Queens University of Belfast School of Politics, International Studies and Philosophy

PAI3019 The Religious and the Secular in Modern Political Thought Convenor: Professor Vincent Geoghegan

Autumn Semester 2011-2012

Module Convenor: Room Email address: Consultation Hours: 20:303 v.geoghegan@qub.ac.uk Tuesday 2-3, Thursday 2-3

Timetable Lectures: Tutorials: One per week, Thursday, 12-1, 16UQ/G01 One per week, starting week 3, 2 slots: Thursday 1-2 (19.103) and Thursday 2-3 (19.103)

Assessment: Coursework: Deadlines: Examination: One essay 17 November 2 hours, answer 2 questions

School of Politics, International Studies and Philosophy Student Handbook This module guide should be read in conjunction with the Undergraduate Student Handbook which contains important details of School policies. A copy of the Undergraduate Student Handbook can be obtained from the School Office (21 University Square) or downloaded from the resources section of any PAI or PHL module on Queens Online.

MODULE DESCRIPTION The module looks at the emergence in the post-medieval period of new ways of thinking about the relationship between religion and society. In particular it seeks to explore the rise of secular ideas, which it does by focusing on a number of key thinkers, concepts and themes. MODULE AIMS: The aim is to acquaint students with relevant texts from the sixteenth century to the present day, and to encourage them to understand, analyse and criticize the underlying assumptions of these documents. LEARNING OUTCOMES: On successful completion of this module students should be able to pursue intellectual questions in a rigorous and academic manner, employing analytical skills and critical thinking and, furthermore, be able to communicate ideas to others in a clear and concise manner, both orally and in written form. SKILLS This module will assist in developing students skills in a number of important areas. These include: Intellectual skills

Managing & Prioritizing Knowledge: identify relevant and subject-specific knowledge,

sources and data; manage such information in an independent manner specific arguments made by others; construct independent arguments position in relation to existing and ongoing debates in the field Professional and career development skills

Analytical Thinking: identify, understand, interpret and evaluate relevant subjectCritical & Independent Thinking: ability to think critically and construct ones own

Communication Skills: ability to communicate clearly with others, both orally and in
writing

Teamwork: ability to work with others in a team, negotiate conflicts and recognize
different ways of learning

Diversity: ability to acknowledge and be sensitive to the range of cultural differences

present in the learning environment

Self-Reflexivity: ability to reflect on ones own progress and identify and act upon
ones own development needs with respect to life-long learning and career development stress; and achieve a work / life balance

Time Management: ability to negotiate diverse and competing pressures; cope with

Technical and practical skills

Information Technology: demonstrate the knowledge and ability to use contemporary

and relevant ICT Organizational skills

Efficient and effective work practice: demonstrate ability to work efficiently to

deadlines

Clear organisation of information: show efficiency in the organisation of large

amounts of complex information and the ability to identify, describe and analyse the key features of the information

Organisation and communication: demonstrate ability to use evidence to develop

logical and clear argument; show aptitude for the effective use of information in a direct and appropriate way

Enterprising thinking: Demonstrate ability to think and argue in novel and

enterprising ways, to display originality of thought and argument and the ability to clearly support arguments in innovative ways Assessment The assessment structure for this module is as follows: Coursework: 35% Examination: 55% Tutorial Participation: 10% Aside from formal assessment, students will also be provided with preliminary feedback on their progress in Week 3 of the course. This will take the form of a tutorial quiz. This exercise does not count towards assessment for the course and should be seen as a feedback exercise to guide further learning. 1. Attendance and Tutorial Participation Students must attend one lecture per week Students must attend one tutorial per week Students receive a mark out of 10 for their participation and general contribution to tutorials on all undergraduate modules excluding the dissertation, internship or project. This mark will count as 10% of the overall mark for the module. Marks will be awarded for individuals not groups. No more than 5% of tutorial marks should be allocated for tutorial presentations, should these be used by the tutor. For further details, see the Schools Undergraduate Student Handbook. This module is worth 10 credits on the ECTS scale (equivalent to 20 Queens University CATS points, Credit Accumulation and Transfer Scheme). This is calculated by the University as the equivalent of 200 hours academic study over the course of the semester (12 teaching weeks plus the three week examination period). Students should therefore expect to spend on average at least 13 hours each week undertaking academic study associated with this module.

