PS 800--POLITICAL SCIENCE AS A DISCIPLINE
FALL SEMESTER 1996
TUESDAY 3:30-5:25
350 BIRGE HALL
DAVID CANON AND RICHARD MERELMAN
416 NORTH HALL 407 NORTH HALL
PHONE: 263-2283 PHONE: 263-2035
HOURS: 2:30-3:30 M+W HOURS: Tues. 11-12:00,
and by appointment W 3:30-4:30, and by appointment
COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course begins by providing an overview of the theoretical approaches to studying politics and a survey of recent work in the four main subfields of the discipline (political philosophy, American politics, comparative politics, and international relations). We will spend the remainder of the semester addressing seven fundamental topics concerning political science as a discipline: the relationship between political engagement and political science; the connection between liberal democracy and political science; the scientific status of political science; the nature of explanation in political science; the range of evidence in political science; the implication of professionalization for political science; and the public ends political science might serve. These topics inhere within every substantive field within political science, within every piece of research (or they should!), and in teaching (mostly at the graduate level, but to some extent at the undergraduate level as well). Though abstract, these are eminently practical topics that every political scientist inevitably encounters. This course provides students an opportunity to address these topics directly, and to begin forming their own perspectives about political science as a discipline. The instructors are open to a wide range of positions and wish to stimulate reasoned dialogue on each topic.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
1) The quality of this seminar depends on participation from all of you. Everyone is expected to read the required readings by the day of the seminar and be willing and able to participate meaningfully in discussions. It is essential to have a good understanding of each reading, not only individually but also how they fit together. Before each seminar you might want to make an outline of the questions and issues that you see as central to help you organize your thoughts for the week.
2) There will be a 10-12 page seminar paper that examines one of the seven topics outlined above and discussed in the seminar. The paper will allow you to go beyond the course readings and explore one of these questions in some detail. The first half of the paper should outline the various positions taken in the literature on your topic, discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the views, and stake out a position of your own. The second half of the paper should show how this topic has played out in some specific topic in the substantive field that interests you most. For example, how has the roll call voting in Congress literature dealt with the problem of contextualism or to what extent does the balance of power theory in IR help stimulate political debate? Does the substantive literature that you examine show an adequate awareness of your topic? How close does the literature, as a whole, come to meeting the position that you outlined at the end of the first section of the paper?
3) You also will write a short paper (6-7 pages) comparing a political scientists' approach to a specific topic with that of other providers of knowledge, such as journalists, historians, biographers, sociologists, social psychologists, economists, anthropologists, documentary TV and film makers, etc. The task is to show what is distinctive to the political scientist's approach, as compared to one or more of these other observers of the political world. You should choose a specific topic--such as conflict between nations, political corruption, the performance of a specific political institution, religion in politics, etc.--and look at the topic through the "lens" of political science research and one competing purveyor of knowledge. Then compare and contrast the two approaches. What is distinctive about the political scientists' examination of the question, if anything?
4) Each of you will be responsible for a five-minute presentation on the relevance of a given weekís topic for the work in your chosen field of specialization. This presentation will provide a brief overview of how the research in your subfield addresses a specific problem. For example, does the literature on Congress engage the important issues of the day, or does it exhibit the same "absence of passion" noted by Ted Lowi? Are students of European politics sensitive to the problems posed by the hermeneutic approach? What impact have the post-modernists had on IR theory? Your review is not expected to be exhaustive (how much can you do in five minutes!); however, we do expect you to bring in some material that was not assigned for the week.
5) There will be a final examination. We will discuss the format of the exam in class.
COURSE EVALUATION Your final grade for the seminar will be determined as follows: the seminar paper and the final examination are 35% each, the short paper is 20%, and seminar participation (your five-minute presentation and your weekly contributions) will be 10%.
COURSE READINGS The course readings will be available for purchase at the Humanities Copy Center (1650 Humanities). There will also be a copy on reserve in the Graduate Student Reading Room on the third floor of North Hall. The number and length of readings varies from week to week (ranging from 50 to 170 pages a week, but averaging about 130 pages). A general disclaimer for those of you who may not recognize some of the authors in your area: the substantive articles assigned for this course do not comprise the "great" or "best" works in a given area; rather we chose the articles to illustrate a given perspective, question, or type of research. Also, there is one book that is available for purchase at the University Bookstore on State Street.
