This year the Capstone course in Politics and Government will deal with the themes of security and freedom. Freedom is considered to be a central human desire, especially in the political realm, and yet various forms of voluntary and involuntary control may place significant limits on freedom. Security is a central concept in international politics but recent world events as well as develpments within the academy have led to new scrutiny of the term. What does it mean to be secure? Who provides security?
   In this class we will interrogate each term through looking at classic readings as well as by engaging more contemporary debates. Are freedom and security compatible in today's turbulent world?

 Michael Clancy
Office: Hillyer 123c 
Phone: x4284 
email: clancy@hartford.edu 
Office hours: T/Th 3-4; by appointment     

    As the culminating course for majors in the Department of Politics and Government, this course will tie together student's academic careers through encouraging students to integrate knowledge and skills their have acquired in other courses. Specifically students will work on reading for content, dissecting and analyzing arguments, and considering their policy implications. They will be asked to link theory with method, both in analyzing weekly readings, and through a semester research project. 

SEMINAR REQUIREMENTS

    The class will meet in a seminar format. This means that students must attend class fully prepared and ready to discuss. Each week students will be required to carefully read all the assignments. They must also write a 1-2 page reaction paper on those readings that will form the basis of class discussion. This is due the day before class (Monday) at noon. Students are also expected to fully participate in weekly discussion during the seminars. In addition students will formulate a research question and write a major research paper during the semester. The paper topic will link one or both class themes with an area of interest held by the student. Finally, students will write one exam.

    Three books are required for this class and are available for purchase at the bookstor at the Bookstore in the Gray Center. They are:
 

• Matthew Brzezinski, Fortress America: On the Front Lines of Homeland Security. Bantam, 2004 
• Donald Snow, National Security in a New Era: Globalization and Geopolitics, Longman, 2004 
• Fyodor Dostoevsky, "The Grand Inquisitor" 

January 18: Introduction

    No Reading

January 25:  Security

      *Machiavelli, selections from The Prince
      *Hobbes, selections from The Leviathan, Book I
      Brzezinski, Fortress America, Prologue
      Snow, National Security for a New Era, chs.1-2

February 1: Security (II)

     *UN Commission on Human Security, Human Security Now, pp. 1-19
      Snow, National Security for a New Era, chs. 6, 9
      *Seyom Brown, "World Interests and the Changing Dimensions of Security," in Michael Klare and Yogesh Chandrani, World Security, 3d ed.
      *Roland Paris, "Human Security: Paradigm Shift or Hot Air?" International Security 26: 2 (Fall 2001), pp. 87-102

February 8:  Freedom

     *Mill, On Liberty, Selections
     *T.H. Green, "Liberalism and Positive Freedom"
     *The Declaration of Independence
     * Additional reading TBA
      
 

February 15: Freedom (II)

March 1:  No Class

March 8:  September 11th, freedom and security in the War on Terror

     Brzezinski, Fortress America, chs. 1, 2, 4
     * Audrey Kurth Cronin, "Transnational Terrorism and Security," in Michael Brown, ed., Grave New World
     * Mark Sidel, More Secure, Less Free, ch. 1
     Jeffrey Rosen, The Naked Crowd, ch. 1

March 29: TBA

April  5: TBA

April 12: TBA

April 19: TBA

April 26: TBA

May 3: Course Wrap-up

     Term projects due