POLS 390 Culture and Politics Spring 2004
GE IIID Social Science; Meets Foreign Culture Requirement
Call# 2096...Section 001... 3.0 credit(s)
10:00AM-10:50AM...Mon.Wed.Fri...
Schneider Social Science Hall 202
Steven Majstorovic 207B Schneider Hall 836-2266
Office Hours: M-W-F 11:00 - 12:00 AM; M-W-F 2:00 - 3:00 PM; T-Th 11:00AM - 12 PM, T - Th 2:00 - 2:30 PM or by appointment.
E-Mail: majstos@uwec.edu
Course Description:
To what degree are variations among political systems, their institutional characteristics, and policy outcomes attributable to cultural differences? Are cultural explanations simply vague generalizations and thus political behavior can be better addressed through approaches rooted in economic, sociological, and traditional political analysis? For that matter, what is culture and how does one go about examining its effects? This course will be concerned with addressing these questions and will study the relationship between culture and politics. Although culture is a broad, amorphous concept that can encompass everything from music to food to dress, this course will be primarily concerned with culture in the context of the worldview of different groups of people. This worldview will be examined in terms of the behaviors and attitudes that affect or are affected by political, economic, and social issues and concerns. Included in this notion of worldview will be religion, economics, ethnic identity, social identity, notions of rights, notions of collective versus individual identity, cultural conflict, and most importantly, the nature of the relationship between culture and liberal-democracy.
The first part of the course will orient the class around the modern foundations of Western culture and its effects on political and economic behavior. Moreover, the relationship between cultural and democracy, particularly in the context of Western individualism will be thoroughly discussed. This Western perspective, grounded in individualism, will be contrasted with a study of a non-Western collectivist culture whose political and social constructs vary considerably from the Western model. This section of the course will conclude with a cross-national analysis of a subset of culture, political culture, and how societies differ in their development towards democracy, modernity, and post-modernity.
The second part of the course will confront the nature of culture within the specific context of nationalism, modernity, ethnic/ethnonational identity and conflict. The nature of ethnic and national identity will be surveyed by examining theoretical approaches rooted in anthropological, psychological, historical, economic, and political literatures. Furthermore, issues of American national identity and myth will be examined in the context of a non-fiction novel by a Native-American author that addresses these issues in a manner that transcends the traditional academic literature.
Required Texts:
Max Weber. The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism.
Ruth Benedict. The Chrysanthemum and the Sword: Patterns of Japanese Culture.
Ronald Ingelhart. Modernization and Postmodernization: Cultural, Economic, and Political Change in 43 Societies.
John Hutchinson and Anthony D. Smith. Nationalism.
William Least-Heat Moon. Blue Highways: A Journey Into America.
Course Requirements:
There are two examinations scheduled for this course, a midterm and a final. The midterm will be an essay exam with some identifications of key concepts. The final will be a rather open ended examination which will challenge the student to make her/his own independent analyses of the issues addressed in this course. Study questions will be handed out a few days before each examination.
The written requirements for this class are an essay and a research paper. The essay will be 6 to 8 pages typed and double spaced and will address topics and questions that are raised in class discussions. The research paper will be 15 to 20 pages in length and will explore some subject matter which is directly related to this course. Moreover, at least 15 research sources (journal articles, scholarly books, interviews, etc., besides the required texts) must be used for the term paper. Websites (WWW sites) as research sources are not allowed unless these sites, like J-Stor, are specifically designed to access the same type of scholarly sources that one would find in the library. I am very open on paper topics and students can meet with me to kick around ideas. Spelling, grammar, and syntax errors will reflect poorly on your grade and careful proofreading and editing is strongly suggested. There will also be a file on the class website that addresses some research paper issues.
