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PS 240 SPRING 2009
INTRODUCTION TOPOLITICAL THEORY
TR 11AM-12:15PM 213 Kastle Hall
introtopoliticaltheory.pbwiki.com
INTRODUCTION:
This is an introductory course in ideologies and political theory. In PS 240 we seek to acquire a criticalunderstanding of contemporary society and politics through the lens of the political ideologies andworldviews from which they have emerged. Primarily we will concern ourselves with the study of theconcept of ideology and the major political ideologies of the 19
th
and 20
th
centuries, including Liberalism,Marxism, Conservatism, Fascism and Anarchism. We will examine their views on citizenship, democracy,power, justice, equality, human nature, freedom, civil society, economics, history and epistemology. Wewill also examine how each of these ideologies might explain and evaluate current social, economic andpolitical conditions, and which courses of political action they might recommend to remedy these “defects”or promote a more “positive” future.In PS 240 we will be studying a wide variety of ideologies and perspectives, such that each of you canexpect to confront ideas, values, and beliefs that differ a great deal from your own. It is likely that we willstudy concepts and ideas that you will find offensive, wrong, and/or highly questionable. However, thepurpose of this course is not merely to criticize ideas with which we disagree, nor to indoctrinate you intoa certain set of beliefs or a particular worldview; rather, we will seek an empathetic understanding ofthese concepts, learning how politics and culture can be approached from a multitude of ideologicalperspectives. One of the major learning goals of this course is to teach you to think critically about politicsand the political, and a healthy dose of
reasoned 
skepticism will likely come in handy. Let
ʼ
s join togetherin an active learning community this semester and investigate these interconnected issues of ideology,political change and contemporary society!
INSTRUCTOR INFORMATION:
Instructor:
Dr. Christopher S. Rice
Email:
Christopher.Rice@uky.edu
Office:
1649 Patterson Office Tower
Telephone:
257-7030
Office Hours:
TR 3:30pm-5pm Web: christopherscottrice.com
COURSE REQUIREMENTS:
Grades and Examinations:
Your final course grade will be based on
five (5)components
:
•
 
Exam I (February 17) – 20%
•
 
Exam II (March 26) – 20%
•
 
Exam III (April 23) – 20%
 
 
2
 
•
 
Final Exam (May 7) – 30%
•
 
Attendance – 10%
Course Readings
:
The following two (2) texts are required reading for this course:
•
 
Nancy S. Love. Understanding Dogmas and Dreams: A Text (2
nd
ed.). Washington, DC: CQPress, 2006.
•
 
Nancy S. Love, ed. Dogmas and Dreams: A Reader in Modern Political Ideologies. Washington,DC: CQ Press, 2006.All of the reading in this syllabus is
REQUIRED
. You should read all of the assigned material before theclass period for which it is assigned, be prepared to discuss it in class, and also be prepared to beexamined on it
even if
it is not discussed in class. Our class time
will not
be spent simply “going over”the assigned readings. Rather, the readings will serve as our point of departure for the lectures and classdiscussion. Indeed, most lectures will involve information not contained in the readings.
So
 
do thereadings for each class on a timely basis!
You have been warned.
Exams:
 
There will be three exams given during the course of the semester and a cumulative finalexam given during exam week. All exams will be multiple-choice. You are required to bring two (2) #2pencils (already sharpened) with an eraser. Review questions for each exam, as well as PowerPoints forlectures covered by each exam, may be found on the course website, usually about a week before theexam. If you need to reschedule the final exam (see http://www.uky.edu/Registrar/finals-spring.htm foracceptable reasons for this), you are required by university regulations to submit your request in writing tome at least two weeks in advance.Makeup exams will be given only for university-excused absences (See “Excused Absences” below) or ifyou have obtained approval prior to the absence. If you miss an exam with an unexcused absence
youwill receive a zero for the exam
. If the absence is due to a foreseen reason, written verification will berequired at least one week before the scheduled exam. Permission to miss an exam must be securedBEFORE the scheduled exam time unless the cause of the absence is unforeseen. If the exam must bemissed due to an unforeseen reason, it is your responsibility to contact me ASAP following the exam (byphone, email or in person), but in no event later than one week following the absence. All makeup examsfor the semester will be held on the final day of classes during our regularly scheduled class period in ourregular classroom. There will be no alternative times or locations for the make-up exams.
Attendance:
 
