Harvard Kennedy School of Government
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GOVT E-1075/W Pop Culture and Political Philosophy Spring, 2016 Logistics Lectures: Thursdays, 7:40pm -9:40pm, Maxwell-Dworkin G115 Instructor Christopher Robichaud (Ph.D. in Philosophy, MIT) Lecturer in Ethics and Public Policy, Harvard Kennedy School of Government Office Hours: Thursdays 5-6pm and by appointment Office: Littauer 214, Harvard Kennedy School of Government Email: [email protected] Phone: (617) 384-8120 Administrative Assistant Rosita Scarfo Phone:617-496-1739 Email: [email protected] Office: Belfer 127B, Harvard Kennedy School Teaching Assistants Mark Diaz Truman, Head TA (Master’s in Public Policy, Harvard) [email protected] Office Hours: TBA Section Meetings: TBA Wynne Lanros (Master’s in Philosophy, Tufts) [email protected] Office Hours: TBA Section Meetings: TBA 1 Overview This course exposes students to classic and contemporary political philosophy by way of using it to engage popular films, television shows, comic books, novels and music. Course Expectations and Requirements 1. Students are expected to fulfill the requirements of a writing intensive course. GOVT E-1075/W focuses on providing students with the writing skills needed to discuss with depth and clarity the philosophical ideas and arguments that arise in a variety of Ameri- can pop culture narratives. Writing-intensive courses at the Harvard Extension School offer students the opportunity to develop writing skills for a specific academic discipline. These courses feature com- mon elements. Students will: Develop core writing skills, as defined by the instructor, in the discipline of the course; Complete multiple writing assignments of varying lengths, at least two of which must be revised; Produce a minimum of 10-12 pages of polished writing, beyond required rough drafts, over the course of the term; Meet at least once in individual conference (in person, by phone, or online) with the instructor or TA to discuss writing in progress; Receive detailed feedback on their drafts and revisions, on both content and ex- pression. 2. Students are expected to complete all the readings/watch all of the shows or films as- signed for the course. Fair warning. This is a time intensive course. Some of your time will be spent consum- ing pop culture—a season of Game of Thrones, say, or a play-through of Bioshock. There are some serious hours that you will have to log consuming the entertainment we’ll be looking at. Additionally, some of your time will be spent reading dense philosophy, in- cluding the entirety of Machiavelli’s The Prince and of Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged. Many more hours will be logged reading that philosophy with care. Just as importantly, this is a writing intensive course, meaning that you will be clocking a lot of time writing, writing, and writing. (See below for details.) As such, please do not take this course if you are unable to devote the time necessary to engage it fully. You will stress yourself out and your grade will inevitably suffer. 3. Students are expected to listen to the lectures each week. 2 I strongly encourage local students to attend lectures each week. See below for incen- tives to do so. Regardless, the expectation of students listening to the lectures each week brings with it the expectation that if I discuss something in lecture that is relevant to the assignments, you do not have an excuse for missing this information if it only comes at you this way, and you are therefore responsible for it. In short: please take the time to watch the lectures each week, every week, start to finish. 4. Students are expected to exercise academic integrity in the course. There is zero toler- ance for plagiarism. You are responsible for understanding Harvard Extension School policies on academic integrity (www.extension.harvard.edu/resources-policies/student-conduct/academic- integrity) and how to use sources responsibly. Not knowing the rules, misunderstanding the rules, running out of time, submitting "the wrong draft", or being overwhelmed with multiple demands are not acceptable excuses. There are no excuses for failure to uphold academic integrity. To support your learning about academic citation rules, please visit the Harvard Extension School Tips to Avoid Plagiarism (www.extension.harvard.edu/resources-policies/resources/tips-avoid-plagiarism), where you'll find links to the Harvard Guide to Using Sources and two, free, online 15- minute tutorials to test your knowledge of academic citation policy. The tutorials are anonymous open-learning tools. 