Course Syllabus

PHILOSOPHY 4010/6013

Fall 2020 Wednesdays 3:00-5:30 PM Professor: Shannon Hoff Contact: [email protected] Office: Arts and Administration 3103 Meeting Hours: by appointment

COURSE DESCRIPTION

This is a course in political philosophy in the continental tradition. We will begin with focussed study of Hegel’s political philosophy in the Encyclopaedia, which is a systematic development of the various constituents and conditions of human freedom. We will then study selections of Jacques Derrida’s Rogues, which struggles particularly with the tensions that emerge between and among the constituent elements of freedom—between universality and localized flourishing, between democratic openness and democratic self-determination. The third part of the course will aim to respond to Hegel’s demand that we grasp our own time in thought, addressing some of the empirical and historical political problems for which our systematic considerations prepare us, and which keep these considerations importantly attuned to the concrete, non-ideal world in which they must operate. This part of the course will use John Russon’s Sites of Exposure to build on the elements of freedom and their tensions, focussing in particular on the historical problem of domination of some “bodies politic” by others—specifically, the problem of racist colonialism. The question in particular that will emerge is: how do we navigate the fact that human freedom is accomplished and sustained by communities of what Hegel calls “ethical life,” that these communities differ significantly from each other, and that they have come to relate to each other not freely or by happenstance but by force, domination, and exploitation? This part of the course will include study of Frantz Fanon, supplemented by readings from Lila Abu-Lughod, Uday Singh Mehta, and Anibal Quijano. This is an advanced seminar course, which means that the demand made on you by the material and the expectations I have for you regarding your preparation will be high. The most important factor determining how much you will get out of this class and how well you do in it will be the care you take in studying the readings. You should engage independently and intensively with the assigned readings prior to every class meeting. It is inadvisable to consult secondary texts on this material. This is also a course, however, that should be conducted in person, and I cannot expect you to be as engaged as you might ordinarily be, just as I do not expect that I will be able to be as engaged as I would ordinarily be. Interacting with each other via computers will surely be challenging. I would therefore ask that you be patient with yourselves, each other, and me, and that you make every effort that occurs to you to be in touch with me over the phone, over email, and so on, so as to make this experience less alienating than it might otherwise be. The course will consist of pre-recorded lectures and weekly discussion sessions. We will meet once a week for open discussions, on Wednesdays at 4 p.m. You will be responsible for listening to the recorded lectures (and, undergraduate students, for completing your worksheets) prior to those weekly meetings.

COURSE TEXTS (marked readings will be available at the bookstore; all others will be made available in pdf form)

G. W. F. Hegel, Philosophy of Mind (Oxford 2007)* Jacques Derrida, Rogues (Stanford 2005)* John Russon, Sites of Exposure (Indiana 2017)* Frantz Fanon, “Concerning Violence,” The Wretched of the Earth (Grove 2004)*; “The Lived Experience of the Black Man,” Black Skin, White Masks (Grove 2008) Anibal Quijano, “Coloniality of Power, Eurocentrism, and Latin America (Nepantla 2000) Lila Abu-Lughod, “Do Muslim Women Really Need Saving?” (American Anthropologist 2002) Uday Singh Mehta, Liberalism and Empire (Chicago 1999)

COURSE REQUIREMENTS: Undergraduate Students

Surveys: 10% Every few weeks, I will distribute a survey asking you some questions (how things are going, thoughts you’re having about the course content, what you find compelling, and so on). This is essentially just a way for me to check in with you, so unless your answers are empty, you will receive full credit simply for completing these surveys. This will guide my orientation to our discussion sessions and help me adjust things throughout the semester (and by asking you to reflect on what you’re getting out of the class it should help you get more out of the class).

Worksheets: 10% In advance of some of the recorded lectures, you will receive a worksheet to fill out. You should fill out this worksheet in advance of listening to the lecture; it will be designed to help you follow what is happening in it. Again, you will be given full credit just for completing the worksheets, unless your answers reflect no engagement.

Leadership: 10% Our meetings will be dedicated to discussion of the course material and the lecture; in them, I will aim to clarify the points of the lecture and you will be expected to raise questions and make comments, etc. You will team up with someone to lead one of these sessions. Note that this is not a presentation. It could involve asking questions of course participants, making connections between the course material and your experience, talking about implications of the course material, soliciting thoughts from your peers, clarifying difficult ideas, and so on. I will circulate a sign-up sheet in the week of September 16. Please feel free to consult with me in advance about how to do this well.

Exegetical Essays: 40% You will be required to write two three- to four-page exegetical essays: one on Hegel and one on Derrida. Specific guidelines will be distributed in advance. Each essay is worth 20%.

Final Project: 30% You will sign up for a specific topic from the second half of the semester, and work on a piece of popular writing that communicates effectively with a non-academic audience about that topic. You should think of this piece of writing as something like a blog post or Op-Ed piece. Have in mind the idea that you would publish these pieces in a popular venue, though this is not required. You must submit this writing to the class, and you must regularly comment on each other’s work, aiming to help your fellow students revise and polish them. You may also consider submitting your piece of writing to me in advance so that you can feel confident that it is relatively polished by the time you show it to the class. Your writing and your commenting will each count as 15% of this grade.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS: Graduate Students

Surveys: 10% Every few weeks, I will distribute a survey asking you some questions (how things are going, any thoughts you’re having about the course content, what you find particularly compelling, and so on). This is essentially just a way for me to check in with you, so unless your answers are empty, you will receive full credit simply for completing these surveys. This will guide my orientation to our discussion sessions and help me adjust things throughout the semester (and, by asking you to reflect on what you’re getting out of the class, it should help you get more out of the class).

