Philosophy 260
Difference and Community
Section 001 MWF
Overview:
This course is a philosophical examination of the whys and hows of tolerating and accommodating the different ways of life that exist in modern political communities. We will focus in particular on religious and cultural differences. During the term we will study such questions as: Within the history of philosophy, what are the classic arguments for toleration, and how persuasive are they today? Do wide-ranging individual rights impair genuine community, and if so, should such rights be limited? Should citizens in a democracy feel free to decide their votes in accordance with their religious convictions, or does this amount to one group of citizens forcing its religion on another? Does religious freedom require that religious minorities be exempted from the law whenever this conflicts with their religious practices? Should "But it's my culture!" ever be a valid legal excuse in a criminal court? Does respect for other cultures require judging them all to be equally valuable? Ought ideals of "equal citizenship" to be replaced with ideals of "multicultural citizenship," and if so, what changes would this require?
As we proceed we will keep an eye on the practical implications of various arguments, by examining numerous well-known court cases and by conducting cases studies of the Amish community as well as the Hmong immigrant community.
Instructor: Craig Duncan (cduncan@ithaca.edu)
Office hours and location: Dillingham 213, Mondays and Wednesdays 2-3pm
Office phone: 4-3580
Email: cduncan@ithaca.edu
Homepage: www.ithaca.edu/faculty/cduncan
Course materials:
·
John Locke, A
Letter Concerning Toleration
·
J. S. Mill, On
· Will Kymlicka, Multicultural Citizenship
· Brian Barry, Culture and Equality
· Anne Fadiman, The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down
· A coursepack to be purchased from the instructor
Requirements
·
Two 5-7
page papers: Paper topics will be
distributed in advance. You must write
on one of the announced topics unless you submit an alternative topic in
writing to me at least three days before the deadline and it is approved. Extensions on paper deadlines will be granted
only in extraordinary circumstances; extension requests must be made in writing
(email is OK) well in advance of the deadline.
Papers not turned in on time will instantly receive a deduction worth
one-third of a letter grade. This
deduction will increase daily, adding up to a full letter grade deduction for a
paper 7 days late, with steeper deductions thereafter at my discretion. Each paper will count 15% toward your overall
grade. The first paper will be due on
10/7, the second on 12/9.
·
Short
written exercises: Around four times during the term I will ask
you to write one to two pages on a question related to the current topic of
discussion. All of these exercises
together will count for 20% of your grade.
· Mid-term and final exam: The mid-term exam will be held during class hours on Friday, October 28. It will count for 15% of your grade. The final exam will be held in our usual classroom on Tuesday, December 13th from 4:30-7pm. It will count 25% toward your grade.
· Class Discussion: Philosophy cannot be passively learned. It requires active engagement, both with the texts and with individuals in the form of discussion. For this reason class participation counts for 10% of your overall grade. In order to get a good participation grade, you must have excellent attendance, do the assigned reading for each class period, pay attendance in class, and (most important of all) regularly take an active role in class discussions.
Note:
All assignments must be completed in order to pass the course.
Tentative
Please assume the following reading
materials are assigned unless I tell you otherwise.
I. Tolerating Difference — Historical Background
and Classic Works
Wed 8/24 Henry Kamen, The Rise of Toleration: Chapter One, “The problem of toleration” (book on reserve at library; please photocopy)
Craig Duncan, “The Bible Problem”(W)
Fri 8/26 Henry Kamen, The Rise of Toleration: Chapter Two, “The reformation era” (book on reserve at library; please photocopy)
Craig Duncan, “European Holy War” (W)
Mon 8/29 John Locke, A Letter Concerning Toleration, pp. 21-38 (to paragraph ending “…left to their own Consciences.”)