2. Coursework Assignments A coursework component worth 35% of the overall assessment should be 1500-2000 words in length. The word count shall include all references in the text, all footnotes and all endnotes but exclude the bibliography. The word count shall be indicated following the title of assignment. Where the word count exceeds the upper limit of the specified range a penalty shall be imposed. Where the word count exceeds the upper limit of the specified range: by by by by by up to 25% a penalty of 10 percentage points shall be imposed; up to 50% a penalty of 15 percentage points shall be imposed; up to 75% a penalty of 20 percentage points shall be imposed; up to 100% a penalty of 25 percentage points shall be imposed; more than 100% a penalty of 30 percentage points shall be imposed.

The submission deadline is: 1200 noon on 17 November The successful submission of assignments is a two stage process: 1. You must upload an electronic copy of your assignment onto the TurnitinUK website prior to the deadline indicated. 2. A single copy of each assessed assignment must be submitted to the School Office (21 University Square) on or before 1200 noon on the due date indicated. TurnitinUK: https://submit.ac.uk/static_jisc/ac_uk_index.html A link to this website is also provided in the School webpages (seeEducation) To upload your coursework you will need: the password: pisp and The Class ID no.: 300344 When submitting an assessed assignment, you must complete and sign an Essay Cover Sheet available from the School Office. The School uses a system of anonymous marking so do not include your name on the assignment. All assignments are retained by the School for scrutiny by internal and external examiners. All assignments submitted after the deadline will be penalized 5 percentage points per day after 12 noon.

Marks cannot be awarded twice for the same piece of work: Exam answers must not repeat answers already submitted as essays. Any answer reproducing work previously submitted for assessment will be awarded a mark of ZERO. The module convenor will be happy to clarify what constitutes unacceptable repetition of module material. 3. Examination An examination worth 55% of the overall assessment which will be of two hours duration and involve the student answering two questions from six. Assignment Questions

1) A textbook for gangsters. Is this a fair characterisation of Machiavellis The

Prince?
2) How do Lockes views on religious toleration relate to his wider political philosophy? 3) A religious and political radical. Discuss this characterisation of Thomas Paine. 4) Critically analyse Jeffersons concept of the wall of separation. 5) A devastating critique of Deism. Discuss this characterisation of Humes

Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion.

6) The opium of the people. Does this adequately sum up Marxs analysis of religion? 7) Is Nietzsche a nihilist? 8) Fundamentalism represents the rejection of the modern world. Discuss. 9) Critically analyse the concept of postsecularism.

Submission of assignments A single copy of each assessed assignment must be submitted to the School Office (21 University Square) on or before 1200 noon on the due date indicated above. When submitting an assessed assignment, you must complete and sign an Essay Cover Sheet available from the School Office. The School uses a system of anonymous marking so do not include your name on the assignment. All assignments are retained by the School for scrutiny by internal and external examiners.

All assignments submitted after the deadline will be penalized 5 percentage points per day after 12 noon. Conceptual Equivalents Marking Scale The School of Politics, International Studies and Philosophy uses the Universitys conceptual equivalent marking scheme for all undergraduate assessment. Individual pieces of work are allocated a discrete mark. For further information on the Universitys conceptual equivalent marking scheme and the marks used, see the Schools Undergraduate Student Handbook. This is available from the School Office and will be posted on the resources page on QOL for each module. This is Universitys conceptual equivalent marking scale can also be accessed on line at: www.qub.ac.uk/pisp/Education/Undergraduates/Assessment/. Feedback The School is committed to return feedback to students within three weeks of the deadline for submission of coursework. It is important that students who submit their essays by the deadline receive feedback in a timely fashion so that they can properly prepare for their exams or further assignments. Students can therefore expect to receive feedback on their essays within no later than 3 weeks of the submission deadline (this policy does not apply to students who submit their coursework after the deadline). The module convenor will contact all students advising them when hardcopies of their essay report sheets are available to collect in the Main Office, 21 University Square. If students have not received feedback within 3 weeks of the deadline, they should contact their module convenor directly. Students who wish to discuss their grade should do so with the convenor during his or her office hours.