Exegetical Essay: 20% You will be required to write one three- to four-page exegetical essay on Hegel. The specific assignment and guidelines will be distributed in advance.

Writing and Commenting Project: 30% At some point in the semester (which you will determine in advance), you will work on a piece of popular writing on one of the topics of the course that communicates effectively with a non- academic audience. You should think of this piece of writing as something like a blog post or Op-Ed piece. Have in mind the idea that you would publish these pieces in a popular venue, though this is not required. You must submit this writing to the class, and you must comment on each other’s work, aiming to help your fellow students revise and polish them. You may also consider submitting your piece of writing to me in advance so that you can feel confident that it is relatively polished by the time you show it to the class. Your writing and your commenting will each count as 15% of this grade.

Final Paper: 30% You will be required to write ten- to twelve-page paper, in which you may include the exegetical work you did earlier in the semester. Specific guidelines will be distributed in advance. The paper is due on the date scheduled for the final exam, which is to be determined.

POLICIES ETC.

I will not be grading participation, due to the challenging nature of classes this semester. Nevertheless, if you are interested in developing your capacities as a student, in getting something from the class, and in making this a rewarding experience for everyone, do the following: watch lectures faithfully and regularly; attend discussion sessions with questions and comments ready; aim to contribute to discussion in ways that help shape the experience of the class as a whole, steering conversations in productive directions and developing and furthering your colleagues’ contributions; submit your assignments on time. If for some reason you cannot submit assignments on time, make special arrangements ahead of time.

CAMPUS SUPPORT

If a disability or a temporary illness or injury requires of you a different approach to the completion of course requirements, please feel free to talk with me and to contact the Blundon Centre for assistance (phone: (709) 864-2156; email: [email protected]). Policies and procedures pertaining to accommodations can be found at www.mun.ca/policy/site/policy.php?id=239.

ACADEMIC HONESTY

There is nothing wrong with using the words and thoughts of others, as long as you explicitly acknowledge that you’ve done so. It is plagiarism when you copy without citing or paraphrase without acknowledging someone else’s work, implicitly or explicitly presenting that work as your own. The properly acknowledged use of sources is an important part of scholarship. Depending on the seriousness of the offence, plagiarists will receive a failing grade for the assignment or for the course as a whole, and the incident will be recorded with relevant office. Please keep in mind that it is not difficult to detect plagiarized work, and that I will not accept the excuse that you did not know what plagiarism was; if you don’t know what it is, find out right now. Further, while it is easy to imagine that some of you will consult the internet, you should not assume that everyone who writes something on the internet knows what he or she is talking about. Most of the material published on the internet will damage your capacity to think well rather than help it.

COURSE SCHEDULE

I. HEGEL AND THE CONCEPT OF POLITICS

September 9 The Relations of Individuals: Hegel, Phenomenology of Spirit, §§178-196; Philosophy of Mind: Objective Mind, §§483-87; Right, §§488-502; Morality, §§503-12

September 16 The Institution of the Family: Hegel, Philosophy of Mind, §§513-522 Supplementary material: Ciavatta, “The Unreflective Bonds of Intimacy”; Russon, Bearing Witness to Epiphany, pp. 53-59

September 23 The Institution of Civil Society: Hegel, Philosophy of Mind, §§523-534

September 30 The Institution of the State: Hegel, Philosophy of Mind, §§535-552

II. DERRIDA AND THE SEMANTICAL PROBLEM OF POLITICS

October 7 The Problem of Democracy: What is Freedom? Derrida, Rogues, “The Reason of the Strongest,” Ch. 1: “The Free Wheel,” Ch. 2: “License and Freedom,” Ch. 6: “The Rogue that I Am.” Hegel paper due October 11

October 14 Alternatives to Democracy: Derrida, Rogues, “The Reason of the Strongest,” Ch. 3: “The Other of Democracy.”

October 21 Democracy to Come: Rogues, “The Reason of the Strongest,” Ch. 7: “God, What More Do I Have To Say?”

October 28 Autoimmunity: Rogues, “The Reason of the Strongest,” Ch. 8: “The Last of the Rogue States”; Ch. 9: “(No) More Rogue States”

III. RUSSON AND THE HISTORICAL PROBLEM OF POLITICS

November 4 What is “Living Together”? Russon, Sites of Exposure, Lesson 4: “Accommodation”; Lesson 7: “The Ambivalence of Being at Home,” Lesson 8a: “Indifference, Relative and Absolute,” Lesson 8b: “Cultural Specificity” Derrida paper due (undergraduate) November 14

November 11 No class

November 18 The History of Democracy: Russon, Sites of Exposure, Lesson 8c: “Indifferent Universality and Its Problems”; Quijano, “Coloniality of Power,” pp. 533-556

November 25 Rights and Colonialism: Fanon, Wretched of the Earth, pp. 1-24, 42-52, 235-239; Black Skin, White Masks, pp. 89-119

December 2 The Future of Democracy: Sites of Exposure, Lesson 9: “Sugchōrein: Domestic Politics and Civic Ecology; Mehta, Liberalism and Empire, pp. 17-28, 41-45; Abu- Lughod, “Do Muslim Women Need Saving?”