Martin Hollis and Steve Smith. Explaining and Understanding in International Relations. New York: Oxford University Press, 1991
COURSE OUTLINE The readings for each week (with the exception of the first week) are organized in the following fashion: there are between one and three selections that discuss the general topic for the week and also at least three examples of this general topic, one from each of the substantive areas of political science (American, Comparative, and International Relations--these selections are always listed in this order). For most of the weeks, all of the readings are assigned for everyone, but in the weeks with a heavier reading load you may exclude one of the three substantive examples.
I. Introduction to Political Science
September 3rd--Separate Tables?
Gabriel Almond, "Separate Tables: Schools and Sects in Political Science." PS: Political Science and Politics 21:4 (Fall, 1988): 828-41.
"The Nature of Contemporary Political Science: A Roundtable Discussion." PS: Political Science and Politics 23:1 (March, 1990): 34-43.
September 10th--A Whirlwind tour of the major theoretical approaches to studying political science
William Galston, "Political Theory in the 1980s: Perplexity Amidst Diversity," in Political Science the State of the Discipline II (Washington, D.C.: APSA, 1993), Chap. 2.
Christopher J. Bailey, "Visions of American Politics," In Development in American Politics (Chatham, NJ: Chatham House, 1995), Chap. 19.
Ronald Rogowski, "Comparative Politics," in Political Science the State of the Discipline II (Washington, D.C.: APSA, 1993), Chap. 17.
Martin Hollis and Steve Smith. Explaining and Understanding in International Relations. New York: Oxford University Press, 1991, Chapter 2.
Susan J. Carroll and Linda M.G. Zerilli. "Feminist Challenges to Political Science." In Political Science the State of the Discipline II (Washington, D.C.: APSA, 1993), Chap. 3.
II. September 17th--What is the relation between political engagement and political science?
Theodore J. Lowi, "The State in Political Science: How We Become What We Study." APSR 86:1 (March, 1992): 1-7.
Herbert Simon, "The State of American Political Science: Professor Lowi's View of Our Discipline." PS: Political Science and Politics 26:1 (March, 1993): 49-52 (and Lowi's reply).
Randall L. Calvert, "Lowi's Critique of Political Science: A Response." PS: Political Science and Politics 26:2 (June, 1993): 196-98.
Max Weber. "Science as a Vocation." In From Max Weber: Essays in Sociology (Oxford University Press, 1958), 128-56.
Robert M. Kaufman, "Politics as Vocation--Praxis and Political Engagement." Symposium in PS: Political Science and Politics 23:3 (September, 1993): 425-38.
Milovan Djilas, Of Prisons and Ideas (San Diego: Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich, 1986), Chap. 1.
Dale R. Herspring, "Practitioners and Political Scientists. PS: Political Science and Politics 25:3 (September, 1992): 554-58.
III. September 24th--What is the relationship between liberal democracy and political science?
William H. Riker, Liberalism Against Populism: A Confrontation Between the Theory of Democracy and the Theory of Social Choice (W.H. Freeman, 1982), Chapters 1 and 10.
Mancur Olson, The Rise and Decline of Nations (Yale University Press, 1982), Chapters 1 and 2.
Terrence Ball, "An Ambivalent Alliance: Political Science and American Democracy," in Political Science in History: Research Programs and Political Traditions (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1995), pp. 41-65.
Nicholas Miller, "Pluralism and Social Choice," APSR 77:3 (September, 1983): 734-47.
Carol Pateman, "The Civic Culture: A Philosophic Critique." In The Civic Culture Revisited (Little Brown, 1980), Chapter 3.
Michael W. Doyle, "Liberalism and World Politics," APSR 80:4 (December, 1986): 1151-69.
IV. Can the study of politics be scientific?
A. October 1st--A positivist response.
John Hughes, The Philosophy of Social Research (Longman, 1990, 2nd ed.), Chapter 2.
James Farr, "Remembering the Revolution: Behavioralism in American Political Science," in Political Science in History: Research Programs and Political Traditions (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1995), pp. 198-224.
W. Phillips Shivley. The Craft of Political Research (Prentice Hall, 1990): Chapter 3-4.
John Zaller. The Nature and Origins of Mass Opinion (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1992), Introduction and Chapter 2.
Larry Diamond, "Economic Development and Democracy Reconsidered." In Gary Marks and Larry Diamond, eds., Reexamining Democracy, 93-139.
