Instructor: Dr. Jason Swedene
Office location and phone number: LBR 327 (phone: 635-2122)
e-mail: jswedene@lssu.edu
Office Hours: T: 9-12 and 1-2; R: 11-12, and by appointment

Students in this course can expect to learn to apply the tools of philosophical evaluation to issues related to the times and influences of president George W. Bush.

Required Texts:

Some readings will be photocopied and put on reserve at the circulation desk.

Required Course Website:

Most readings will be linked to the course website.  You are responsible for checking the website regularly.

http://www.lssu.edu/faculty/jswedene

Websites the well-informed check often (to be continued):

The Drudge Report
Washington Post Op Eds
Arts and Letters Daily
Abyz News Link
http://www.alternativeradio.org/index.html
 

Course Requirements:

1) You must attend class regularly and participate in class activities. A one-half letter grade reduction will follow the 2nd ^{unexcused absence and each unexcused absence thereafter. Missing a class without an acceptable excuse on the day a guest speaker appears will result in a 10 point penalty regardless of previous attendance record.  Please e-mail me if you plan to miss a class.}

2) There will be one in-class mid-term and one take-home final exam.  The exams are in short answer and essay format. 

3) Students will participate in at least one debate and submit a paper detailing the arguments studied in preparation for the debate.  If time permits and students wish to engage in a second debate, 5 % extra credit (on the final grade) may be earned by doing so.

4) Participation is not optional. Learning philosophy is an exercise in evaluating others’ ideas as well as formulating one’s own ideas. Both are therefore essential. Keeping up-to-date with both the readings and course handouts are considered aspects of class participation. Participation is 10 % of your grade.

5) "In compliance with Lake Superior State University policy and equal access laws, disability-related (learning, medical, physical, etc.) accommodations and services are available. Students are to meet with their professor in a timely manner, preferably the first week of class, to discuss their accommodation needs. Students will not receive services until they register with the Resource Center for Students with Disabilities (RCSD). Proper registration will enable the RCSD to verify the disability and determine reasonable academic accommodations. RCSD is located in South Hall, office 206, ext. 2355."


Calculating the final grade:

STUDENT DEBATE  20  %

DEBATE PAPER (5-7 pages) 20  %

IN-CLASS MID-TERM  25 %

TAKE HOME FINAL  25 %

PARTICIPATION 10 %

I use the LSSU grading criteria: 97 is A+, 93 is A, 90 is A-, 87 is B+, etc.

Cheating Policy:

Any form of cheating or plagiarism will result in certain disciplinary action, which might include failure of specific project and/or failure of the complete course. Cheating includes (but is not limited to) the use of any unauthorized assistance in taking quizzes, tests, or examinations; dependence upon the aid of sources beyond those authorized by the instructor in writing papers, preparing reports, solving problems, or carrying out other assignments; or, the acquisition, without permission, of tests or other academic material belonging to a member of college faculty or staff. Quotations must be used when the words are not your own and citations must accompany the use of others’ ideas, even if you paraphrase their wording. Failure to do so is plagiarism.

Course Topics

 

January 15	Course intro
January 22	Global terrorism: current events and moral analysis Websites: Bill Sammon: selections from Fighting Back: the war on terror from inside the Bush white house (on reserve at LSSU curculation desk) Osama Bin Laden: 1998 Frontline Interview Prof. Bernard Lewis: Jihad vs. Crusade Terrorism and Moral Philosophy Victor Davis Hanson: The Longest War Amnesty International: Guantanamo and Human Rights Kenneth Roth: Bush Criticism Current events: NYP: IOWA and Dean Dean mp3 The President's State of the Union Address
January 29	The 2000 election Bush v. Gore Stevens's Dissent (concerning Bush v. Gore) Linda Chavez 9/26/03: Commentary on Bush v. Gore Howard Garcia: Conservatives Brought Disgrace... BBC: Election Criticized Randy Barnett: National Review Online: Supreme Vindication Response to Florida Election Report The Last Disenfranchised Class from The Nation Myths about the Florida Election from The National Review Online Fourteenth Amendment to Constitution: Due Process and Equal Protection
February 5	Iraq Websites: United Nations Security Council: Resolution 1441 Washington Post: Reaffirming Pre-emption Al Jazeera: Drama Festival Opens in Iraq Kay Testifies Bush To Pick WMD Inquiry Panel
February 12	Affirmative Action Web sites and Reserve Materials:   Howard Dean on Affirmative Action  *****On RESERVE at LSSU circ. desk- Three Readings by philosophers under PL200: "Preferential Hiring" PBS: Testing the System PBS: Weighing Affirmative Action Grantz v. Bollinger Grutter v. Bollinger
February 19	Guest Speaker: Rev. Pawel Mecwel: Tentative Topic A Broader Perspective on Iraq, History, and Military Responses to Terrorism Websites: The Vatican and the War in Iraq Vatican reasserts opposition to War in Iraq Vatican distances itself from Cardinal Martino Offical Vatican Website (no need to print anything; just have a look around) Just War?: US Bishops
February 26	Midterm: in-class; reading materials from previous classes may be brought in and used. These readings will be alluded to in test: Osama Bin Laden: 1998 Frontline Interview Victor Davis Hanson: The Longest War Bush v. Gore Stevens's Dissent (concerning Bush v. Gore) The Last Disenfranchised Class from The Nation United Nations Security Council: Resolution 1441 Washington Post: Reaffirming Pre-emption *****RESERVE at LSSU circ. desk- Three Readings by philosophers under PL200: "Preferential Hiring" Grantz v. Bollinger The Vatican and the War in Iraq Just War?: US Bishops
March 11	Guest Speaker: Dr. John Erkkila on economics Websites: Trade War: Steel, Genetics, and Possibly Harley Davidsons (news.independent.co.uk): 11/11/03 President's Statement on Steel WSJ: Greenspan, Bush, and the dollar
March 18	Judiciary appointments, Gay Marriage,the 2000 election revisited Websites: The Fate of Detainees BBC: Some Guantanamo Tribunals Begin Judicial nominees and the art of filibuster
March 25	Stem cell research, partial birth abortion Web sites: Stem Cell Speech
April 1	Religion in Public Life Web sites: PBS Supreme Court Watch PBS # 2
April 8	Guest Speaker: Rep. Scott Shackleton Tentative Topic: How some policies of the Bush Administration affect State budgets and policies Websites: Republican Response to State of the State address
April 15	Student Debates
April 22	Student Debates
April 28: by noon---	Here is the final exam.  Please turn it in to me before Wed 4.28 at noon.   (You may email it to me as an attachment or slide it under my door.)

 
 

Testing dates: Midterm Exam (Feb 26), Final Exam (due April 26-30)

Paper due date: April 22 (by 2:00 pm to avoid late penalties of 5% per day)

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