathies and comfort with diversity? Or do those values destroy law and solidarity? These and similar questions drive political struggles. People answer them differently, and they band together with those offering similar answers. Of course, each answer has implications for the other questions. So these bands usually advocate answers to several of them, and we call these “political ideologies.” An ideology—like anarcho-communism or conservatism—describes and explains political conditions, evaluates them, tells people with whom they can ally themselves, proposes a program of action, and interprets central political concepts like freedom, solidarity, or injustice. So when we consider these questions—which most of us do from time to time, as you can’t engage in politics without doing so—our answers are shaped by these ideologies. But politics also requires engaging people who hold different ideologies. To do that, we need to understand how they lead people to different answers and actions than ours. So we explore those ideologies, which in turn pushes us to think more carefully about our own. When we do this, we engage in political thought.
This course invites students to practice political thought. Most of us practice it occasionally, as when we wonder, “What does it mean to call some policy ‘Communist?’ “ But done reflectively and carefully, political thought allows us to do more. We can find common ground with other ideologies and their adherents, we can find unnoticed differences between similar answers, and we can reinterpret and change our own ideologies. Indeed, we can create new ideologies altogether, since they are historical products that go in and out of existence. So the course invites students to practice political thought by exploring major ideologies—feminism, revolutionary nationalism, multiculturalism, anarchism, liberalism, cosmopolitanism, and more. Moreover, it does so by exploring these ideologies as they are held from diverse perspectives and regions of the world. So we explore Puerto Rican nationalism, Islamic democracy, populism in China, Russian multiculturalism, Black liberalism, and more. By the end of the course, students will be familiar with each ideology’s core themes, and what difference it makes to hold an ideology from different perspectives and world regions. They will be able to describe the similarities and differences between many ideologies. They will be able to engage more reflectively with the proposals of other ideologies. And they will be able to rework the ideologies they hold, or to create their own.
Aiming for 90-100 pages of reading a week. 13 weeks, 24 sessions. All-Zoom.
REQUIRED BOOK (online through HC library or hard copy in HC Bookstore):
Terence Ball, Richard Dagger, Daniel O’Neill, Political Ideologies and the Democratic Ideal, 10th edition (Routledge, 2017)--11th edition is also fine.
Organizing:
-Students will be divided into pods with whom they will collaborate through semester
Major Assignments:
-Regular attendance and participation in class (18% of grade)
-Meet in office hours with instructor and TAs by March 24 (2% and 2% of grade)
-Contribute to Glossary of Political Concepts (every other week from Week 2 on) (19% of grade)
-Write a response paper with your pod in every other week (from Week 3 on) (19% of grade)
-Midterm--3 take-home questions answered with response papers (15% of grade, due March 31)
-Hackathon of Political Thought on Tues April 27, in class: 1 hour to team-solve a problem of political thought (10% of grade)
-Final--3 take-home questions answered with response papers (15% of grade, due end of exams)
Policies:
We permit extensions for any reason, no questions asked, with no grade penalty--WITH one week (7 days’) advance notice.
I and the teaching assistants are committed to partnering with you on your academic and intellectual journey. I also recognize that your ability to thrive academically can be impacted by your personal well-being and that stressors may impact you over the course of the semester. If the stressors are academic, I welcome the opportunity to discuss and address them with you to find solutions together. If you are experiencing challenges or questions related to emotional health, finances, physical health, relationships, learning strategies or differences, or other potential stressors, I hope you will consider reaching out to the many resources available on campus. These include CAPS (free and unlimited counseling is available), the Office of Academic Resources, Health Services, Professional Health Advocate, Religious and Spiritual Life, the Office of Multicultural Affairs, the GRASE Center, and the Dean’s Office. Additional information can be found at https://www.haverford.edu/deans-office-student-life/offices-resources.
