Sample Syllabi 4:
Living An Examined Life: Marx’s Challenge to the Good Life in Modern Societies
Spring 2011, Roanoke College
Prof. Claudia Leeb
Office: West Hall 121
Email: leeb@roanoke.edu
Office Hours: Wednesday, 1.30-3.30 pm
Course Description:
What is the good life? How can we live the most meaningful life? How can we fulfill our highest potentials? For Karl Marx our ability to answer these questions has a direct bearing on our ability to understand ourselves as participants in a shared, social world with others. People fulfill and realize their humanity through meaningful work or creative activity, which allows them to contribute to a wider community. In capitalist societies most people are denied such a work activity, which leads to their dehumanization and alienation from their social world. Marx proposed a system of production, which is based on cooperation rather than acquisitiveness and self-interest to counter the negative consequences of capitalism. We will follow the early and late Marx’s search for the good life in order to get a deeper understanding of key concepts coined by him, such as ideology, alienation, exploitation, exchange- and use-value and class antagonisms.
The course will improve students’ ability to (1) formulate and evaluate arguments about ethical positions, (2) describe connections between the course topic and broader traditions of critical reflections on the good life, (3) give an effective oral presentation, (3) write a paper with a clear thesis, cogent argumentation, effective organization, and a minimum of sentence-level errors, (4) understand and articulate central concepts developed by Marx, (5) critically evaluate these concepts (6) examine and evaluate Marx’s theory on the good life, (7) strengthen or revise our own beliefs about what it means to live a meaningful life.
Required Texts: (Available at the College Book Store)
Robert C. Tucker (ed.). The Marx-Engels Reader (second edition, 1978, New York/London: Norton & Company).
John Seed. Marx: A Guide for the Perplexed (2010, Continuum International Publishing).
Diana Hacker. A Writer’s Reference: Roanoke College Edition, 6th Ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2007.
Assigned Texts are available on blackboard:
Larry May, Applied Ethics: A Multicultural Approach, (4th edition, 2006 New Jersey: Pearson) (selections)
George G. Brenkert, “Marxism, Moralism, and Ethics” in his Marx’s Ethics of Freedom (1983, Routledge and Kegan), pp. 3-22
Claudia Leeb, “Marx and the Gendered Structure of Capitalism,” Philosophy & Social Criticism (vol. 33, no. 7, November 2007),
pp. 833-859
Heidi Harmann, “The Unhappy Marriage of Marxism And Feminism,” in Women and Revolution, Lydia Sargent (ed.), (1981, South End Press), pp. 1-42
Iris Marion Young, “Beyond the Unhappy Marriage: A Critique of the Dual Systems Theory,”
In Women and Revolution, Lydia Sargent (ed.), (1981, South End Press), pp. 43-69
Louis Althusser, Ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses, in Lenin and Philosophy (2001, Monthly Review Press), pp. 85-126
Jacques Derrida, Injunctions of Marx, in Specters of Marx (1994, Routledge), pp. 1-60
Course Content:
Week 1, Ethical Traditions I
January 18, Tue, Introduction to course
Discussion: oral presentations and writing papers
January 20, Thu, What Does Ethics Concern?, Applied Ethics: A Multicultural Approach, pp. 27-35
Week 2, Ethical Traditions II
January 25, Tue, Utilitarianism: John Stuart Mill, Applied Ethics: A Multicultural Approach, pp. 36-44
January 27, Thu, Deontological Ethics: Immanuel Kant, Applied Ethics: A Multicultural Approach, pp. 45-50
Week 3, Ethical Traditions and Marx’s Ethics
February 1, Tue, Virtue Ethics, Applied Ethics: A Multicultural Approach, pp. 51-65
George G. Brenkert, “Marxism, Moralism, and Ethics,” pp. 3-22.