There will be a prospectus of your final research paper. A prospectus is an invaluable tool for writing a research paper. It is much more than an outline. A prospectus generally contains an introduction which establishes the thesis, purpose, importance, relevance, etc. of your project. The body of the prospectus summarizes the key elements of your research and how you will support your thesis, claims, hypothesis, etc. The conclusion of the prospectus is flexible. You can restate your thesis, how you supported your conclusions, a discussion future direction, generalizations, and even some speculation. Also, you should give me some sense of your research sources as an addendum. This assignment should be no longer that 1 1/2 to 2 pages single spaced. If you know what you want to say, a 2 page prospectus is more than adequate. A prospectus facilitates the writing of a research paper and you will be glad that you did it--honest. I will grade the prospectus and return it the next week and students are allowed one rewrite for a possibly higher grade. The will also be a file on the class website that will discuss the prospectus.
Class participation will be a critical part of the grading scheme for this class and thus reading the assignments and attending class is imperative. Reading a good paper every day (New York Times, Washington Post, etc.) and going to the library to examine periodicals like the Economist will be helpful in orienting you to contemporary events in the world, and to perhaps help you find an interesting topic for the research paper. The World Wide Web has sites that carry international news (www.nytimes.com, www.washingtonpost.com, www.latimes.com, and www.yahoo.com). I expect the class to access the WEB regularly and students should be prepared to comment on current events. The syllabus is posted at:
http://www.uwec.edu/majstos/p390/p390.htm
E-Mail Policy:
During the semester I will regularly send the class E-Mail messages about upcoming exams, written assignments, general class related issues, and in some cases an article to be read before an upcoming class. All students at UWEC have a UWEC E-Mail address and it is your
responsibility to check your UWEC E-Mail at least twice a week. I cannot send E-Mail to AOL, HOTMAIL, etc. accounts so be prepared to access your UWEC E-Mail account. I will also not respond to E-Mail from AOL, HOTMAIL, etc. accounts. The reasons for this policy are
simple. I cannot individually craft messages for the whole class but send them out on a global class address. Consequently, missing an E-Mail message is no reason to not be prepared for a pop quiz.
I reserve the right to give quizzes at the beginning of any class when I feel that the reading assignment has not been fulfilled.
Grading Scheme:
Plus/Minus grades will be employed in this course.
Midterm 30% (30 pts)
Final exam 20% (20 pts)
Essay 10% (10 pts)
Research Paper 25% (25 pts)
Prospectus 5% (5pts)
Class participation and Quizzes 10% (10 pts)
A = 93 - 100
A- = 90 - 92
B+ = 87 - 89
B = 83 - 87
B- = 80 - 82
C+ = 77 - 79
C = 73 - 76
C- = 70 - 72
D+ = 67 - 69
D = 63 - 66
D- = 60 - 62
F = 0 - 59
The examinations, essays, term paper, and class participation will receive a letter grade which will then be converted to the weighted point scheme depicted above.
Student Issues:
A late paper will be penalized one letter grade for each day that it is late. Makeup exams will only be allowed under circumstances which are considered reasonable (protracted illness, death in the family, accident, getting a tattoo removed, etc) and the reason for missing the exam can be documented. You are expected to be prepared to take exams on the dates listed in the syllabus schedule. I cannot give early exams because a student may be attending a wedding in Aspen, Colorado. These issues must be addressed with the academic Deans and the counselors for Student Affairs in Schofield Hall. Issues related to alcohol, drug, or sexual assault must also be first documented and cleared with the appropriate authorities in the Dean’s Office.
Plagiarism and cheating will not be tolerated; the penalties are severe (an F on the exam, an F in the course, and possibly worse). The guidelines of the student honor code policy are covered in your student handbook. The lesson here is to cite your sources well on
the final paper; again read the guide which will be posted later in the semester on the class website. If requested your work must be available to me via an electronic E-Mail attachment.; modern computer search engines easily find plagiarism. For more information about the technology used in discovering plagiarism, log on to www.plagiarism.com or www.turnitin.com. UWEC is now officially a member of turnitin.org.