Additionally, Haverford College is committed to creating a learning environment that meets the needs of its diverse student body and to providing equal access to students with a disability. If you have (or think you have) a learning difference or disability – including mental health, medical, or physical impairment – please contact the Office of Access and Disability Services (ADS) at hc-ads@haverford.edu. The Director will confidentially discuss the process to establish reasonable accommodations. It is never too late to request accommodations – our bodies and circumstances are continuously changing.
Students who have already been approved to receive academic accommodations and want to use them in this course should share their accommodation letter and make arrangements to meet with me as soon as possible to discuss how their accommodations will be implemented in this course. Please note that accommodations are not retroactive: they require advance notice in order to successfully be implemented.
If, at any point in the semester, a disability or personal circumstances affect your learning in this course, or if there are ways in which the overall structure of the course and general classroom interactions could be adapted to facilitate full participation, please do not hesitate to reach out to me or the teaching assistants.
It is a state law in Pennsylvania that individuals must be given advance notice that they may be recorded. Therefore, any student who has a disability-related need to audio record this class must first be approved for this accommodation from the Director of Access and Disability Services and then must speak to me. Other class members need to be aware that this class may be recorded.
SCHEDULE
Session 1. Feb 12. What Do Ideologies Do?
Optional readings:
Terence Ball, Richard Dagger, and Daniel O’Neill, “A Working Definition of ‘Ideology,’ ” “Human Nature and Freedom,” Political Ideologies and the Democratic Ideal, pp. 6-13
Andrew Heywood, “Contours of Ideology,” “Left and Right,” “New ideologies for old?” Political Ideologies, 6th ed. (Palgrave, 2017): 10-14, 15-21
PART ONE. Liberation Ideologies (Native Peoples’ Liberation, Black Liberation, Women's Liberation…)
Session 2. Feb 16. Women’s Liberation ideologies (Feminism)
Ball, Dagger, and O’Neill, “Women’s Liberation (Feminism),” Political Ideologies and the Democratic Ideal, pp. 267-274
Kumari Jayawardena, “ ‘Civilization’ through Women’s Emancipation in Turkey,” Feminism and Nationalism in the Third World (Verso, 2016): 25-42 [Haverford click here] [Bryn Mawr click here]
Jayawardena, “Women, Social Reform and Nationalism in India,” Feminism and Nationalism, pp. 73-93 ONLY [Haverford click here] [Bryn Mawr click here]
Jayawardena, “Feminism and Revolutionary Struggles in China,” Feminism and Nationalism, pp. 176-196 [Haverford click here] [Bryn Mawr click here]
Session 3. Feb 19. (1) Black feminism. (2) LGBTQ liberation
1st Contribution to Glossary Due
Patricia Hill Collins, “No Guarantees: Symposium on Black Feminist Thought,” Ethnic & Racial Studies 38 (2015): 2349-2354 [Haverford click here] [Bryn Mawr click here]
Ball, Dagger, and O’Neill, “Gay Liberation (LGBT),” Political Ideologies, pp. 275-281
Gee Imaan Semalaar, “Unpacking Solidarities of the Oppressed: Notes on Trans Struggles in India,” Women’s Studies Quarterly 42 (2014): 286-291 [Haverford click here] [Bryn Mawr click here]
Optional: Kathleen Feyh, “LGBTQ Oppression and Activism in Russia: An Interview with Igor Iasine,” QED: A Journal in GLBTQ Worldmaking 2 (2014): 100-108 [Haverford click here] [Bryn Mawr click here]