February 3, Thu, Claudia Leeb, “Marx and the Gendered Structure of Capitalism,” pp. 833-859
Week 4, Marx and Critique
February 8, Tue, Marx, For a Ruthless Criticism of Everything Existing, The Marx-Engels Reader, pp. 12-15
Seed, Marx: A Guide for the Perplexed, Chapter1, pp. 1-14
February 10, Thu, Marx, Contribution to the Critique of Hegel’s Philosophy of Right: Introduction, Marx-Engels Reader, pp. 53-61
Week 5, Ethics and Alienation
February 15, Tue, Marx, Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts I, The Marx-Engels Reader, pp. 66-81
Seed, Marx: A Guide for the Perplexed, Chapter 2, pp. 15-43
February 17, Thu, Marx, Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts II, The Marx-Engels Reader, pp. 81-106
Week 6, Ethics and Ideology I
February 22, Tue, Marx, Theses on Feuerbach, The Marx-Engels Reader, pp. 143-145
Seed, Marx: A Guide for the Perplexed, Chapter 3, pp. 44-72
February 24, Thu, The German Ideology I, pp. 146-163
Week 7 and 8, Ethics and Ideology II
March 1, Tue, Marx, The German Ideology II, The Marx-Engels Reader, pp. 163-186
Seed, Marx: A Guide for the Perplexed, Chapter 4, pp. 73-102
Spring Break: March 4 until March 11
Week 9, Ethics and Exploitation
March 15, Tue, Movie: Made in Dagenham (2010); Director: Nigel Cole
Seed, Marx: A Guide for the Perplexed, Chapter 5, pp. 103-125
March 17, Thu, Marx, The Grundrisse I, The Marx-Engels Reader, pp. 221-250
Week 9, Ethics and Fetishism
March 22, Tue, Marx, The Grundrisse II, The Marx-Engels Reader, pp. 250-276
Seed, Marx: A Guide for the Perplexed, Chapter 6, pp. 126-158
March 24, Thu, Marx, Capital, Volume One, The Marx-Engels Reader, pp. 294-329, (Guest Lecture)
Week 10, Ethics and Revolution
March 29, Tue, Marx, Manifesto of the Communist Party, The Marx-Engels Reader, pp. 469-500
Seed, Marx: A Guide for the Perplexed, Chapter 7, pp. 159-170
March 31, Thu, Marx, Critique of the Gotha Program, The Marx-Engels Reader, pp. 525-541
Week 11, Ethics and Class Antagonisms
April 5, Tue, Marx, The Class Struggles in France, The Marx-Engels Reader, pp. 586-593
April 7, Thu, Marx, The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte, The Marx-Engels Reader, pp. 594-617
Week 12, Ethics, Marx and Feminism
April 12, Tue, Heidi Harmann, “The Unhappy Marriage of Marxism And Feminism,” in Women and Revolution, pp. 1-42
April 14, Thu, Iris Marion Young, “Beyond the Unhappy Marriage: A Critique of the Dual Systems Theory,” in
Women and Revolution, pp. 43-69
Week 13, Ethics and Western Marxism
April 19, Tue, Althusser, Ideology and Ideological State, Apparatuses, in Lenin and Philosophy, pp. 85-126
April 21, Thu, Derrida, Injunctions of Marx, in Specters of Marx, pp. 1-60
Conclusion
Course Requirements:
a) Regular attendance and active participation in class discussions, 20%
This course is conceptualized as a seminar that is discussion- (and not lecture-) based. Students are expected to come to class prepared and in a position to discuss the assigned texts. Being prepared implies first, that students need to have read all the assigned texts before our class meets. Second, that students answer, prior to class and in writing, a set of questions (posted on blackboard) on the assigned texts. During class they will be asked to outline their written answers to advance our in-classroom discussions. Third, it means that students are ready to refer to passages in the texts that pertain to the questions and come up with new questions to frame our discussions.
Attendance: Each student will be allowed up to three absences (regardless of reason). The class participation grade will be reduced by 1/3 of a letter grade for each additional absence. After four absences, the student will receive a formal warning, which is also sent to their advisors and the registrar’s office; two more absences after such warning will cause the instructor, in conformance with College policies, to drop the student from the course. The student will receive a DF (drop fail).
The absence policy implies that students need to save their absences for emergencies, such as sickness. If you must miss a class due to an emergency, please email me about it, preferably before you miss the class.
Lateness: Three times late equals one absence.
b) Two papers (6-7 pages, double-spaced), on assigned topics, 40 %
Students need to first, provide a clear statement of their question and thesis; second, outline a thorough reconstruction of the thinker’s arguments; third, engage in a critical evaluation of the discussed thinker; fourth, provide a clear conclusion. Students also need to properly cite and use textual evidence to support their arguments (20 % for each paper).
You will receive the topics two weeks before the paper is due. You can provide me with a draft of your paper one week before the paper is due. We will discuss your draft in my office hours.
Late Papers: Late papers will be penalized 1/3 of a letter grade for each day that they are late. Extensions will be granted only if you have made arrangements with me at least 24 hours in advance of the due date and ONLY in exceptional circumstances.
c) Three in-class oral presentations, 20%
1) Each student will be responsible for presenting (maximum 10 minutes) the main ideas/arguments and a critical evaluation of the arguments found in the assigned text for one session. The student will also pose three questions that will contribute to framing our discussions and distribute an outline of her/his presentation for all members of the class at the time of presentation (10 % of grade).
2) Each student will also be responsible for presenting (maximum 3 minutes) her/his two papers (5 % of grade for each paper).
Missed Presentation: A make-up presentation will be granted only if you have made arrangements with me at least 24 hours in advance of the due date and ONLY in exceptional circumstances.
d) Several pop-up exams, 20%
The pop up exams refer to the grades you receive for a) the assigned written homework (questions posed on blackboard). I will, at certain points, collect the homework and grade it; and b) at certain points I will ask you to write down the five main points of the reading for the day. All your pop-up exams will count as 20% of the grade.
General Course Policies:
Absences: You can only complete the course if you complete ALL requirements (satisfactory class participation, 2 papers, 3 oral presentations).
Professionalism: Students need to come to class on time and prepared, contribute to class discussions, take notes in class, listen to others while they speak, not sleep in class, not interrupt the class by talking to peers, and not leave the room during sessions, except in the event of an “emergency.”
Electronic Devices: No electronic devices may be used in class and during tests. Cell phones must be silenced prior to class. Absolutely no texting!
Academic Integrity: Enrollment constitutes acknowledgement of the rules and standards pertaining to academic integrity at Roanoke College. Students are expected to be aware of the principles in the College Academic Integrity Handbook.