The Conservative Movement in North America NAST 472-001 / POLI 427-002 Time: Tuesdays, 1:05 – 3:55 p.m. Room: SH688, Room 295 Instructor: Adam Daifallah [email protected] Tel.: (514) 262-2982 Teaching Assistant: Joshua Freedman, [email protected] Tel: (514) 730-4156 Office Hours: Tuesdays, 11:00 am – 1:00 pm in Ferrier 470. Appointments must be booked in advance with instructor. Email correspondence is preferred. Please allow 24 hours for a response. In case a more rapid response is required, students may try to contact the instructor or teaching assistant via phone. Course Description: The course will examine the history and current state of the “small-c” conservative movement in Canada and the United States. The course will examine both the similarities and differences between the movement in the two countries, and how their traditions have influenced each other. The focus will be on three arenas: political, socio-cultural and economic. Themes will include: the Tory heritage of Canadian conservatism, U.S. conservatism in the context of “American exceptionalism,” the evolution of modern conservative philosophy and thought, and conservatism‟s role in shaping trade policy between the two nations. Required Texts: A course reader containing most required reading materials is available at the campus bookstore. Links to texts are also included in the syllabus. Additional/substitute readings will be emailed or distributed in class by instructor. Course Requirements: Participation 10% Oral Presentation 25% Short Essay 25% Term Paper 40% Participation will consist of student engagement in weekly discussions of assigned texts and course materials. Simply showing up for every class and never speaking will not result in a strong participation grade. Consistent failure to participate or to attend the seminars will be penalized (5% of the final grade will automatically be deducted from students who accumulate more than 4 unsubstantiated absences throughout the semester). The oral presentation will consist of a presentation (10 minutes, followed by 5 - 10 minutes of questions) on one or two of the assigned weekly readings. Presentations should focus on the main arguments of the readings, as well as on their rhetorical subtleties and points of controversy, thus serving as a platform for discussion. A maximum of two presentations will be held per class. Students will be expected to sign up for the date of their presentation before the end of the second week of classes. Topic selection is on a first-come, first serve basis. Presentations will only be rescheduled in exceptional circumstances at the discretion of the instructor. The short essay will consist of a 1200 - 1500 word response to one or more of the assigned readings of any particular week. Essays should not be limited solely to summary and description. While demonstrating a strong grasp of the texts, the essay must also interrogate the argumentative premises and assumptions behind each text. Essays must be submitted electronically to the class (including instructor and teaching assistant) no later than 5:00 p.m. on the day before the class which discusses the relevant readings. Students are expected to read their colleagues‟ short essays in preparation for class discussion. There will be a maximum of two essays per class. Students will be expected to sign up for their essay topic before the end of the second week of classes. Topic selection is on a first-come, first serve basis. Short essay topics will only be switched in exceptional circumstances at the discretion of the instructor. The term paper will be a standard critical response essay. As such, each essay must include elements of summary and synthesis, unified throughout by a clear thesis statement introduced in the first paragraph. The focus of the essay must be on a theme identified in class discussion, in the short essays, or in one or more of the articles/works under examination throughout the semester. The essays should begin by introducing a precise argument pertaining to a particular theme. They should then identify the central points of how the theme is addressed and interpreted in the relevant article(s) or work(s). In the remainder of the essay, students should strengthen and develop their original argument by extrapolating from the work(s) under discussion based on the student‟s own argumentative insights. The goal, of course, is to convince the reader of the argument being made by way of a clear and coherent formulation and on the basis of a careful interpretation supported with specific references. Reliance on primary sources of research is strongly suggested. Essays should be approximately 4000-5000 words. As for documentation style, students may use whatever style they feel comfortable with (e.g. Chicago, MLA), as long as the style remains consistent throughout the entire essay. A proper cover page and page enumeration is mandatory. Topic selection must be completed by the class preceding the mid-winter break (February 14) by email to the instructor and teaching assistant. The submission date for the final essay is Friday, April 6, 2012 at 4:00 p.m., after which students will be penalized 5% per day. Hard copy submissions only to the Political Science Department office, 414 Leacock, Attention: Adam Daifallah. Please note: Students, particularly graduating students, who want their grades back before summer may opt to hand in the paper no later than March 2 30, 2012 at 4:00 p.m. for early grading. Papers handed in after this date will be graded for April 30. Course Objectives The course will be presented as a mix of lectures, guest lectures and discussion. Students will: 1) Learn about the intellectual foundations of conservative thought and contributions thereto of North American conservatives. 