INDV 103 Spring 2011

What is Politics?
Indv. 103, Section 42
Offered by the Department of History, University of Arizona

Fall semester, 2009
Tuesday and Thursday, 9:30-10:45am
Location: Koffler 204

Instructor:
David N. Gibbs, Associate Professor of History and Political Science
Office: Social Sciences 227
Office Hours: Wednesday 12-1:30pm and Friday, 2-3:30pm
Tel: 621-5416

Graduate Teaching Assistants:
1. Serpil Atamaz-Hazar
Office: Espresso Art Cafe, at University and Park
Office Hours: Thursday, 11-12:30
Email: serpil@email.arizona.edu  

2. Sal Acosta
Office: Main Library, A402
Office Hours: Friday, 9-10:30
Email: salvador@email.arizona.edu

3. Robin Zenger
Office: Bookend Café, next to the Main Library
Office Hours: Tuesday, 11:00am-12:30pm
Email: rzenger@email.arizona.edu

Class homepage: www.gened.arizona.edu/dgibbs/indv103-09b.htm

** Class Announcements **
Students should check the above site regularly.

    This class will focus on persuasion and propaganda, and their role in political history. The course will have four components: First, it will examine the role of propaganda in totalitarian regimes, such as Soviet Russia and Nazi Germany. Second, we will examine more "modern" forms of propaganda, as it appears in political advertising, speeches, and newspapers in the United States and other western democracies. Third, we will study the use of logical political arguments, and how these differ from propagandistic arguments. Fourth, this course aims to improve basic skills, especially the incorporation of logical thought and analysis into the writing of student papers.

    The overall purpose of this course is to provide training on how to recognize political propaganda, and how to distinguish propaganda from reasoned, logical political arguments.    

NOTE: This class contains offensive material. If this is a problem for you, then you should select a different class.

Students with Disabilities

    I will be happy to arrange the exams in any reasonable way that is consistent with the student's needs, in cooperation with the UA Disability Resource Center. It is the student's responsibility to find out what the Center requires, to fill out the forms, and to undertake the necessary "foot work" for special arrangements. The student is responsible to make sure that all deadlines are met.

Exams

    There will be three midterm exams and an optional final. If you opt not to take the final, then each of the three midterms will be worth one third of your final grade. If you opt to take the final, the grading will be as follows:

Midterm 1 (in-class)        20 percent;
Midterm 2 (take-home)   20 percent;
Midterm 3 (in-class)        20 percent;
Final  (take-home)           40 percent.

If you take the optional final, you must accept whatever grade you get, whether it raises or lowers your overall course grade.         

    Students must take the exams on the scheduled dates. Please look at the syllabus and make sure that the exam dates are open for you. If you have an engagement scheduled for one of the required dates -- if you have a wedding or a sports event, for example -- then you should take another class. The following circumstances constitute legitimate reasons to miss an exam: illness, death in family, religious holiday, or mandatory military service. Students who present such reasons must be prepared to present documentation, such as a note from a doctor, clergy, or commanding officer.

    On the take-home exams, the clarity and conciseness of the writing style will count toward your grade. Students who wish to improve their writing skills should consult the following classic: William Strunk, Jr. and E. B. White, The Elements of Style, fourth edition (Allyn and Bacon, 1999). It is short, inexpensive, and available in the UA bookstore. For those on a tight budget, an earlier version of this book is available online (click here for full text).

    When turning in the take-home exams, students should attach copies of the first page of all research materials that were used in preparing the papers. Students should also keep copies of papers on their computers. The reason for these requirements is to dissuade plagiarism and other forms of academic dishonesty. If I have any doubts about a student paper, I may ask the student to produce a computer disk and research materials. For further information on the issue of plagiarism, see the UA Code of Academic Integrity and the UA History Department's Policy on Academic Dishonesty.

Readings

    The following required texts can be purchased at the University Book Store:

George Orwell, 1984 (New York: Signet, 1950).

Howard Kahane and Nancy Cavender, Logic and Contemporary Rhetoric: The Use of Reason in Everyday Life, Eleventh edition (New York: Wadsworth Publishing, 2009).