5. Students are expected to fulfill all the formal requirements of the course, detailed be- low. Formal Course Requirements: (1) Three Response Papers Each response paper is to be three pages long (typed, double-spaced, 12pt font), and each will count toward 15% of your final grade. All response papers will include feedback from the teaching assistants. The second of these three papers will involve a rewrite as well. Specific details on the papers will be presented in lecture, in section, and in course announcements on Canvas. (2) Final Paper Draft Your final paper will be eight pages long if you are an undergraduate student and twelve pages long if you are a graduate student. You will need to submit a complete draft of it. A complete draft is eight pages if you are an undergraduate and twelve pages if you are a graduate student. A complete draft is a complete version of your final paper, and must contain all the elements expected in the final paper. This draft will count for 15% of your final grade. More details on the final paper will be presented in lecture, in section, and in course an- 3 nouncements on Canvas. (3) Final Paper Your final paper will be a revision of your complete draft. It will count for 25% of your final grade. Standards will be provided for what counts as an acceptable revision. NOTE: It is the policy of this course that, barring medical or other serious emergencies (computer malfunctions and internet delays are not serious emergencies), late papers or papers written on the wrong topic or papers that do not fulfill the requirements provided in class or by email or on Canvas by me or the teaching assistants will receive a zero. Please be sure to do the correct assignment, and submit it on time. (4) Participation You will be expected to participate on a regular basis. This means attending and contrib- uting to the sections run by the teaching assistants each week. Participation counts for 15% of your final grade. Additionally, non-distance and hybrid students who attend lecture in person for at least 11 of the 15 sessions will have their lowest response paper grade raised one letter grade (B- to a B, B to a B+, B+ to an A-, etc.). Attendance will be taken each class and to be eligible students must attend the entire lecture. This policy does not affect papers that did not originally receive a passing grade. Distance students who make at least one substantive contribution to the online forum for at least 11 of the 15 weeks of the semester will have their lowest response paper grade raised one letter grade (B- to a B, B to a B+, B+ to an A-, etc.). This policy does not af- fect papers that did not originally receive a passing grade. To be clear: these incentives are aimed at promoting interaction. It seeks to get local stu- dents into the classroom interacting with me and each other on a weekly basis, and to get distance students on the course forum interacting with the TAs and each other on a week- ly basis. Local students are more than welcome to comment on the forums and distance students are more than welcome to drop in on a class if they're in town, of course. NOTE: The Extension School is committed to providing an accessible academic com- munity. The Disability Services Office offers a variety of accommodations and services to students with documented disabilities. Please vis- it www.extension.harvard.edu/resources-policies/resources/disability-services- accessibility for more information. Due Dates For Assignments 4 Readings, Films, Shows All material for a lecture is to be read and/or watched prior to the class in which it is dis- cussed. First Response Paper: Due Sunday February 7 at 11:59pm The first response paper will focus on the material from Class 3: The Case for Anarchy in V for Vendetta. Second Response Paper, First Draft: Sunday February 21 at 11:59pm The second response paper will focus on the material from Class 5: Machiavelli and Leadership in Game of Thrones. Second Response Paper, Revised Draft: Sunday March 13 at 11:59pm Third Response Paper: Sunday March 27 at 11:59pm The third response paper will focus on the material from Class 9: Capitalism, Randian Objectivism, and the Bioshock Rebuttal. Final Paper, First Draft: Sunday April 17 at 11:59pm The final response paper will focus on the material from class 15: Watchmen and Political Philosophy: Tying Things Together. Final Paper, Revised Draft: Sunday May 8 at 11:59pm Required Texts There are ten required books for this course and a course packet that must be purchased. The books are: Political Thought, edited by Michael Rosen and Jonathan Wolff Atlas Shrugged, by Ayn Rand Machiavelli: Selected Political Writings, edited and translated by David Wootton Anatomy of the State, by Murray Rothbard The Ethics of Patriotism: A Debate, by John Kleinig, Simon Keller, and Igor Pri- moratz House of Cards and Philosophy, edited by J. Edward Hackett Propaganda, by Edward Bernays Watchmen, by Alan Moore The Killing Joke, by Alan Moore V for Vendetta, by Alan Moore Print and/or e-copies of all are available through Amazon; some copies will also be avail- able through the Harvard COOP bookstores.