About the Book
- Page ID
- 294751
This page is a draft and is under active development.
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\(\newcommand{\avec}{\mathbf a}\) \(\newcommand{\bvec}{\mathbf b}\) \(\newcommand{\cvec}{\mathbf c}\) \(\newcommand{\dvec}{\mathbf d}\) \(\newcommand{\dtil}{\widetilde{\mathbf d}}\) \(\newcommand{\evec}{\mathbf e}\) \(\newcommand{\fvec}{\mathbf f}\) \(\newcommand{\nvec}{\mathbf n}\) \(\newcommand{\pvec}{\mathbf p}\) \(\newcommand{\qvec}{\mathbf q}\) \(\newcommand{\svec}{\mathbf s}\) \(\newcommand{\tvec}{\mathbf t}\) \(\newcommand{\uvec}{\mathbf u}\) \(\newcommand{\vvec}{\mathbf v}\) \(\newcommand{\wvec}{\mathbf w}\) \(\newcommand{\xvec}{\mathbf x}\) \(\newcommand{\yvec}{\mathbf y}\) \(\newcommand{\zvec}{\mathbf z}\) \(\newcommand{\rvec}{\mathbf r}\) \(\newcommand{\mvec}{\mathbf m}\) \(\newcommand{\zerovec}{\mathbf 0}\) \(\newcommand{\onevec}{\mathbf 1}\) \(\newcommand{\real}{\mathbb R}\) \(\newcommand{\twovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\ctwovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\threevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cthreevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\mattwo}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{rr}#1 \amp #2 \\ #3 \amp #4 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\laspan}[1]{\text{Span}\{#1\}}\) \(\newcommand{\bcal}{\cal B}\) \(\newcommand{\ccal}{\cal C}\) \(\newcommand{\scal}{\cal S}\) \(\newcommand{\wcal}{\cal W}\) \(\newcommand{\ecal}{\cal E}\) \(\newcommand{\coords}[2]{\left\{#1\right\}_{#2}}\) \(\newcommand{\gray}[1]{\color{gray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\lgray}[1]{\color{lightgray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\rank}{\operatorname{rank}}\) \(\newcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\col}{\text{Col}}\) \(\renewcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\nul}{\text{Nul}}\) \(\newcommand{\var}{\text{Var}}\) \(\newcommand{\corr}{\text{corr}}\) \(\newcommand{\len}[1]{\left|#1\right|}\) \(\newcommand{\bbar}{\overline{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bhat}{\widehat{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bperp}{\bvec^\perp}\) \(\newcommand{\xhat}{\widehat{\xvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\vhat}{\widehat{\vvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\uhat}{\widehat{\uvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\what}{\widehat{\wvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\Sighat}{\widehat{\Sigma}}\) \(\newcommand{\lt}{<}\) \(\newcommand{\gt}{>}\) \(\newcommand{\amp}{&}\) \(\definecolor{fillinmathshade}{gray}{0.9}\)This textbook is the product of the Political Science Department at De Anza College. It is designed to provide the basis for a quarter-long introductory course in Political Thought and Theory for an undergraduate, community college student audience.
There are at least five ways to organize an introductory course on a subject as massive as this. The first and dominant tradition is to survey "the great thinkers" in the Western cannon, ancient and modern -- Plato, Aristotle, Machiavelli, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Kant, Mill, Marx, etc. This is fun and without a doubt "tried and true." Moreover, there are a number of such open-source texts already available, including:
- Vicki Hsueh and Shirin Deylami, eds. Introduction to Political Theory
- Noah Levin, ed. Political Philosophy Reader: An Open Educational Resource
- Wiki Knights. Political Philosophy
A second way is to focus on key ideas, debates, and principles. What is the good society? What is truth? What is justice? etc. Although this is definitely a popular mode for introductory political theory classes, there are no open-source textbooks in this genre.
A third way is to focus on topical and international issues. On this score there are a number of open-source textbooks for consideration including:
- Geoff Andrews and Michael Saward, Nationalism, Self-determination and Secession
- Paul Kelly, Conflict, War and Revolution
- Geoffrey Kellow and Neven Leddy, eds. Civic Republicanism
- James Tully, ed. Global Citizenship
A fourth approach is an explicitly anti-racist one that emphasizes the Euro-centrism inherent in the discipline and calls for an openly liberationist approach. There is only one example of this approach we can find, and it is Albert Ponce's, Political Science 240 -- Political Theory Syllabus: Open For Anti-Racism (OFAR). Ponce's class is a very interesting one. And, while we find the anti-racist approach most compelling, his course is designed for semesters and is based on PDF readings available through Canvas.
Fully cognizant of the Eurocentric nature of the discipline and strongly supportive of anti-racism, we focus on major belief systems and/or ideologies in the belief that it will enable students to evaluate and critically engage the full breadth of mainstream political theory. There are a number of political theory texts that focus on ideological belief systems, but only one that is open-source. It is Dr. Valérie Vézina, ed., Political Ideologies and Wordviews: An Introduction.
The text that follows is based on a selection of key chapters from Political Ideologies and Wordviews: An Introduction making it especially suited to a quarter-length class. What we add in terms of value are summaries, glossaries, discussion questions, and multiple choice exam questions (available for instructors only). We hope you and your students find this textbook valuable.