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SY307 OC POLITICAL SOCIOLOGY
SYLLABUS
Wilfrid Laurier University
Instructor: Dr. R. Ostow
[email protected] This course is designed to teach you to think critically about power, and the many ways it is
exercised and resisted. It will begin with some of the classical sociological ideas regarding power
and society, and then consider some of the most recent theories and case studies which address
some of the major political upheavals of the early twenty-first century. All good sociology is
broad and comparative, and that will be our approach in this course, as well. In the early course
units, we will examine the works of Max Weber, Antonio Gramsci, Michel Foucault and Harold
Innis. We will then discuss the ascendancy of neoliberal ideas and practices, starting in the
1980s, their effects in different parts of the world and resistance from local and global
communities. The topics we will address include: the politics of oil, the politics of natural
disasters, the activities Canadian mining companies abroad and the expanding role of non-
governmental organizations in global governance. You will learn to critique and compare the
ideas of the major theorists and to apply them to changing power relations and struggles in
Canada and worldwide. And you will be encouraged to identify and discuss power relations in
your own life worlds. This is an advanced course: a solid background in Sociology and a high
level of commitment are expected.
Course Tools and Learning Materials
Books: We will be using SY307 Political Sociology which is a Canadian Scholars Press Inc.
course book, R17176.
And, for your book discussion, you will be reading Oil, by J ames Laxer, Groundwood Books,
Toronto, 2008
Films: There is one film.
Under Rich Earth, Malcolm Rogge, producer and director. Toronto: Rye Cinema
2008, 93 minutes.
It is included in Unit 7: Canadian Mining and Resistance Abroad
ASSESSMENTS
Student Evaluation
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Assessment % of
Grade
4 online postings +1 response to a post 20%
Midterm (online, multiple choice) 20%
Book Discussion 25%
Final Exam (online, multiple choice +
short essay)
35%
Total 100%
Online postings and response (discussion board). Each unit contains learning activities. Some
of them involve writing up your thoughts and/or your research findings. In each case, your
submission should take the form of a well-written and well-shaped paragraph, with correct
grammar and spelling, and correct use of words. Your arguments and/or opinions should be
supported by evidence, including proper citations from responsible sources. Please note that
Wikipedia can be a good place to start your research, but it is not recognized as a responsible
source, and should not be cited in an academic context. The format for proper citations can be
found in the WLU Sociology Dept. Guidelines for Essay Writing. Please consult this document
at http://www.wlu.ca/documents/27298/Essay_Guidelines.pdf. Feel free to use the internet for
your research, but remember to use responsible websites. For assistance you may want to consult
the Wilfrid Laurier University library website for information on finding quality on the internet:
http://library.wlu.ca/guides/internet/quality
Each student is required to submit 5 learning activities (one of which is a response to another
students post) over the weeks of the course. You are encouraged to submit more than 5. One
posting will be selected at random and graded according to the following criteria: 4 points for
each of the following: Accuracy, Logic, Original thought, Grammar, riting skills. Students are
free to post for any unit throughout the 12 weeks of the course. The Discussion Board will close
at the end of week 12. After that, no more postings will be accepted. Approximately a week
before the Discussion Board closes, a reminder will be posted on the course MyLearningSpace.
Midterm test. This will be an online multiple choice test which covers the material in units 1
through 4. Unit 5 has practice questions and other material to help you prepare for this test.
There will be 40 questions, each of which is worth point. Students will have 60 minutes to
complete the test (except for those students for whom Accessible Learning has requested a time
adjustment).
Book Discussion. This is a 6-8 page essay. Specific instructions for the format and content and
other material to help you write this essay can be found in unit 8. The essay will be graded as
follows: thorough and detailed analysis of issues, 6 points; clarity and logic of argument, 5
points; evidence of original thinking, 5 points; writing skills, 4 points; proper format, 1 point;
correct spelling, 1 point; correct grammar, 3 points. Total, 25 points.
Final exam. This will be an online test which covers the material in units 6, 7, and 9 through 11.
Unit 12 has practice questions and other material to help you prepare for this test. There will be
56 multiple choice questions, each of which is worth point and a 1-page essay which is worth
3
7 points. Students will have 84 minutes to complete the multiple choice questions (except for
those students for whom Accessible Learning has requested a time adjustment). The essay
question will be announced a week before it is to be submitted to the course dropbox.