David Spiro, "The Insignificance of Liberal Peace." International Security 19:2 (Fall, 1994): 50-86.
B. October 8th--Interpretive and hermeneutic response.
Terrence Ball, "Deadly Hermeneutics; Or SINN and the Social Scientist." In Idioms of Inquiry: Critique and Renewal in Political Science, ed. Terrence Ball (State University of New York Press, 1987), 95-112.
Peter Winch, The Idea of a Social Science and it Relation to Philosophy (London: Routland and Kegan Paul, 1958), Chapter 2.
Dennis Chong. "How People Think, Reason, and Feel About Rights and Liberties," American Journal of Political Science 37:3 (August, 1993): 867-99.
Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann, The Spiral of Silence (University of Chicago Press, 1984), chapter 3-4.
Martin Hollis and Steve Smith. Explaining and Understanding in International Relations. New York: Oxford University Press, 1991, Chapter 4.
C. October 15th--A post-structuralist response.
Ben Agger, "Critical Theory, Poststructuralism, Postmodernism: Their Sociological Relevance." Annual Review of Sociology (1991): 105-31.
Anne Norton, Republic of Signs: Liberal Theory and American Popular Culture (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1993), Chap 5.
Said, Edward. Orientalism (Random House, 1978), Introduction.
James Keeley, "Toward a Foucauldian Analysis of International Regimes," International Organization 44:1 (1990): 83-105.
D. October 22nd--New approaches: Ideas and Interests
Judith Goldstein and Robert O. Keohane, "Ideas and Foreign Policy: An Analytical Framework." In Ideas and Foreign Policy: Beliefs, Institutions, and Political Change (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1993), Chap. 1.
John Kingdon, "Agendas, Ideas, and Policy Change," in New Perspectives on American Politics (Washington, D.C.: CQ Press, 1994), Chap. 11.
Peter Hall, The Political Power of Economic Ideas, (Princeton NJ: Princeton University Press, 1989, concluding chapter.
Martin Hollis and Steve Smith. Explaining and Understanding in International Relations. New York: Oxford University Press, 1991, Chapters 7-9.
V. What are the distinctive problems of explanation in political science?
A. October 29th--The problem of causal explanation.
Daniel Little Varieties of Social Explanation: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Social Science (Westview Press, 1991), Chapters 2-5.
J. Donald Moon, "Interpretation, Theory, and Human Emancipation." In Strategies of Political Inquiry, ed. Elinor Ostrom (Sage Publications, 1982), 149-78.
Alasdair MacIntyre, "Is a Science of Comparative Politics Possible?" In Against the Self-Images of the Age, (Duckworth, 1971), Chapter 22.
Michael W. Giles and Kaenan Hertz, "Racial Threat and Partisan Identification." APSR 88:2 (June, 1994): 317-26.
Sniderman et al. "Values Under Pressure: AIDS and Civil Liberties." In Reasoning and Choice: Explorations in Political Psychology. (Cambridge University Press, 1991), Chapter 3.
(No comparative example this week because of the length Little selection that gives extensive comparative examples in his discussion).
Martin Hollis and Steve Smith. Explaining and Understanding in International Relations. New York: Oxford University Press, 1991, Chapter 3.
B. November 5th--Methodological individualism and structural explanations.
Derek Layder, Understanding Social Theory. London: Sage Publications, 1994, Chap. 8.
John P. Burke, "Presidential Influence and the Budget Process." In Presidency and Policy Making, ed. Edwards, Shull, and Thomas (University of Pittsburgh Press, 1985), 71-94
Donald D. Searing, "Roles, Rules, and Rationality in the New Institutionalism." APSR 85:4 (December, 1991): 1239-60.
David Dessler, "What's at Stake in the Agent-Structure Debate?" International Organization 43:3 (Summer, 1989): 441-73.
--- Short Paper Due on November 12th ---
C. November 12th--The relationship of facts to values.
Scott Gordon, "Social Science and Value Judgements." Canadian Journal of Economics 10:4 (November, 1977): 529-46.
William E. Connolly, The Terms of Political Discourse (Princeton University Press, 1993, 3rd ed.), Chapter 1.
David Papineau, For Science in the Social Sciences (St. Martins Press, 1978), Chapter 7.
