Political Science 347

Summer 2008

M,T,W,R: 12:00-13:50

242 GER

 

Political Power,

Influence, and Control

         

 

 

Instructor:

Bruno Anili

 

Office Hours: T, W: 14:00 – 16:00

636 PLC

346-4972

banili@uoregon.edu

 

 

Introduction

 

Power is an essentially contested concept.

Yet, its relevance for political action makes a reflection on its nature and forms both necessary and ultimately inextricable from the extant structures of power.

This course will be articulated around two fundamental questions:

Who has power?

What is power?

The answers that we give to such questions shape the modalities, scope, and success of our political action.

 

 

Texts

 

Available for purchase at the UO Bookstore:

 

·        S. Lukes,    Power: A Radical View, 2nd ed.

·        R. Dahl,     Who Governs?: Democracy and Power in an American City

·        J. Gaventa,            Power and Powerlessness: Quiescence and Rebellion in an

Appalachian Valley

 

Available for purchase or photocopying at The Copy Shop (539 E 13th Ave):

 

·        3 course packets

 

Academic Honesty

 

What is wrong with plagiarism? A lot. The essence of plagiarism can be said to be: claiming as yours words and ideas that are not.

To begin with, it is only metaphorically that we can say that ideas “belong” to someone, in the same way that a house does, for instance. Think of this: the materials of which a house is made (bricks, wood, cement, labor, etc.) may very well have belonged to someone, or, at any rate, they may have been appropriated by someone. The “materials” of which ideas are made (words, thoughts, other ideas, etc.), on the other hand, cannot belong to anybody in particular. Is the word “blue” mine or yours? And whose idea is it that freedom is desirable?

Hence, you should not claim as yours what cannot, strictly speaking, be yours. Instead, you should always acknowledge the name(s) of the author(s) who has (have) expressed the ideas that you are using before you. This will not diminish the originality of your work, but it will prove your ability in incorporating other people’s ideas into your own reflection.

For a further discussion of plagiarism, please refer to: http://libweb.uoregon.edu/guides/plagiarism/students/

 

 

 

PLEASE NOTE: Students with disabilities can count on all the appropriate accommodations. Please contact the instructor as soon as possible and please request that the Counselor for Students with Disabilities send a letter verifying your disability.

 

PLEASE NOTE: No make-up exams will be held for this course. Late assignments will be penalized one half of a letter grade for every day that they are late, unless a documented medical or family emergency is notified to the instructor prior to the date on which the assignment is due.

 

PLEASE NOTE: Incompletes will only be granted in exceptional emergency situations (such as death in the immediate family, or serious and documented illness – family visits, conferences, weddings, ceremonies, etc. do not count), when course assignments cannot be completed in time. In all other cases, the grade will be based upon the work completed by the end of the term, which may result in a failing grade.

In order to apply for a grade “I” for an incomplete, the student needs to contact the instructor and together they need to complete and sign a Contract For Grade of Incomplete which makes arrangements for the unfinished work to be completed (the form is available on http://polisci@upregon.edu).

 

 

Evaluation

 

R, 6/26            Quiz #1:          15%

R, 7/03            Midterm:        30%

R, 7/10            Quiz #2:          15%

R, 7/17            Final Exam:   40%


Schedule of Classes, Readings, And Assignments

 

 

PART I – WHO HAS POWER?

 

 

M, 6/23

Introduction to the course

The State and the Economy Under Capitalism

1)      Introduction

·        Lukes, Power, pp. 14-16, 29-38

·        Packet #1, pp. 1-4

 

T, 6/24                                                                                               

The power of the people: economic theories of democracy

1)      Introduction

2)      Majority Rule

3)      Democracy and Efficiency

4)      Open Issues

·        Packet #1, pp. 4-30

 

W, 6/25                                                                                              

The power of the state: theories of state autonomy

1)      Introduction

2)      Terminological Preliminaries

3)      The Origins of State Autonomy

4)      Consequences of State Autonomy

5)      State Autonomy Under Democracy

6)      Conclusion

·        Packet #1, pp. 30-65

 

R, 6/26

The power of capital: Marxist and neo-Marxist theories

1)      Introduction

2)      The State and Reproduction of Capitalism

3)      Class Conflict and the State

4)      Conclusions

·        Packet #1, pp. 65-103

 

 

Quiz #1 à 15%

 

 

 

PART II – WHAT IS POWER?

 

 

M, 6/30

One-Dimensional View

·        Lukes, Power, pp. 29, 16-19

·        Dahl, Who Governs?, chs. 1, 2, 7, 19 (pp. 1-8, 11-24, 85-86, 223-28)

 

T, 7/1

One-Dimensional View

·        Dahl, Who Governs?, chs. 6, 10, 15 (pp. 63-84, 115-40, 184-89)

 

W, 7/2

One-Dimensional View

·        Dahl, Who Governs?, chs. 8, 12, 14, 24-25, 26 (part), 27-28 (pp. 89-103, 163-65, 181-83, 271-301)

 

R, 7/3

Two-Dimensional View

·        Lukes, Power, pp. 20-25

·        Packet #2, preface, ch. 1 (pp. vii, 1-34)

 

>> MIDTERM à 30% <<

 

 

 

M, 7/7

Two-Dimensional View

·        Packet #2 (pp. 35-82)

 

T, 7/8 

Two-Dimensional View

·        Lukes, Power, pp. 44-48

·        Packet #2, chs. 3-4, 7 (pp. 83-131, pp. 177-83)

 

W, 7/9

Three-Dimensional View

·        Lukes, Power, pp. 25-29

·        Gaventa, Power and Powerlessness, preface, chs. 1-2 (pp. v-xi, 3-44)

 

R, 7/10

Three-Dimensional View

·        Gaventa, Power and Powerlessness, chs. 3-4, (pp. 47-121)

 

Quiz #2 à 15%

 

M, 7/14                                                                                                

Three-Dimensional View

·        Gaventa, Power and Powerlessness, ch. 6, (pp. 137-50, 161-64); ch. 7, (pp.165-201); ch. 10, (pp. 252-61)

·        Lukes, Power, pp. 38-59

 

T, 7/15

Disciplinary Power

·        Foucault, “Two Lectures,” in Power/Knowledge, in Packet #3, pp. 78-133

 

W, 7/16

Disciplinary Power

·        Foucault, Discipline and Punish, in Packet #3, Part I, ch. 1, pp. 3-31; Part III, ch. 2, pp. 184-94; Part IV, ch. 3, pp. 307-8

 

R, 7/17

Disciplinary Power

·        Lukes, Power, pp. 69-107

·        Hayward, De-Facing Power, in Packet #3, pp. 167-78

 

>> FINAL EXAM à 40% <<