Portfolio Project:
Each student at UWEC upon entering the university is given a portfolio notebook. The goal of the portfolio project is to create a body of work that the student can then use later in their career, especially for job applications and interviews. The project also enables UWEC to assess student performance and improvement during their time at UWEC. Consequently, it is imperative that you not only save your paper in hardcopy but also on disk since the UWEC portfolio project now enables students to upload their papers to an electronic archive on the UWEC system; there is an area set aside for you. It is up to you to familiarize yourself with the portfolio requirements and the goals of the baccalaureate as outlined in your notebook. You can then assess which category fits your paper best and then when you upload your paper to the archive you can put it in the suitable category.
Reading and Assignment Schedule
January
26 - Class introduction and discussion of syllabus; plus some preliminaries
28 - Weber: The Protestant Ethic....Introduction by Giddens, pgs. 1-12a
31 - Weber’s Introduction, pgs 12b-31; Part I-The Problem: Chapter 1, Religious Affiliation and Social Stratification; Chapter II, The Spirit of Capitalism
February
2 - Weber: Chapter III, Luther’s Conception of the Calling; Part II-The Practical Ethics of the Ascetic Branches of Protestantism: Chapter IV, The Religious Foundations of Worldly Asceticism
4 - Weber: Chapter V, Asceticism and the Spirit of Capitalism
7 - Benedict: The Chrysanthemum.....Acknowledgements; Foreward; Chapter 1, Assignment: Japan; Chapter 2, The Japanese in the War; Chapter 3, Taking One’s Proper Station
9 - Benedict: Chapter 4, The Meiji Reform; Chapter 5, Debtor to the Ages and the World; Chapter 6, Repaying One-Ten-Thousandth; Chapter 7, The Repayment ‘Hardest to Bear’
14 - Benedict: Chapter 8, Clearing One’s Name; Chapter 9, The Circle of Human Feelings; Chapter 10, The Dilemma of Virtue
16 - Benedict: Chapter 11, Self-Discipline; Chapter 12, The Child Learns
18 - Benedict: Chapter 13, The Japanese Since VJ-Day; Discussion and Comparison
21 - Ingelhart: Modernization.....Introduction, Changing Values and Changing Societies; Chapter 1, Value Systems: The Subjective Aspect of Politics and Economics
23 - Ingelhart: Chapter 2, Individual-Level and Societal-Level Change
25 - Ingelhart: Chapter 3, Modernization and Postmodernization in 43 Societies
28 - Ingelhart: Chapter 4, Measuring Materialist and Postmaterialist Values
March
2 - Ingelhart: Chapter 5, The Shift Toward Postmaterialist Values, 1970-1994
4 - Ingelhart: Chapter 6, Economic Development, Political Culture, and Democracy: Bringing the People Back In
7 - Ingelhart: Chapter 7, The Impact of Culture on Economic Growth
9- Ingelhart: Chapter 8, The Rise of New Issues and New Parties;
11 - Ingelhart: Chapter 9, The Shift Toward Postmodern Values: Predicted and Observed Changes, 1981-1990;
14 - Ingelhart: Chapter 10, The Erosion of Institutional Authority and the Rise of Citizen Intervention in Politics;
16 - Ingelhart: Chapter 11, Theories of Social Change
18 - MIDTERM EXAMINATION!!! BRING TWO BLUEBOOKS
21 -28 Spring Break: Read Majstorovic: Autonomy of the Sacred: The Endgame in Kosovo (article will be posted)
30 - A discussion of nationalism, ethnicity, and identity; do not miss this class.
April
1 - Hutchinson & Smith: Nationalism, Introduction; Part I. The Question of Definition: Introduction - 1. Ernest Renan, Qu’est-ce qu’une nation? 2. Joseph Stalin, The Nation 3. Max Weber, The Nation 4. Karl W. Deutsch, Nationalism and Social Communication 5. Clifford Geertz, Primordial and Civic Ties 6. Anthony Giddens, The Nation a Power-Container 7. Walker Connor, A Nation is a Nation, is a State, is an Ethnic Group, is a ..