Context: Meridians: feminism, race, transnationalism | Marina Magloire on
Transnational Black Feminism (Youtube Video)
Context: Voices of LGBTQ Liberation! 1979 National March on Washington Part
One (Youtube Video)
Session 4. Feb 23. Native peoples’ liberation
Ball, Dagger, and O’Neill, “Native Peoples’ Liberation,” Political Ideologies, pp. 281-284
Kouslaa Tunee Kessler-Mata, “Empowerment through Incorporation? The Trouble with Agreement Making and Tribal Sovereignty,” Tulsa Law Review 47 (2011): 599-620
“Marichuy’s Speech in Guadalupe Tepeyac,” 17 October 2017
“Rebiya Kadeer on Uyghurs under Chinese Rule,” 2013 video lecture at Duke University
Context: El Congreso Nacional Indigena en Pocas Palabras (Youtube video)
Context: Vine Deloria on Native Americans (1972) (Youtube video)
Session 5. Feb 26. (1) Black liberation. (2) (Nationalist Approaches to) Chicano and Puerto Rican Liberation
Ball, Dagger, and O’Neill, “Black Liberation,” Political Ideologies, pp. 259-267
Francis E. Dorsey, “Garveyism: A ‘90s Perspective,” New Directions 18 (1991): 26-29
Patrisse Cullors, “6 Years Later and Black [Lives Matter] Activists Are Still Fighting,” Black Lives Matter website
Cristina Beltran, “El Pueblo Unido: Visions of Unity in the Chicano and Puerto Rican Movements,” The Trouble with Unity: Latino Politics and the Creation of Identity (Oxford UP, 2010): 21-47 ONLY
Context: The Chicano Movement in Texas (Youtube Video)
Context: Garveyism Still Spreading--NBC (Youtube Video)
Context: The Young Lords: ...50 Years Later (Youtube Video)
Context: The Black Power Mixtape, 1967-1975 (Youtube Video)
PART TWO. ANARCHISMS AND LIBERALISMS
Session 6. March 2. Anarchisms.
2nd Glossary Contribution Due
Andrew Heywood, “Anarchism,” Political Ideologies: An Introduction (Palgrave, 2012), pp. 140-164 ONLY
Lorenzo Kom’boa Ervin, “Where is the Black struggle and where should it be going?” Anarchism and the Black Revolution (Monkeywrench Press, 1994)
“What Is Zapatista Autonomy?” Schools for Chiapas (2013)
Dov Shilton, “In the Heart of Syria’s Darkness, a Democratic, Egalitarian, and Feminist Society Emerges,” Ha’aretz (June 9, 2019)
Optional: Emma Goldman, “Anarchism—What It Really Stands For,” Ideals and Ideologies, pp.
333-343
Context: Conociendo una Comunidad Zapatista (Youtube Video)
Session 7. March 5. Varieties of Liberalism: Classical and Social Liberalisms
Andrew Heywood, “Liberalism,” Political Ideologies (2012 edition): 24-58 ONLY
Terence Ball, Richard Dagger, and Daniel O’Neill, “Liberalism Divided,” Political Ideologies and the Democratic Ideal, 10th ed (Routledge, 2017): 82-88, 91-103, READ FROM "WELFARE LIBERALISM" ON; SKIP "PHILOSOPHICAL CONSIDERATIONS"
"The Declaration of Independence [of the United States of America]," Ideals and Ideologies, pp. 99-103
Barack Obama, “Speech at Osawatomie, Kansas,” Ideals and Ideologies, pp. 145-155
Session 8. March 9. (1) Libertarianism. (2) Liberalisms in China. (3) Black Liberalisms
2nd Pod Response Paper Due
Donald Allen, “Paternalism vs. Democracy: A Libertarian View,” Ideals and Ideologies, pp. 164-170
Lu Hua and Matthew Galway, “Freedom and its limitations: the contemporary Chinese mainland debate over liberalism,” China Information 32 (2018): 315-335
Michael C. Dawson, "A Vision of Freedom Larger than America Is Prepared to Accept? The Diverse Shades of Black Liberalism," Black Visions: The Roots of contemporary African-American Political Ideologies (UChicago Press, 2001): 238-273