Regardless of what you may have heard, attendance is very important for success inmost college courses. This is especially true for my courses. A great amount of the lecture material willnot appear in the course readings, and you are responsible for all information presented in the lectures.Moreover, the lectures will provide important clues as to what things are likely to show up on theexaminations. It is highly unlikely that you will do well in this course without regular and engagedattendance.For purposes of this course, attendance will be taken through the use of “attendance cards.” You
MUST
 bring a
3x5 index card
to class every day. Other sizes of index card or scraps of paper, etc.
WILL NOTBE ACCEPTED
. At some point during each class period you will be required to write a brief response tothe Question of the Day and turn this in to the TA. You will be awarded 1 attendance point for each day
ʼ
sattendance card on which the Question of the Day and your name are filled out BY YOU. You may not fillout an attendance card for any other student. If we catch anyone doing this (we will compare handwritingon the cards regularly and at random), the student falsely filling out the attendance card will lose theirattendance point for the day as well as the student for whom they were filling out the card. Attendancecredit will also not be given if you arrive late or leave early from class, or leave and return during class, orare otherwise not present while Question of the Day is offered and cards are filled out and collected. Yourclass participation grade (10% of your final course grade) will be determined as a percentage of your total
 
 
3
 
number of earned participation points out of 20 points. That percentage will then be used to calculate 10%of your final course grade.
Because this effectively means you get to drop ~3 days worth of classparticipation without penalty (for whatever reason),
 
there will be NO makeup attendanceopportunities given for either excused or unexcused absences or for tardiness/leavingearly/leaving & reentering class. You have been warned!
Please do not bring us doctor
ʼ
s notes, yellow slips from the Clinic, funeral programs, etc. in regards tomissed attendance points. We will not distinguish between excused and unexcused absences forpurposes of attendance, only for exams (see “Exams”). Budget your allotted absences accordingly. Youmay also find that coming every day is an excellent extra credit opportunity.
 
If you accumulate more than30 class participation points during the semester, we will still divide that number by 20. So, were you toaccumulate 23 class participation points during the semester, your class participation grade would be115%.
 
It is your responsibility to keep up with your own point totals for class participation throughout thesemester. Neither Dr. Rice nor the TA will calculate your class participation grade for you, so please donot ask. Bring your 3x5 index card.
EVERY. DAY.
No exceptions.
COURSE POLICIES:
Classroom Standards:
 
I expect all students to behave in a professional manner during classtime.
This means coming to class on time and being ready to start class at 11am.
It is disrespectfulto me and to your fellow students to come late and disrupt class, so be on time. I will not tolerate chronictardiness, and if you arrive to class more than 5 minutes late, you may be asked to turn around and leave.Also, unless you have obtained prior approval from me, you may not leave class early. Furthermore, I donot tolerate rude and disruptive classroom behavior. During class, refrain from talking during the lecture(unless it is to ask me a question!), reading a newspaper, doing crosswords, sudoku or otherpuzzles/games, sleeping, text messaging or other cellphone use, or listening to your iPod or other .mp3players. When in class, turn-off your cell phones – silencing will not suffice when many of your phoneshave a “vibrate” function that could crack a walnut. Finally, due to their potential for distracting you andyour fellow classmates, laptop computers or other devices that may be used to access the Internet areNOT permitted in class. I reserve the right to dismiss from class any student in violation of these policies.
Email Policy:
You may always feel free to contact me via email. However, I do have a few generalguidelines you must follow when doing so.
Always begin the subject line of an email to me with “PS240:”.
This will put your email into the appropriate inbox, allowing me to respond to your email in a timelyfashion. Emails that do not have “PS 240:” at the beginning of the subject line may not receive aresponse. Also, emails are NOT text messages/IM communications. When emailing me you should openthe email by addressing me as Dr. Rice, identifying who you are and which course you are in (and at whattime the course meets),
concisely 
providing the nature of your problem/request, and then signing off withyour name. If you have followed these directions, you may expect a response within 48 hours of itsreceipt. If you have a pressing emergency, you should speak to me during office hours, before or afterclass, or by phone. As a final note, I will NOT provide your grades (nor discuss any personally-identifiablegrade information) by email or over the phone.
A Brief Note on Cheating & Plagiarism:
In addition to being in generally poorform, plagiarism and cheating are theft of others
ʼ
intellectual property. Plagiarism or cheating will NOT betolerated. If cheating or plagiarism is found to occur, it will be dealt with according to University SenateRule 6.4
DISPOSITION OF CASES OF ACADEMIC OFFENSES 
.
Classroom and Learning Accommodations:
 
Any student with a disability who istaking this course and needs classroom or exam accommodations should contact the Disability ResourceCenter, 257-2754, room 2 Alumni Gym, jkarnes@uky.edu.
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