| WEEK # | TOPICS | READINGS |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Introduction and Political Systems of Thought | |
| 2 | What is a just war? Were the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan just? | Zinn, Howard. "A Just Cause, Not a Just War." The Progressive, December 2001. Hersh, Seymore. "The Other War." The New Yorker, April 12, 2004. Principles of the Just War |
| 3 | What is a just war? Were the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan just? (cont.) | U.S. National Security Council. The National Security Strategy of the United States of America. Washington, DC, 2002. Spencer, Jack. "Presidential Authority in the War on Terrorism: Iraq and Beyond." The Heritage Foundation, 2002. Jones, Terry. "I'm Losing Patience with My Neighbors, Mr. Bush." The Observer, January 26, 2003. |
| 4 | Is pornography sexist? Should it be regulated? | Dworkin, Andrea. "Pornography Happens to Women." Speech presented at Speech, Equality and Harm: Feminist Legal Perspectives on Pornography and Hate Propaganda. University of Chicago Law School, March 6, 1993. McElroy, Wendy. "Banning Pornography Endangers Women." International Society for Individual Liberty pamphlet. |
| 5 | How should we treat criminals? What constitutes "cruel and unusual" punishment? | Ruffin v. Commonwealth, 62 Va. (1871). Pugh v. Locke, 406 F. Supp. (1976). Rhodes v. Chapman, 452 U.S. (1981). Wilson v. Seiter, 111 S. Ct. (1991). Overton v. Bazzetta 02-94 (2003). Kennedy opinion. |
| 6 | Should we legalize marijuana? How should we treat other drugs? | National Institute on Drug Abuse. "Marijuana: Facts for Teens." 2001. Rey, Joseph M., and Christopher C. Tennant. "Cannabis and Mental Health." British Medical Journal (2002): 1183-4. Optional Reading Becker, Howard S. "Becoming a Marijuana User." American Journal of Sociology (1953): 235-242. |
| 7 | What is the future of Social Security? Guest Speaker: Toh Ne Win from Goldman Sachs | Dudley, William C., and Edward F. McKelvey. "The U.S. Budget Outlook: A Surplus of Deficits." Global Economics Paper No. 106 (2004). Goldman Sachs. |
| 8 | In what forms does discrimination exist in our society today? Should the government step in to stop discrimination? | |
| 9 | Is outsourcing of jobs a problem? If so, what should we do? | Sen, Amartya. "How to Judge Globalism." The American Prospect 13, no. 1 (2002). Friedman, Thomas L. "The Great Indian Dream." New York Times, March 11, 2004. Ikerd, John. "Societal Effects Make Outsourcing a Real Issue." Columbia Daily Tribune, August 15, 2004. |
| 10 | The Arab-Israeli Conflict: Where can we go from here? | Zuckerman, Mortimer. "The Price of Intransigence." U.S. News and World Report, December 12, 2003. Kazak, Ali. "Bad Fences Make Bad Neighbors." October 28, 2003. |
| 11 | Should abortion be regulated? | Thomson, Judith Jarvis. "A Defense of Abortion." Philosophy and Public Affairs 1 (1971): 47. Sprengel, Mark K. "Fundamental Issues." Heritage House, 1999. |
| 12 | Genocide in Rwanda and Sudan: How should we react? |
Supplemental Reading, Strongly Recommended b Gourevitch, Philip. We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed with Our Families. New York, NY: Picador, 1999. ISBN: 9780312243357. |
| 13 | Is it ever right to break the law? | Thoreau, Henry David. "Civil Disobedience." 1849. |