Session 9. March 12. African, Arab, and Russian Liberalisms
Meir Hatina, Arab Liberal Thought in the Modern Age (Manchester UP, 2020): 1-7, 15-23, 37-39, 66-71 ONLY
Olga Malinova, “Encounters with Liberalism in Post-Soviet Russia,” in In Search of European Liberalisms: Concepts, Languages, Ideologies, ed. M. Freeden et al (Berghahn, 2019): 278-301
Session 10. March 16. Institutions of Liberalism: The Latin American Cases
3rd Glossary Contribution Due
Roberto Gargarella, “Liberalism,” The Legal Foundations of Inequality: Constitutionalism in the Americas, 1776-1860 (Cambridge UP, 2010): 153-214
PART THREE. CONSERVATISMS
Session 11. March 19. (1) Conservatism: Varieties and Main Themes. (2) Black Conservatism
Ball, Dagger, and O’Neill, “Conservatism,” Political Ideologies and the Democratic Ideal, pp. 130-146 ONLY
Angela Dillard, "Malcolm X's Words in Clarence Thomas's Mouth: Black Conservatives and the Making of an Intellectual Tradition," Guess Who's Coming to Dinner Now? Multicultural Conservatism in America (NYU Press, 2001): 24-55, JUST READ TO P. 48
Optional: Andrew Heywood, “Conservatism,” Political Ideologies, pp. 65-95 ONLY
Session 12. March 23. Conservatisms in China, India, and Chile
3rd Pod Response Paper Due
He Li, “New Confucianism,” Political Thought and China’s Transformation (Palgrave, 2015): 79-93
Chhibber, P., Ostermann, S.L. & Verma, R., 2018. “The State as Guardian of the Social Order:
Conservatism in Indian Political Thought and Its Modern Manifestations.” Studies in Indian Politics, 6(1), pp.27–43.
Renato Cristi and Carlos Ruiz, “Conservative Thought in Twentieth-century Chile,” Canadian Journal of Latin American and Caribbean Studies (1990): 27-47 ONLY
WEDS MAR 24: DEADLINE TO HAVE MET IN OFFICE HOURS WITH INSTRUCTOR AND (A) TA
NO CLASS FRIDAY MARCH 26--WORK ON MIDTERM
SPRING PAUSE (Saturday March 27 through Tuesday March 30)
MIDTERMS DUE WEDS MARCH 31 TO MOODLE
PART FOUR. SOCIALISMS
Session 13. April 2. (1) Core Themes of Socialism. (2) Marxism’s Main Ideas. (3) Leninism, Stalinism, Maoism
4th Glossary Contribution Due
Andrew Heywood, “Socialism,” Political Ideologies (2012 edition), pp. 97-116 ONLY
Terence Ball, Richard Dagger, Daniel O’Neill, “The Socialism of Karl Marx,” Political Ideologies and the Democratic Ideal, pp. 155-172
Terence Ball, Richard Dagger, Daniel O’Neill, “Socialism and Communism after Marx,” Political Ideologies and the Democratic Ideal, pp. 172-199 ONLY
V. I. Lenin, “Revisionism, Imperialism, and Revolution,” Ideals and Ideologies, pp. 291-311
Session 14. April 6. (1) Black Marxism. (2) Varieties of Non-Leninist Socialism: Anarcho-Communism, Social Democracy, and Democratic Socialism
Cornel West, “Review of Manning Marable, How Capitalism Underdeveloped Black America,” Critical Sociology (1986): 114-115
Ball, Dagger, O’Neill, “Socialism and Communism after Marx,” Political Ideologies and the Democratic Ideal, pp. 200-213 ONLY
He Li, “Democratic Socialism,” Political Thought and China’s Transformation (Palgrave, 2015), pp. 60-78
Optional: Bernie Sanders, “On Democratic Socialism in the United States,” Ideals and Ideologies, pp. 356-364
Session 15. April 9. (1) Social Democracy and Democratic Socialism in Europe. (2) State Socialisms in India, East Africa, Spanish America
4th Pod Response Paper Due
Ben Jackson, “Social Democracy and Democratic Socialism,” in The Oxford Handbook of Political Ideologies, ed. M. Freeden et al (Oxford UP, 2013): 348-363
Bhikhu Parekh, “Nehru and the National Philosophy of India,” Economic and Political Weekly 26 (1991): 35-39, 45-47 ONLY
