University of Toronto Department of Political Science POL 381H1F L0101 Topics in Political Theory: Secularism: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives Summer 2013 Time: Monday and Wednesday, 4:00 6:00 p.m. Place: Sidney Smith Hall, Room 1083 Course Instructors: Andrea Cassatella and Jaby Mathew Email: andrea.cassatella@utoronto.ca; jaby.mathew@utoronto.ca Office: TBA COURSE DESCRIPTION Secularism is a central category of political thinking since the early modern period. Understood by modern political thinkers as a doctrine about the separation of religion and politics, secularism is under considerable pressure today. The so called return of religion in political discourse and practice has challenged the philosophical viability and political desirability of its modern understandings and called for a radical revisitation of its central tenets. This survey course considers the topic of secularism in founding texts of political thought as well as in contemporary formulations. It focuses on the arguments and principles for understanding and assessing the relationship between religion and politics in public life. The first part of the course concentrates on key modern thinkers (Hobbes, Spinoza, Locke, and Marx) in order to trace the historical and philosophical foundations of modern secularism. In the second part, the focus shifts to contemporary perspectives (Rawls, Habermas and Taylor) that revisit earlier formulations and to others that are critical of modern secularism (Asad, Connolly, Nandy and Chatterjee). The final part of the course looks at some contemporary cases such as the headscarf issue and Sharia law in which secularism is put to the test. COURSE OBJECTIVES The main objective of the course is to introduce you to the topic of secularism and enable you to understand and reflect on the central role it has had and still has in political thought. By the end of the course, students are expected to be familiar with the central positions and arguments of key texts of modern political thought as well as to be in a position to critically evaluate assumptions, limits and implications of the re-articulations and critiques of modern secularism. Students will be also encouraged to relate the readings to contemporary practical issues, some of which will be considered in class. 1
ASSIGNMENTS AND EVALUATION 15% Participation and Critical Responses 25% Mid-Term Test on 3-June-2013 30% Long Essay (2700 words) due on 19-June-2013 30% Final Exam during the scheduled exam period COURSE RULES AND POLICIES Course Prerequisites: POL 200Y or equivalent. Participation and Critical Responses: Each seminar will consist of short lectures and discussions. Students must also submit three critical responses (500 words maximum) on one of the required readings from the first three sections of the course (I, II.1, II.2), one response for each section. The response should not aim at summarize the assigned readings but offer a critical analysis of one significant, controversial or problematic aspect of the argument presented. The response must be submitted as a hardcopy at the end of the last lecture of the relevant section. Participation will be evaluated through regular attendance to lectures (5%), critical responses on the readings and active engagement in the discussions (10%). Merely being present in the classroom without actively contributing to the discussions will only partially satisfy this portion of the participation grade. Extension and Late Penalties: No extensions will be granted without well-supported documentation. Extensions due to medical conditions require a certificate from your physician. Penalties for late papers will be 3 points per day, weekend included, no exception. Essays Format: Students are required to submit an electronic form of their essays to Turnitin.com and a hard copy to the instructors in class, on the due date. Essays topics will be distributed in advance. Turnitin.com: Normally, students will be required to submit their course essays to Turnitin.com for a review of textual similarity and detection of possible plagiarism. In doing so, students will allow their essays to be included as source documents in the Turnitin.com reference database, where they will be used solely for the purpose of detecting plagiarism. The terms that apply to the University's use of the Turnitin.com service are described on the Turnitin.com web site. Students are strongly advised to keep rough and draft work and hard copies of their essays and assignments before handing in to the instructor/department. These should be kept until the marked assignments have been returned and the grades posted on ROSI. Plagiarism: You should familiarize yourself with the university s policy on plagiarism. Plagiarism is a serious academic offence and will be dealt with accordingly. For further clarification and information, please see Writing at the University of Toronto http://www.writing.utoronto.ca/advice/using-sources. 2