TOPICS
UNIT 1: Introduction: Two Early Sociological Theories of Power
Reading:
Max Weber on politics and states
Grabb, Edward, Theories of Social Inequality: An Introduction. In
Theories of Social Inequality (5th edition), Toronto: Harcourt Brace 2007.
Chapter 1, pp. 1-7, 51-65.
Antonio Gramsci on capitalism and politics
Simon, Roger, Gramscis Political Thought: An Introduction.
London: Lawrence and Wishart 1985, pp. 18-28, 48-9, 58-64, 67-74, 89-101.
UNIT 2: Harold Innis and the political economy of Canada
Reading:
Innis, Harold, Conclusion to The Fur Trade in Canada in Gordon Laxer (ed.),
Perspectives on Canadian Economic Development: Class, Staples, Gender, and
Elites. Toronto: OUP 1991, pp. 50-67.
Drache, Daniel, Harold Innis and Canadian Capitalist Development in Gordon
Laxer (ed.), Perspectives on Canadian Economic Development: Class, Staples,
Gender, and Elites. Toronto: OUP 1991, pp. 22-49.
UNIT 3: Michel Foucault on power, truth and the individual
Reading:
Dreyfus Hubert and Paul Rabinow, Michel Foucault: Beyond Structuralism and
Hermeneutics. Chicago: University of Chicago Press 1983. Chapter 6 - From the
Repressive Hypothesis to Bio-Power, pp. 128-60, Chapter 8 - The Genealogy of
The Modern Individual as Subject, pp. 168-76.
UNIT 4: David Harvey on Neoliberalism
Reading:
Harvey, David, A Brief History of Neoliberlism.
Oxford: OUP 2005, pp. 1-9, 39-45, 64-86.
UNIT 5: Review and prepare for test I
In this unit, we will review the readings in units 1-4. We will compare and contrast
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the concepts introduced in these readings, using charts and practice questions. At
the end of the 5
th
week, the students will take test I online.
UNIT 6: Naomi Klein and the politics of disaster capitalism worldwide and in Canada
Reading:
Klein, Naomi, Disaster Capitalism Harpers Magazine 315, Roger Hodge (ed.),
Harpers Magazine Foundation, October 2007, pp. 47-58.
Elliott, Kim, Naomi Klein: We cant lose this moment. Rabble.ca
http://rabble.ca/news/naomi-klein-%E2%80%98we-cant-lose- moment
Supplementary material: http://www.naomiklein.org/main
UNIT 7: New forms of resistance: Canadian mining companies and local communities in
Ecuador
Film:
Under Rich Earth, Malcolm Rogge, producer and director. Toronto: Rye Cinema
2008, 93 minutes.
Background material: http://underrichearth.ryecinema.com
UNIT 8: Book discussion
Reading:
Laxer, J ames, Oil, Groundwood Books, Toronto, 2008
http://blog.jameslaxer.com/2011/09/why-tar-sands-are-destructive-for.html
UNIT 9: The revolutionary role of cities
Reading:
Harvey, David, Rebel Cities: From the Right to the City to the Urban
Revolution. London: Verso 2012, pp. 3-4, 115-42.
Saunders, Doug, Arrival City: The Final Migration and Our Next World.
Toronto: Vintage 2011, pp. 1-3, 135-46, 156-60, 311-31.
Interview with David Harvey:
http://www.full-stop.net/2012/05/01/interviews/michael-schapira-and-david-
backer/david-harvey/
UNIT 10: Politics and Antipolitics: Political Struggle and Regimes of Care
Reading:
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Miriam Ticktin, Casualties of Care: Immigration and the Politics of
Humanitarianism in France. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2011,
pp. 1-24, 60-64, 69-86.
UNIT 11: Why nations fail
Reading:
Acemoglu, Daron and J ames Robinson, Why Nations Fail: The Origins of
Power, Prosperity, and Poverty. New York: Crown 2012, pp. 1-5, 73-87,
428-62, 479-80.
UNIT 12: Conclusion, review and prepare for final exam
In this unit, we will pull together the main ideas which have shaped the
course. We will then review the readings in units 6-7, and 9-11. We will
compare and contrast the arguments in these readings, using charts
and practice questions to prepare the students for the final examination.