Julius Nyerere, “The Arusha Declaration and TANU’s Policy on Socialism and Self-Reliance,” (1967), Parts One-Three ONLY
Roberto Gargarella, “Constitutionalism at the Mid-Twentieth Century and the Return of the ‘Social Question’,” Latin American Constitutionalism, 1810-2010 (Oxford UP, 2013): 105-115, 125-9 ONLY
PART FIVE. COSMOPOLITANISMS AND PAN-IDEOLOGIES
Session 16. April 13. Cosmopolitanism/Globalisms
Kwame Anthony Appiah, “The Case for Contamination” New York Times Magazine 1 Jan 2006
Sami Zubaida, “Cosmopolitanism citizenship in the Middle East,” openDemocracy (20 July 2010)
Sarah Balakrishnan, “Afropolitanism and the End of Black Nationalism” in Routledge Handbook of Cosmopolitan Studies, ed. G. Delanty (Routledge, 2018): 575-585
Xu Jilin, “The New Tianxia: Rebuilding China’s Internal and External Order” at Reading the China Dream(Cambridge UP, 2018): 127-154
Optional: -Tingyang Zhao, “Rethinking Empire from a Chinese Concept “All-under-heaven”
(Tian-xia)” Social Identities 12 (2006): 29-41
Session 17. April 16. Internationalist/Pan- Ideologies against Empires
5th Glossary Contribution Due
Pan-Latin Americanism:
Victor Haya de la Torre, “What Is the APRA?” The Labour Monthly 1926.
Haya de La Torre, “APRA as a Single Party,” Aprismo: The Ideas and Doctrines of Victor Raul Haya de la Torre, ed. RJ Alexander (Kent State UP, 1973): 126-134
Pan-Arabism:
Ibrahim Abu Rabi, “Constantine Zurayk and the Search for Arab Nationalism,” Contemporary Arab Thought (Pluto Press, 2004): 296-317
Pan-Africanism:
Ama Biney, “Pan-Africanism: A History,” Routledge Handbook of South-South Relations (Routledge, 2018): 177-188
Context: Trans-African Music: 3MA’s music of Madagascar, Mali, and Maroc (Youtube video)
PART SIX. ANTI-ELITISMS AND POPULISMS
Session 18. April 20. (1) Pan-Ethnic Separatism (Ethnopluralism). (2) Populism: Core Themes. (3) In Spanish America, the US, and Africa.
PRACTICE HACKATHON ON:
Alain de Benoist and Charles Champetier, “Manifesto of the French New Right in the Year 2000”
Cas Mudde and Cristobal Rovira Kaltwasser, “Populism,” in The Oxford Handbook of Political Ideologies, ed M. Freeden et al (OUP. 2013): 493-510
Roberto Gargarella, “The Populist Alternative,” Latin American Constitutionalism (Oxford UP, 2013): 115-122
Optional: Donald J. Trump, “Inaugural Address” (20 January 2017)
Optional: Guy Martin, “The Africanist-Populist Ideology: Popular Democracy and Development in Africa,” African Political Thought (Palgrave, 2012): 129-152
Context: Elitisms and populisms in architecture: A lot of ordinary people hate Brutalist
[HACKATHON OF POLITICAL THOUGHT--SPECIAL SESSION on evening of Wednesday, April 21, 7pm-8:30pm] NO MEETING: POSTPONED TO CLASS-TIME TUESDAY APRIL 27
Session 19. April 23. (Socialist) Populism in Pakistan, China, and the Andean Countries.
5th Pod Response Paper Due
Social-democratic populism: Constitution of Tahreek e Insaf (Pakistan’s ruling party)
He Li, “China’s New Left,” Political Thought and China’s Transformation (Palgrave, 2015), pp. 46-59
Alvaro Garcia Linera, “Indianismo and Marxism: The Missed Encounter of Two Revolutionary Principles,” MROnline 31 January 2008
Optional: Ma Licheng, “The Surging Tide of Populism: The Populist School of Thought,” Leading Schools of Thought in Contemporary China (World Scientific Publishing, 2016), pp. 157-170 only
Optional: Jose Carlos Mariategui, Seven Interpretative Essays on Peruvian Reality (1928)
PART SEVEN. NATIONALISMS
Session 20. April 27. (1) Nationalisms: Core Themes. (2) Revolutionary Nationalisms
THE HACKATHON!