   Several articles listed below are available through electronic databases. Other materials, as indicated, are available through the D2L. The readings from D2L and other databases can be obtained free of charge at any computer on campus. Early in the semester, we will have a scheduled class session in the library, where I will provide instruction in the use of online databases.

    I may make small changes in the reading list -- with advance notice -- during the course of the semester.

Week of August 24
Introduction

No assigned reading.

Week of  August 31
Logical Reasoning: What Is an Argument?

Kahane and Cavender, Logic, chaps. 1, 2.

Week of September 7
Logical Fallacies I

Kahane and Cavender, Logic, chap. 3.

Week of September 14
Logical Fallacies II

Kahane and Cavender, Logic, chap. 4.

Week of September 21
Logical Fallacies III

Kahane and Cavender, Logic, chap. 5.

Week of September 28
Review of Fallacies

No readings.

First (in-class) midterm exam: October 1.

Week of October 5
Analyzing Arguments

Kahane and Cavender, Logic, chap. 8.

Week of October 12
Writing Essays

Kahane and Cavender, Logic, chap. 9.

John Grimond, Economist Style Guide (online version), 2002. This is the standard writing guide used by journalists at The Economist magazine of London. Read the following sections: "Introduction," "Unnecessary Words," "Jargon,"  "Tone," and "Journalese and Slang." For full text, click here.

Recommended:

Kahane and Cavender, Logic, Appendix ("More on Cogent Reasoning").

October 16: Last date to drop the class.

Week of October 19
What is Propaganda?

"How to Detect Propaganda," Propaganda Analysis, November 1937. Available through D2L.

"Some ABCs of Propaganda Analysis," Propaganda Analysis, December 1937. Available through D2L.

Recommended:

Kahane and Cavender, Logic, chap. 7.

Week of October 26
Propaganda in Totalitarian States I

Orwell, 1984.

Week of November 2
Propaganda in Totalitarian States II

George Orwell, "Politics and the English Language," in George Orwell: A Collection of Essays (Garden City, NY: Doubleday-Anchor Books, 1954). For full text, click here.

Second (take-home) midterm exam: Handed out in class November 3; due November 10 (to be handed in at end of class).

Week of November 9
Propaganda in U.S. Politics

Kahane and Cavender, Logic, chap. 11.

"How to Analyze Newspapers," Propaganda Analysis, January 1938. Available through D2L.

Week of November 16
Propaganda and the Cold War

Daniel Golden, "After Sept. 11, the CIA Becomes A Force on Campus," Wall Street Journal, October 4, 2002. For full text, click here.

Elizabeth Nickson, "Mind Control: My Mother, the CIA, and LSD," Observer (London), October 16, 1994. Full text available through Lexis-Nexis.

Week of November 23
Case Study: War in Afghanistan

A. Petrov, "A Soviet Perspective on the Invasion of Afghanistan," Current Digest of the Soviet Press, January 1980. This is a translation of a Pravda article ("Limited Soviet Contingent"), which justifies the invasion. Available through D2L.

Ronald Reagan, "Proclamation 5034 -- Afghanistan Day," March 21, 1983. For full text, click here.

Arnaud de Borchgrave, "Osama's New Strategy," Washington Times, December 29, 2004. For full text, click here.

Recommended:

"Forgotten Coverage of Afghan 'Freedom Fighters': The Villains of Today's News were Heroes in the '80s," Extra, January/February 2002. For full text, click here.

No class, November 26.

Week of November 30
Case Study: The U.S. and the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia

Russell R. Ross, ed., Cambodia: A Country Study (Washington, DC: Library of Congress, 1990). Read sections "Into the Maelstrom" and "Democratic Kampuchea," along with all subsections (for full text, click here).

John Pilger, "The Long Secret Alliance: Uncle Sam and Pol Pot," Covert Action Quarterly, Fall 1997. For full text, click here.

Third (in-class) midterm: December 1.

December 8
General Review

No assigned readings.

Optional (take-home) final exam: Handed out: last day of class, December 8; due December 17, 5:00pm.

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