4 - Hutchinson & Smith: Part II. Theories of Nationalism: Introduction - 8. Elie Kedourie, Nationalism and Self-Determination 9. Ernest Gellner, Nationalism and Modernization 10. Ernest Gellner, Nationalism and High Cultures 11. Tom Nairn, The Maladies of Development 12. Eric Hobsbawm, The Nation as Invented Tradition 13. Paul R. Brass, Elite Competition and Nation-Formation; ESSAY IS DUE!!
6 - Hutchinson & Smith: 14. Benedict Anderson, Imagined Communities 15. Pierre Van Den Berghe, A Socio-Biological Perspective 16. John Breully, The Sources of Nationalist Ideology 17. Anthony D. Smith, The Crisis of Dual Legitimation 18. John Hutchinsom, Cultural Nationalism and Moral Regeneration
8 - No Class
11 - Hutchinson & Smith: Part III. The Rise of Nations: Introduction - 19. Hugh Seton-Watson, Old and New Nations 20. Susan Reynolds, Regnal Sentiments and Medieval Communities 21. John Armstrong, Nations Before Nationalism 22. Anthony D. Smith, The Origins of Nations 23. Walker Connor, When is a Nation?
13 - Hutchinson & Smith: Part IV. Nationalism in Europe: Introduction - 24. Hans Kohn, Western and Eastern Nationalisms 25. Liah Greenfeld, Types of European Nationalism 26. Peter Sugar, Nationalism in Eastern Europe 27. Eric Hobsbawm, The Rise of Ethno-Linguistic Nationalisms 28. Michael Hecter and Margaret Levi, Ethno-Regional Movements in the West
15 - Hutchison & Smith: Part V. Nationalism Outside Europe: Introduction - 29. Benedict Anderson, Creole Pioneers of Nationalism 30. Elie Kedourie, Dark Gods and their Rites 31. Partha Chatterjee, Nationalism History and its Exclusions 32. Francis Robinson, Islam and Nationalism 33. Mary Matossian, Ideologies of Delayed Development 34. Crawford Young, The Colonial Construction of African Nations 35. Benjamin Neuberger, State and Nation in African Thought 36. Harry Johnson, Economic Nationalism in New States
18 - Hutchinson & Smith: Part VI. Nationalism and the International System: Introduction - 37. Edward H. Carr, Three Phases of Nationalism 38. Alfred Coban, The Rise of the Nation-State System 39. Charles Tilly, Europe and the International System 40. Michael Howard, War and Nations 41. Arend Lijphart, Ethnic Conflict in the West
20 - Hutchinson and Smith: 42. Donald Horowitz, The Logic of Secessions 43. James Mayall, Irrredentist and Secessionist Challenges 44. John Armstrong, Towards a Post-Communist World Part VII. Beyond Nationalism: Introduction - 45. Anthony H. Richmond, Ethnic Nationalism and Post-Industrialism 46. William H. McNeill, Reasserting the Polyethnic Norm
22 - Hutchison and Smith: 47. Homi Bhabha, Narrating the Nation 48. Floya Anthias and Nira Yuval-Davis, Women and the Nation-State 49. Philip Schlesinger, Europeanness: A New Cultural Battlefield?
25 - Heat-Moon: One, Eastward; Prospectus is Due!!
27 - Heat-Moon: Two, East by Southeast
29 - Heat-Moon: Three, South by Southeast
May
2 - Heat-Moon: Four, South by Southwest
4 - Heat-Moon: Five, West by Southwest
6 - Heat-Moon: Six, West by Northwest; Seven, North by Nortwest
9 - Heat-Moon: Eight, North by Northeast
11 - Heat-Moon: Nine, East by Northeast; Ten, Westward
13 - Final Exam Review and Handout; RESEARCH PAPER IS ABSOLUTELY DUE; do not miss this class!!
May 19 - FINAL EXAM: Wednesday, 10:00 - 11:50am, bring 2 Bluebooks