Andrew Heywood, “Nationalism,” Political Ideologies, pp. 168-181 ONLY
Rogelio Hernandez, “The persistence of an idea: revolutionary nationalism: from the PRI to Lopez Obrador,” Foro Internacional (2020) [Translated excerpt]
“Pact, Declaration of Principles, and Program of the [Mexican] Institutional Revolutionary Party [PRI]” (20 January 1946) [Translation]
A. James Gregor and Maria Hsia Chang, “Nazionalfascismo and the Revolutionary Nationalism of Sun Yat-Sen,” Journal of Asian Studies 39 (1979): 21-37
Session 21. April 30. (1) Black Power Nationalisms, Revolutionary and Cultural. (2) Conservative and Religious Nationalisms
6th Glossary Contribution Due
William J. Wilson, “Revolutionary Nationalism ‘Versus’ Cultural Nationalism: Dimensions of the Black Power Movement,” Sociological Focus 3 (1970): 43-51
Renato Cristi and Carlos Ruiz, “Conservative Thought in Twentieth-century Chile,” Canadian Journal of Latin American and Caribbean Studies (1990): 47-57 ONLY
Manjari Katju, “The Understanding of Freedom in Hindutva,” Social Scientist 39 (2011): 3-17 ONLY
Optional: Sangit Kumar Ragi, “Savarkar: Hindutva and Critique of Caste System,” in Indian Political Thought: Themes and Thinkers, ed. Himanshu Roy and M. P. Singh (Pearson, 2020): 342-353
PART EIGHT. IDEOLOGIES AND RELIGIONS
Session 22. May 4. Religious Ideologies: Zionism, Islamic Democracy, Christian Democracy
Chaim Gans, “Zionisms and Post-Zionisms,” A Political Theory for the Jewish People (Oxford UP, 2016): 1-13 ONLY
Dinesh Kumar Singh, “Jinnah: Liberal Constitutionalism and Islam,” in Indian Political Thought: Themes and Thinkers, 3nd edition, ed. Himanshu Roy and M. P. Singh, (Pearson, 2020): 318-333 ONLY
Paolo Pombeni, “Christian Democracy,” Oxford Handbook of Political Ideologies¸ed. Michael Freeden and Marc Stears (Oxford UP, 2013): 312-328
Session 23. May 7. Secularisms and Multiculturalisms
6th Pod Response Paper Due
Amartya Sen, “Secularism and its discontents,” The Argumentative Indian (Oxford, 200): 294-316
M. Hakan Yavuz, “Understanding Turkish secularism in the 21st century: A contextual roadmap,” Southeast European and Black Sea Studies (2019): 1-17 ONLY
Elena Chebankova, “Multiculturalism [in Russia and the West],” Political Ideologies in Contemporary Russia (McGill UP, 2020), pp. 210-229 ONLY (skip 203-209)
Optional: Anastassia Obydenkova, “Religious Pluralism in Russia,” in Politics of Religion and Nationalism, ed. F. Requejo and K. -J. Nagel (Routledge, 2015):
PART NINE. MULTICULTURALISMS AND PLURALISMS
Session 24. May 11. Pluralisms in Latin America, the Caribbean, and India
Estelle Tarica, “Indigenismo,” Oxford Research Encyclopedias: Latin American History (2016)
Édouard Glissant, “Creolization in the Making of the Americas,” Caribbean Quarterly (2008): 81-89
Rochana Bajpai, “Why Did India Choose Pluralism? Lessons from a Post-colonial State,” (Global Centre for Pluralism, 2017): 1-18 ONLY
Optional: Andrew Heywood, “Multiculturalism,” Political Ideologies, pp. 310-329 ONLY
FINAL DUE LAST DAY OF EXAMS (Sat May 22) 5PM Eastern