School of Politics, International Studies and Philosophy Student Handbook This module guide should be read in conjunction with the Undergraduate Student Handbook which contains important details of School policies. A copy of the Undergraduate Student Handbook can be obtained from the School Office (21 University Square) or downloaded from the resources section of any PAI or PHL module on Queens Online.

Plagiarism The School takes a very severe line on students who plagiarise work. Students who attempt to pass off anothers work as their own will receive a mark of ZERO. In some cases, acts of plagiarism can result in the student failing the entire degree. Remember, plagiarism includes information from books, newspapers, journals and the Internet. All suspected cases of plagiarism will be

investigated in line with University procedures. For details of University Regulations on Academic Offences, see: www.qub.ac.uk/pisp/Education. The page also provides a link to guidance on how to identify and so avoid plagiarism. Please also refer to the Schools Student Handbook Guide for more information about referencing and plagiarism, as well as general advice on essaywriting: www.qub.ac.uk/pisp/FileStore/PDFfiles/Filetoupload,38127,en.pdf

Lecture Schedule

Week 1 (2630 Sept) 2 (37 Oct) 3 (1014 Oct) 4 (1721 Oct) 5 (2428 Oct) 6 (31 Oct4 Nov) 7 (711 Nov) 8 (1418 Nov) 9 (2125 Nov) 10 (28 Nov2 Dec) 11 (59 Dec) 12 (1216 Dec)

Date 29 Sept 6 Oct 13 Oct 20 Oct 27 Oct 3 Nov 17 Nov 24 Nov 1 Dec 8 Dec 15 Dec

Topic Introduction and Administration Ethics and Politics: Niccolo Machiavelli Toleration: John Locke Deism: Thomas Paine Separation of Church and State: Thomas Jefferson The Critique of Belief: David Hume Reading Week No Lecturers, Seminars or Tutorials The Opium of the People: Karl Marx God is Dead: Friedrich Nietzsche Fundamentalism Postsecularism Summary and Conclusion

Tutorial Schedule Tutorials will be held once a week beginning the third week of the semester. You should consult Queens online (https://learn.qol.qub.ac.uk/home/) to sign up for your tutorial groups. You are advised to do this as soon as possible to be sure you sign up for a suitable time. Once tutorial groups are full, students will be automatically blocked from signing up. Tutorials are compulsory in the School, and tutorial participation (see below) normally counts for 10% of your final grade. If you cannot attend a tutorial for legitimate reasons, you MUST contact your tutor beforehand to explain your absence (contact either directly or through the School Office). You must make every effort to acquire the class material if you are absent.

Week 1 (2630 Sept) 2 (37 Oct) 3 (1014 Oct) 4 (1721 Oct) 5 (2428 Oct) 6 (31 Oct4 Nov) 7 (711 Nov) 8 (1418 Nov) 9 (2125 Nov) 10 (28 Nov2 Dec) 11 (59 Dec) 12 (1216 Dec)

Date

Topic No tutorial No tutorial Machiavelli Locke Paine Jefferson Reading Week No Lecturers, Seminars or Tutorials Hume Marx Nietzsche Fundamentalism Postsecularism

13 Oct 20 Oct 27 Oct 3 Nov 17 Nov 24 Nov 1 Dec 8 Dec 15 Dec

Tutorial Topics and Readings WEEK 3, 13 Oct TOPIC: Ethics and Politics: Machiavelli LEARNING OUTCOMES: by the end of this tutorial students should:

Understand the basic assumptions of Machiavellis text, and their connection to the modern emergence of the secular. REQUIRED READING: N. Machiavelli, The Prince (various editions). Electronic text:
http://www.ilt.columbia.edu/publications/machiavelli.html FURTHER READING Quentin Skinner Machiavelli Sydney Anglo The Anatomy of Political and Military Decadence in Brian Redhead Plato to