2) Learn about the history of conservative political parties and movements in Canada and the United States. 3) Discuss the contributions these parties and movements could make to resolving public policy issues today and in the future. 4) Develop a capacity to synthesize elements of history, social theory and public policy, and formulate comprehensive yet concise arguments on this basis. McGill Statement on academic integrity: McGill University values academic integrity. As a McGill student, you are responsible for knowing the rules and regulations concerning academic honesty, which can be found in The Handbook on Student Rights and Responsibilities. Perhaps more important, it is also your responsibility to help maintain the academic integrity of the University. Cheating or plagiarizing by even one student hurts all students, because anything that undermines the evaluation process undermines the value of McGill's degrees. Therefore, carefully considered steps are taken to prevent students from cheating or plagiarizing and to catch those who do. Unfortunately, some students still resort to dishonesty, but any McGill student caught cheating or plagiarizing faces potentially serious consequences including, but not limited to, the possibility of conduct probation and a failure in the course; and such sanctions form a permanent part of the student's disciplinary record. Some students try to justify cheating or plagiarism by claiming that they are pressured to outperform their classmates in order to succeed. There are two problems with this argument: First, pressure to get good grades may explain the motivation to cheat, but it cannot justify actions that undermine the academic integrity of the University, and thereby debase the grades and degrees that students are striving for. Second, McGill does not have a policy of "weeding out" a percentage of students. Indeed, we pride ourselves on the very high quality of our incoming students. We would like everyone who is accepted to McGill to succeed academically and to graduate with a degree. In addition, there is no policy in either Arts or Science to grade students by how they rank in a class. Therefore, focus on mastering your course material, not on competing with your classmates. 3 The Conservative Movement in North America NAST 472-001 / POLI 427-001 (Winter 2012) Course and Readings Schedule Boldface readings and YouTube clips are available online. All other materials are in the Coursepack or distributed by the instructor where indicated. PART I: THE CONSERVATIVE MOVEMENT IN THE U.S.A.: PHILOSOPHY AND PARTY POLITICS ► January 10th: Overview: Welcome to “The Conservative Movement in North America” The introduction will involve a description of the course outline, discussion of presentation topics and an overview of the themes and readings to be examined in the weeks ahead. Two short readings will be distributed in class for discussion. Philosophical Roots of American Conservatism Charles W. Dunn and J. David Woodard. The Conservative Tradition in America. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 1996. Chapter Five, “The Historical Development of American Conservatism”, pp. 81 – 95. Stuart Gerry Brown. The First Republicans. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 1954. Chapter One, “The Nature and Rights of Man”, pp. 1 – 17. ► January 17th: The Birth of the Republican Party and the Civil War (readings distributed by instructor at previous class) GUEST SPEAKER: Prof. Leonard Moore, Associate Professor of History, McGill Lewis F. Gould. Grand Old Party: A History of the Republicans. New York: Random House, 2003. “The Party of Lincoln: 1854-1865”, pp. 3-28. The Republicans, from Reconstruction to Realignment Peter H. Argersinger. “The Transformation of American Politics: Political Institutions and Public Policy” in Byron E. Shafer and Anthony J. Badger, eds., Contesting Democracy. Lawrence, Kansas: University Press of Kansas, 2001, pp. 117-131. James Reichley. The Life of the Parties. A History of American Political Parties. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 1992. “The Gilded Age” pp. 115-131. 4 ► January 24th: The Progressive Era, 1896 – 1932 GUEST SPEAKER: Prof. Tom Velk, Chair, North American Studies Department Arthur Paulson. Realignment and Party Revival: Understanding American Electoral Politics at the Turn of the Twenty-First Century.