Wed 8/31 John Locke, A Letter Concerning Toleration, pp. 38-58 (from paragraph starting “Having thus at length…”)
Fri 9/2 James Madison, Memorial and Remonstrance
Against Religious Assessments (W)
LABOR DAY
Wed 9/7 Mill,
On
Fri 9/9 Mill, On
Mon 9/12 Mill, On
Wed 9/14 Mill, On
Fri 9/16 Mill, On
Mon 9/19 United States v. Reynolds (W)
John Dougherty, Polygamy’s Odyssey (W)
Brian Barnard, Polygamy is a Protected Right (W)
II. The Debate Over Community
Wed 9/21 David Miller, Community and Citizenship
(CP)
Karl Marx, The
Rights of Egoistic Man (CP)
Fri 9/23 Daniel Bell, A Communitarian Moral Vision (CP)
Kenneth Striker, Pluralism, Personal Identity, and Freedom of Conscience (CP)
Mon 9/26 Charles Taylor, The Politics of Recognition, Secs. 1-3 (pp. 25-51) (CP)
Wed 9/28 Charles Taylor, The Politics of Recognition, Secs. 4-5 (pp. 52-73) (CP)
Claude Belánger, The Language Laws of Québec (W)
CBC News, Language Law in Québec (W)
Fri 9/30 Roger Scruton, Communitarian Dreams (W)
Ronald Dworkin, Liberal Community (CP)
Mon 10/3 Charles Larmore, Political Liberalism (CP)
Craig Duncan, “Here’s Why”: The Moral Foundations of the Non-Scriptural State (W)
Wed 10/5 Michael McConnell, Believers as Equal Citizens (CP)
Richard Baer, Religious Views Belong in Public (CP)
Jim Wallis, Time to Take Our Faith Back (electronic reserve)
Susan Jacoby, Reason Before Religion (electronic reserve)
Fri 10/7 No
new reading
FIRST PAPER DUE
III. The Philosophy of Multiculturalism
Mon 10/10 Will Kymlicka, Multicultural Citizenship, Ch. 1-2
Wed 10/12 Will Kymlicka, Multicultural Citizenship, Ch. 3-4
FALL BREAK
Mon 10/17 Will Kymlicka, Multicultural Citizenship,
Wed 10/19 Will Kymlicka, Multicultural Citizenship,
Fri 10/21 Will Kymlicka, Multicultural Citizenship,
Iris Marion Young, Politic and Group Difference: A Critique of the Ideal of Universal Citizenship (electronic reserve)
Mon 10/24 Will Kymlicka, Multicultural Citizenship,
Wed 10/26 Will Kymlicka, Multicultural Citizenship, Ch. 9-10
Fri 10/28 MID-TERM
EXAM
IV. A Critique of Philosophical
Multiculturalism
Mon 10/31 Brian Barry, Culture and Equality,
Wed 11/2 Brian Barry, Culture and Equality,
Fri 11/4 Brian Barry, Culture and Equality,
Mon 11/7 Brian Barry, Culture and Equality,
Smith v. Employment Division of
V. Case Study 1:
The Amish and Religious Freedom
Wed 11/9 Brian Barry, Culture and Equality,
Fri 11/11 Donald Kraybill, The Riddle of Amish Culture: Chapter 5, “Rites of Redemption and Purification” (CP)
Excerpts from The Amish in Their Own Words (CP)
Mon 11/14 Excerpts from True Stories of the X-Amish (CP)
Donald Kraybill, The Riddle of Amish Culture: Chapter 7, “Passing on the Faith” (CP)
**
Tues 11/15 (
Wed. 11/16 Brian Barry, Culture and Equality,
Friday 11/18 Brian Barry, Culture and
Equality,
THANKSGIVING BREAK
VI. Case Study 2: The Hmong and Cultural Respect
Mon 11/28 Anne Fadiman, The Spirit Catches You..., Ch. 1-12
Wed 11/30 Anne Fadiman, The Spirit Catches You..., Ch.13-16
Roy
Beck, "The Ordeal of Immigration in
** Thurs 12/1 (8pm Friends 307): Film, The Split Horn: The Life of a Hmong Shaman in America (60
minutes)
Fri 12/2 Anne Fadiman, The Spirit Catches You..., Ch. 17-19
Mai Na M. Lee, “Book Review: The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down” (W)
Mon 12/5 L.A. Times, “Hmong’s Sacrifice of Puppy Reopens Cultural Wounds” (CP)
Editors, Harvard Law Review, The Cultural Defense in the Criminal Law (CP)
Wed. 12/7 Choua Ly, "The Conflict Between Law
and Culture: The Case of the Hmong in
Fri 12/9 No new reading assigned
SECOND PAPER DUE
Tue 12/13 FINAL EXAM,
Teaching Policies:
Attendance. During classtime I will often introduce material that is not covered in the reading assignments. You will be held responsible for knowing this material. If you do not come to class, you will not know this material, and your performance on essays and exams will suffer. So come to class. Also, attendance is a significant part of your class participation grade. Unexcused absences will hurt your participation grade. Note, too, that very good attendance by itself does not guarantee a high participation grade; participation during class is necessary too. For example, someone who had perfect attendance but who rarely volunteered comments in class would probably get no higher than a C+ participation grade.
Academic Conduct. Students are expected to conform to the Standards of Academic Conduct printed on pages 116-118 of the 2001-2002 Student Handbook. Please familiarize yourself with these standards. Violations will be reported to the Ithaca College Conduct Review Board. Additionally, you will receive a grade of zero on any assignment that is not completed according to these standards.
Plagiarism is one very serious violation of these standards. I will not tolerate it. There are good reasons for my zero-tolerance policy—reasons well summarized by the philosopher Hugh LaFollette, from whom I quote below:
“Why Shouldn't I Plagiarize?
(1) It undercuts the aims of education. If you plagiarize you will not learn the skills you should learn – you are merely copying someone else's words and ideas – and that you already knew how to do.
(2) It is theft. And all theft is wrong, whether it is theft of an idea or an object.
(3) You harm other students. By plagiarizing you make professors more suspicious of students. This encourages them to make assignments that are plagiarism-proof rather than ones that are educationally sound.
(4) You will get caught. Think about it for a minute: if you plagiarize from a good source – one that is likely to help your grade – the prof may well know (or can easily find) the source. And if your writing style drastically changes from sentence to sentence or from paper to exam, that will be obvious to even a causal observer. To plagiarize well – to plagiarize in a way that is likely to land you a decent grade and minimize the chance you will get caught – you would have to know the material so well, that it would be easier – and more educationally beneficial – to write the essay yourself."[1]