Accessibility needs: The University of Toronto is committed to accessibility. If you require accommodation due to a disability, or have any accessibility concern about the course, the classroom or course materials, please contact Accessibility Services as soon as possible (disability.services@utoronto.ca or contact studentlife.utoronto.ca/accessibility). Blackboard: This course will use a Blackboard website on which you can find the syllabus, readings, additional assignments and other information relevant to the course. ***The use of digital recorders during lectures is not permitted*** COURSE OUTLINE 13-May-2013 Introduction Jose Casanova, The Secular, Secularizations, Secularisms in Craig Calhoun et al. (ed) Rethinking Secularism (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011) I. THE FOUNDATIONS OF SECULARISM 15-May-2013 Hobbes Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan, ed. Edwin Curley (Hackett Publishing, 1994), Letter Dedicatory (pp1-2), Chapter 12 (pp 63-74), Chapter 31 (pp 237-242), Chapter 32 (pp 245-250), Chapter 42 (pp 333-373), Chapter 47 (pp 477-484) Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan, ed. Edwin Curley (Hackett Publishing, 1994) Chapter 18 (pp 110-118), Chapter 30 (pp 219-233), Chapter 42 (pp 373-397) 20-May-2013 Victoria Day - NO CLASS 22-May-2013 Spinoza, Baruch Spinoza, The Theologico-Political Treatise, Trans. Samuel Shirley. (Indianapolis: Hackett, 2008), Preface (pp 1-8), Chapters 13-16 (pp153-184), Chapters 19,20 (pp 213-230) Baruch Spinoza, The Theologico-Political Treatise, Trans. Samuel Shirley. (Indianapolis: 3
Hackett, 2008), Chapter 4 (pp48-58), chapter 7 (pp86-104) 27-May-2013 Locke John Locke, Letter Concerning Toleration, James Tully ed. (Indianapolis: Hackett 1983). James Tully, Introduction in Letter Concerning Toleration, James Tully ed. (Indianapolis: Hackett 1983). 29-May-2013 Marx Karl Marx, On the Jewish Question and Contribution to the Critique of Hegel s Philosophy of Right: Introduction. in The Marx-Engels Reader. Richard Tucker, ed. (New York: Norton, 1978), pp. 26-66. 3-June-2013 MID-TERM II.1 SECULARISM REVISITED 5-June-2013 Rawls and Habermas John Rawls, The Idea of Public Reason Revisited, in The Unversity of Chicago Law Review, 64.3 (Summer 1997): pp. 765-807. Jürgen Habermas, Religion in the Public Sphere, European Journal of Philosophy, 2006, 14 (1): pp.1-25. John Rawls, The Idea of Public Reason, In Political Liberalism (New York: Columbia University Press. 2005), pp. 212-254. Jürgen Habermas, Reconciliation Through the Public Use of Reason: Remarks on John Rawls s Political Liberalism. The Journal of Philosophy Vol. 92:3 (March 1995), pp. 109-131. 10-June-2013 Taylor Charles Taylor, A Secular Age (Cambridge, MA: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press), pp. 1-24. Charles Taylor Why We Need a Radical Redefinition of Secularism. In Mendieta, Eduardo and VanAntwerpen, Jonathan (Eds.) The Power of Religion in The Public Sphere (New York, NY: Columbia University Press, 2011), pp. 34-59. Charles Taylor, Modes of Secularism. in Bhargava, R. (ed) Secularism and its Critics 4
(Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1998). II.2 CRITIQUES OF SECULARISM 12-June-2013 Asad and Connolly Talal Asad, Formations of the Secular: Christianity, Islam, Modernity. (Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press): Introduction, pp. 1-17. William Connolly, Why I am not a Secularist (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1999), pp. 19-46. William Connolly, Europe: A minor Tradition, In Scott, David and Hirschkind, Charles Powers of the Secular Modern, pp. 75-92. Jose Casanova, Secularization Revisited: A Reply to Talal Asad. In Scott, David and Hirschkind, Charles Powers of the Secular Modern, pp. 12-30. 17-June-2013 Nandy and Chatterjee Ashis Nandy, The Politics of Secularism and the Recovery of Religious Toleration in Rajeev Bhargava (ed.), Secularism and Its Critics (New Delhi, Oxford University Press, 1998). Partha Chatterjee Secularism and Tolerance in Rajeev Bhargava (ed.), Secularism And Its Critics (New Delhi, Oxford University Press, 1998). Rajeev Bhargava, Introduction in Rajeev Bhargava (ed.), Secularism And Its Critics (New Delhi, Oxford University Press, 1998). Ashis Nandy, Time Warps: Silent and Evasive Pasts in Indian Politics and Religion (Rutgers University Press, 2002), 89-128. Partha Chatterjee, Fasting for Bin Laden: The Politics of Secularization in Contemporary India, In Scott, David and Hirschkind, Charles Powers of the Secular Modern, pp. 57-74. III. CASES 19-June-2013 Long Essay due in class! Sharia Law in Ontario Marion Boyd, "Religion-Based Alternative Dispute Resolution: A Challenge to Multiculturalism" In Belonging? Diversity, Recognition and Shared Citizenship in Canada, Institute for Research on Public Policy, 2007. 5
Ayelet Shachar, "Privatizing Diversity: A Cautionary Tale from Religious Arbitration in Family Law" Theoretical Inquiries in Law. Volume 9, Issue 2, Pages 573 607. Headscarf Laws in France and Germany Christian Jopkke, "State Neutrality and Islamic Headscarf Laws in France and Germany" Theory and Society, Vol. 36, No. 4 (Aug., 2007), pp. 313-342. Conclusion 6