International Conflict The Origins of Global Fury Afghanistan and the Origins of Global Fury - Spring 07 Afghanistan and the Origins of Global Fury - Fall 06 Cuba and Haiti Religious Revolutions and violence Haiti and the Caribbean Contemporary Issues in International Relations Introduction to International Relations South Asia in a Global and Historical Context Politics of the Third World

Seeing "War of the Worlds": Global politics through Popular films Music of the African Diaspora Worlds of Music Musical Meaning in a Global Context Politics and Literature

Global Political Economy of Oil Understanding Capitalism Foundations in the Political Economy

Ideas and Ideology Love, Hate and Sexual Desire Under Colonialism Junior Year Honors Seminar: Cultural Encounters, 1999-2000

Ideas and Ideologies
10-142-01, 02

Spring 2001
Sec 1: 9 - 9:50AM; Friends 309
Sec 2: 10:00 - 10:50 AM; Friends 306
Office phone: 274-3028
Naeem Inayatullah (naeem@ithaca.edu)
Muller 325
Office Hours: MWF 11:00-11:50 and 1:15-2:30

1. Purpose

While impulsive and instinctive acts have their place in life, we often want our actions to emerge from ideals we have constructed with forethought, deliberation, and judiciousness. And yet, the ideals and values we so carefully construct and place at the center of our life are often generated by assumptions that remain hidden to us. So long as such core assumptions remain concealed they can easily direct us to block our desire and counter our interests. Rather than being self-conscious centers of initiative, we end up as puppets of ideas and ideologies that remain external to us and whose power over us remains puzzling and mysterious.
If we want to act well -- justly, honorably, but above all effectively -- we may need to expose and uncover the real basis of our thought. This course assumes that such knowledge can best be gained by juxtaposing the thought of others (other persons, other texts, other visions) with thought we think of as our own. Such encounters come with a risk: they cause tension, ambiguity, conflict, loss of direction and confidence, anger, and even a rejection of learning. This is because listening to others forces us to struggle with critiques that can jeopardize our carefully constructed identities.

If these are the risks of listening to others, are there also rewards? As we shall see, much is at stake in trying to answer this question.

Uncovering and clarifying our ideas will be our first goal. Second, we will compare our ideas to a spectrum of existing ideologies - liberalism, conservatism, socialism, feminism, anarchism, etc. We will devote at least half our time and energy to these two goals. Third, we will trace the source and origin of those ideas. Often ideas we think to be uniquely ours emerge instead from our social and historical context. We will ask ourselves why and how we commit to certain ideas and ideologies. Fourth, we end the course by exploring the relationship between critical self-consciousness and action.

2. Readings:

We will read between 70 to a hundred pages a week selecting the readings from the following materials:

Course Reader (Purchased from Karen Beck in Muller 309)
Isabel Allende, House of Spirits
Nancy Love, Dogmas and Dreams
Nancy Love, Understanding Dogmas and Dreams (optional)
Instructor and students will jointly determine the pace and selection of the readings as the course proceeds.

3. Course Outline and the Design of the Course

The following is an outline I have in mind. We may change it to fit our needs.

I. Introduction (about one week)
II. What are our ideas? (about two to three weeks)
III. How do our ideas fit within mapped ideologies? Where do our ideas come from? (about nine to eleven weeks)
IV. Doing: What does it mean to act? (about one week)

I think of the design of a course as similar to a style of music. Most courses follow "classical(European)music" in design. That is, the audience hears music pre-determined by the score. The music may change slightly from performance to performance but this change is not usually a part of the design of classical music. In contrast, Jazz and classical Indian music combine the structure of the tune, the interpretative skill of the players, and the response of the listeners to create a specific structured improvisation. Accordingly, I have designed this course to change from one experience to another according to the interaction of students, instructor, and the reading materials. Thus no two classes or experiences should be the same because the interaction of the three differs on each occasion. This design embraces the necessity of collective improvisation.

A Jazz design has consequences for our sense of time in the course. To some the course will feel less structured and slower than what they might expect. The good news is that the course may also feel like something we create together.

4. Evaluation

I will determine your grade by evaluating the following components.

70% will come from weekly papers in which you respond to the readings. I would like to see a minimum of 8 reactions papers over the semester. These papers are due at the beginning of class each Monday (except for the week that starts with Labor Day. This week papers can be handed in on Wednesday, Sept.6.) Please see my "writing suggestions for response papers" (section 7, page 4).
If you write more than 8 such papers they will count as extra credit. (Reactions to Isabel Allende's House of Spirits will also count as extra credit. This reaction paper will probably need to be longer (say, 500-750 words) and will be credited accordingly.)

30% of your grade will be derived from a take-home final essay, due at Noon on Wednesday December 20. Here you have three options: A) You may write an essay that critically assesses and responds to all (or most) of ideologies we have explored; B) You may focus on one ideology while critically assessing and responding to the multiple perspectives taken on that ideology; C) You may submit a proposal of your own making. (This selection requires the additional responsibility of giving me enough advance warning to read, discuss, and sign-off on your proposal.) You will have a week to prepare one essay between 8-10 pages in length. Please see my "writingsuggestionsforessays" (section 8, page 5) on how I would like you to write these essays. Essay topics will synthesize reading materials, lectures, and discussions

An "entrypaper" and an "exitpaper" are required but not graded.
Note Well: If you are unclear about these expectations or feel that they do not suit your style of learning, please see me in my office. I will do everything I can to accommodate you. However, please see me by Wednesday, February 20. After this date, I will assume that you agree to the above arrangement.

Entry paper: due Friday, January 26.
Reaction papers: due Mondays.
Final essay: due noon, Tuesday, May 8).
Exit paper: (due date to be announced)

5. Attendance Policy

I have never had an attendance policy because I believe in the importance of treating you as adults who can make your own decisions about how to best use your time. However, many students have suggested that this course works better if I institute an attendance policy. I want to take this suggestion seriously while still holding on to my belief that students should be treated as adults. So I have come up with the following menu. By Monday, February 5, I would like each of you to write me note that selects one of the following plans:

__ Thank you, but I do not feel I need an attendance policy.

__ I sometimes need help making sure I attend class. I request that you to keep a record of how often I attend.

__ I sometimes need help making sure I attend class. I request that you to keep a record of how often I attend and to subtract credit if I miss more than ___ (select a number) classes.

__ I sometimes need help making sure I attend class. I request that you to keep a record of how often I attend and to subtract credit if I miss more than 3 classes.

Please convey your selection to me by Wednesday September.