Marc Landy, "Public Policy and Citizenship." In Helen Ingram and Steven Rathgeb Smith, eds. Public Policy for Democracy, 19-45.
Heath B. Chamberlin, "On the Search for Civil Society in China," Modern China 19:2 (April, 1993): 199-215.
Ronald Steel, "The Domestic Core of Foreign Policy," Atlantic Monthly, June, 1995, 85-92.
VI. November 19th--What range of evidence can political scientists use?
Gary King, Robert Keohane, and Sidney Verba, Designing Social Inquiry: Scientific Inference in Qualitative Research (Princeton University Press, 1994), Chapters 1-3.
"The Qualitative-Quantitative Disputation," American Political Science Review 89:2 (June, 1995): 554-81.
David Skidmore, "Foreign Policy Interest Groups and Presidential Power," Presidential Studies Quarterly 23:3 (Summer, 1993): 477-97.
Clifford Geertz, The Interpretation of Cultures (Basic Books, 1973), Chapter 15.
John M Owen, "How Liberalism Produces Democratic Peace," International Security 19 (Fall, 1994): 87-125.
VII. November 26th--What is the connection between a professionalized political science and the study of politics?
David Ricci, The Tragedy of Political Science (Yale University Press, 1984), Chapters 1 and 7. Need
Norton Long, "Politics, Political Science and the Public Interest." PS: Political Science and Politics 24:4 (December, 1991): 670-75.
Barach and Baratz, "Two Faces of Power" APSR 61:4 (December, 1962): 947-52.
Samuel P. Huntington, "One Soul at a Time: Political Science and Political Reform." APSR 82:1 (March, 1988): 3-10.
John J. Mearshheimer,"Why We Will Soon Miss the Cold War," Atlantic Monthly, August, 1990, 35-50.
VIII. Toward what public ends should political science strive?
A. December 3rd--Stimulating political debate and offering recommendations for political action.
Michael Walzer, The Company of Critics (Basic Books, 1988), Chapter 1.
Russell Jacoby, The Last Intellectuals: American Culture in the Age of Academe (Basic Books, 1987), Chapter 1.
Charles Lindblom, Inquiry and Change: The Troubled Attempt to Understand and Shape Society, (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1990), Chapters, 1,9, 11.
Robert S. Boyton, "The New Intellectuals," Atlantic Monthly, March, 1995, 53-70.
Leon Wieseltier, "All and Nothing at All: The Unreal World of Cornell West," The New Republic, March 6, 1995, 31-36.
Paul M. Sniderman and Thomas Piazza The Scar of Race (Harvard University Press, 1993), Introduction and Chapter 3.
Samuel P. Huntington, "The Clash of Civilizations?" Foreign Affairs (Summer, 1993): 22-49; "If not Civilizations, What?" Foreign Affairs (Nov./Dec., 1993): 186-94.
IX. December 10th--The Practice of Political Science
There are many things that we can talk about this week, so we would like to leave the choice up to you. There are several articles that we have found useful that could serve as a basis for discussion, but do not feel that you are limited to these topics. Possible topics for the week include: the perils and joys of being a teaching assistant (see the Chisholm article), taking prelims, presenting a convention paper, getting published, writing a dissertation, getting a job, and getting tenure. These readings are only suggested for future reference and are not required for the week. PS often publishes useful articles in this vein. We will get a sense of what you want to talk about in the previous seminar.
Donald Chisholm, "Between Liebniz and Voltaire: Exams and Grading in a Less Than Perfect World." PS: Political Science and Politics 23:4 (December, 1990): 600-604.
Benjamin Most, "Getting Started on Political Research." PS: Political Science and Politics 23:4 (December, 1990): 592-96.
Locke, et al. Proposals That Work: A Guide for Planning Dissertations and Grant Proposals (Sage, 1987, 2nd ed.), Chapter 2.
John D. Harmon, "High Anxiety: Some Lesson for Graduate Students Entering the Profession." PS: Political Science and Politics 24:3 (September, 1991): 535-39.
Deborah Furlong and Scott Furlong. "Netting the Big One: Things Candidates (and Departments) Ought to Know." PS: Political Science and Politics 27:1 (March, 1994): 91-97; also, J. Theodore Anagnoson, " . . . from the Hiring Departmentís Perspective," PS: Political Science and Politics 27:3 (September, 1994): 558-62.
--- Seminar Paper Due on December 10h ---