You are required to base your answers on the readings from the weeks marked 4/11 to 5/9, which in this case just means Plato and Gramsci. You may reference the Mao and Madison readings but, because I left them for so late, you don’t have to. In addition, you must also reference 3 readings from the first ⅔ of the class. You are free to choose which texts you use for which answers, and to reuse texts in multiple answers.
You should consult your copies of the texts when answering these questions, and feel free to use quotes and/or specific page references (any citation format is fine). You may not use external sources of any kind, “AI” writing tools, or confer with each other. Evidence (even circumstantial) of any of these things will result in a failing grade. You may, however, reference current or historical events to make your point. Unlike last time, there are no exceptions to this policy.
As long as you produce original work that indicates you’ve read all the assigned readings and thought about them for yourself, you will receive a grade between a B and an A+. If you received critical feedback on your last exam, doing what it says there will be very beneficial to you.
There is no minimum word count, but do make sure you answer the question being asked, and try to limit your responses to 250 words or less. Try to be concise and avoid repeating yourself or padding your answer with meaningless extra words. There are no requirements for formatting other than that it be readable.
Please submit your exam on Blackboard as a .docx file by 5PM on Tuesday, May 21. Those who submit .pdf files will be asked to resubmit; those who submit .pages files will be summarily executed.
Please answer four of the following six questions. Everyone must answer question 1, as well as at least one additional question from the first 3. The other two questions you choose are up to you.
1. How and why does what we define as “political” or “politics” change across different time periods and contexts? Without looking it up, give me a short (personal) definition of the word “politics.” How has your answer changed from your last two exams? Explain.
2. In the Republic, the discussion of “justice in the city” ultimately ends up producing a theory of knowledge. Explain the significance of knowledge to politics for Plato. Is it a source of authority? A universal right? An instrument of rule?
3. In Book VIII of the Republic, Socrates offers a theory of five possible political regimes, beginning with aristocracy, or rule by the “good,” and ending with tyranny. Democracy is described on page 235 as the “fairest of all regimes,” and yet, in Socrates’ telling, ends up being categorized as the second worst. Why is Plato skeptical of democracy?
4. Is it possible to have liberal democracy in a society with significant, structural economic inequalities? Explain what you mean by “liberal” and “democracy” and why these concepts are or are not compatible with economic inequality.
YOU MUST INCLUDE THESE SPECIFIC READINGS :Plato—Republic AND Gramsci, Antonio—Prison Notebooks (Just read “The Formation of the Intellectuals.” YOU HAVE TO USE 3 OF THE READINGS I AM ABOUT TO PROVIDE YOU ASWELL YOU HAVE A CHOICE TO USE FROM –
Freud, Sigmund—“Thoughts for the Times on War and Death”
Rodney, Walter—How Europe Underdeveloped Africa (Chapter 1)
Fanon, Frantz—The Wretched of the Earth (1-21, 51-52)
Wretched (97-144)
Curtis, Adam—HyperNormalisation
Weber, Max—The Vocation Lectures (32-34, 74-94)
Luxemburg, Rosa—“Order Prevails in Berlin”
Schmitt, Carl— Concept of the Political
Hobbes, Thomas—Leviathan (Ch. XIII-XVIII)
Locke, John—Second Treatise on Government
Pateman, Carole—The Disorder of Women
MacKinnon, Catherine—Towards a Feminist Theory of the State (184-194)
FOR THE 4 QUESTIONS MAKE SURE EACH RESPONSE IS LESS THAN 250 WORDS