Nato

Felix Gilbert Machiavelli and Guicciardini Joseph Femia Machiavelli Revisited John Pocock The Machiavellian Moment Martin Fleisher Machiavelli and the Nature of Political Thought Peter Savigear Niccol Machiavelli: The Prince and the Discourses in Murray Forsyth and Maurice Keens-Soper The Political Classics Niccolo Machiavelli http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/machiavelli Robert Chisholm The Ferocious Morality of Niccolo Machiavelli http://www.iea.usp.br/english/articles/chisholmmachiavelli.pdf G.H.R. Parkinson Ethics and Politics in Machiavelli http://www.jstor.org/stable/2217044

WEEK 4, 20 Oct TOPIC: Toleration: John Locke LEARNING OUTCOMES: by the end of this tutorial students should:

Be familiar with the fundamental arguments in Lockes A Letter Concerning Toleration, and its relationship to the debates on toleration of that time REQUIRED READING: John Locke A Letter Concerning Toleration Electronic text:
http://www.epistemelinks.com/Main/TextName.aspx?PhilCode=Lock FURTHER READING John Horton and Susan Mendus (eds) John Locke: A Letter Concerning Toleration Selina Chen Lockes Political Arguments for Toleration History of Political Thought, 19 (2), 1998. Timothy Stanton Locke and the Politics and Theology of Toleration, Political Studies, 54:1, 2006. Robert Kraynak John Locke: from absolutism to toleration, American Political Science Review, 74, 1980. J.W. Gough John Lockes Political Philosophy, Chapter 8. Section 4 0f http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/locke/#RelTol Vincent Geoghegan Thomas Sheridan: Toleration and Royalism in D.George Boyce, Robert Eccleshall and Vincent Geoghegan (eds) Political Discourse in Seventeenth- and Eighteenth-

Century Ireland

WEEK 5, 27 Oct TOPIC: Deism: Tom Paine LEARNING OUTCOMES: by the end of this tutorial students should: http://www.ushistory.org/paine/reason/ A further selection of Paines writing on Deism can be found at: http://www.deism.com/paine.htm FURTHER READING John Keane Tom Paine: A Political Life A.J. Ayer Thomas Paine Edward Royle (ed) The Infidel Tradition: from Paine to Bradlaugh Franklyn K. Prchaska Thomas Paines The Age of Reason Revisited, http://www.jstor.org/stable/2708857 James H. Smylie Clerical Perspectives on Deism: Paines The Age of Reason in Virginia http://www.jstor.org/stable/3031673?seq=1 Thomas Paine and Radical Religion http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/2045467/thomas_paine_and_radicalreligion_.html WEEK 6, 3 Nov TOPIC: Separation of Church and State: Thomas Jefferson LEARNING OUTCOMES: by the end of this tutorial students should:

Understand the relationship between Deism and Paines political thought REQUIRED READING: Thomas Paine The Age of Reason Electronic text:

Understand the origins of the modern liberal notion of the separation of church and state REQUIRED READING: Thomas Jefferson Jefferson: Political Writings (Cambridge) Chapter
VII Religious Liberty and Toleration. A Bill for Establishing Religious Freedom http://www.religioustolerance.org/virg_bil.htm

Letter to the Danbury Baptist Association http://www.historytools.org/sources/JeffersonDanbury-Baptists.pdf FURTHER READING Thomas Jefferson on the Separation of Church and State http://www.members.tripod.com/~candst/tnppage/qjeffson.htm Jefferson, Religion, and the Public Schools http://www.members.tripod.com/~candst/tnppage/jeffschl.htm James H. Hutson Thomas Jeffersons Letter to the Danbury Baptists: A Controversy Rejoined, The William and Mary Quarterly, 56:4, 1999. Robert M. ONeil The Wall of Separation and Thomas Jeffersons Views on Religious Liberty, The William and Mary Quarterly, 56:4, 1999 Herbert W. Schneider The Enlightenment in Thomas Jefferson, Ethics, 53:4, 1943. WEEK 8, 17 Nov TOPIC: The Critique of Belief: David Hume LEARNING OUTCOMES: by the end of this tutorial students should:

Understand Humes scepticism

REQUIRED READING: David Hume Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion. Electronic text: http://www.earlymoderntexts.com/pdfbits/hd.html FURTHER READING A.J. Ayer Hume David Hume Writings on Religion http://www.utm.edu/research/iep/h/humereli.htm David OConnor, Hume on Religion John Gaskin Hume on Religion in David Fate Norton (ed) The Cambridge Companion to

Hume

R.H. Popkin David Hume: His Pyrrhonism and His Critique of Pyrrhonism, The Philosophical Quarterly 1:5, 1951. P. Russell Hume on Religion, http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/hume-religion/ E.C. Mossner The Religion of David Hume, http://www.jstor.org/stable/2709448?seq=1 Read the introductions to the various editions of Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion. WEEK 9, 24 Nov TOPIC: The Opium of the People: Karl Marx LEARNING OUTCOMES: by the end of this tutorial students should: Be familiar with Marxs critique of Religion: REQUIRED READING: Karl Marx On Religion Electronic texts: http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/subject/religion/ FURTHER READING Denys Turner Religion: Illusions and Liberation in Terrell Carver (ed) The Cambridge

Companion to Marx

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Vincent Geoghegan Religion and Communism: Feuerbach, Marx and Bloch, The European Legacy 9 (5), 2004. Offprints available on request. Warren Breckman Marx, The Young Hegelians, and the Origins of Radical Social Theory Chapter 7. David McLellan Marxism and Religion G.A. Cohen, The Opium of the People, Chapter 5 in Cohen, If Youre an Egalitarian, How

Come Youre So Rich?

WEEK 10, 1 Dec TOPIC: God is Dead: Nietzsche LEARNING OUTCOMES: by the end of this tutorial students should: http://www.bilkent.edu.tr/~thurston/nietzsche.pdf FURTHER READING

Be familiar with Nietzsches thoughts on the Death of God REQUIRED READING: Friedrich Nietzsche The Gay Science. Electronic text:

R.J. Hollingdale Nietzsche Thomas Brobjer Nietzsches atheism in John Lippitt and Jim Urpeth (eds) Nietzsche and the Divine. Jorg Salaquarda Nietzsche and the Judaeo-Christian tradition in Bernd Magnus (ed) The Cambridge Companion to Nietzsche. Keith Ansell Pearson, How to Read Nietzsche. Alister McGrath, The Twilight of Atheism: The Rise and Fall of Disbelief in the Modern World, pp. 149-154. Read the introductions to the various editions of The Gay Science. WEEK 11, 8 Dec TOPIC: Fundamentalism LEARNING OUTCOMES: by the end of this tutorial students should:

Should have a sense of the nature of fundamentalism

REQUIRED READING: No specific text. FURTHER READING:

Steve Bruce Fundamentalism Tariq Ali The Clash of Fundamentalisms Richard Antoun Understanding Fundamentalism Fundamentalism http://web.archive.org/web/20060828125132/religiousmovements.lib.virginia.edu/nrms/fund .html John L. Esposito, The Islamic Threat: Myth or Reality? Bruce B. Lawrence, Defenders of God: The Fundamentalist Revolt against the Modern Age, Bassam Tibi, The Challenge of Fundamentalism: Political Islam and the New World Disorder On Creationism see: Ronald L. Numbers, The Creationists: The Evolution of Scientific Creationism (1993) Ronald L. Numbers, Darwin Comes to America (1998) David N. Livingstone, Darwins Forgotten Defenders: The Encounter between Evangelical Theology and Evolutionary Thought (1987)

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Janet Radcliffe Richards, Human Nature After Darwin: a Philosophical Introduction (2000), pp.39-46 Michael Ruse, The Evolution-Creation Struggle (2005) B.B Warfield, Evolution, Scripture and Science: Selected Writings (2000) Can Creationism be Scientific http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/theodore_drange/creationism.html Sayed Khatab, The Power of Sovereignty: The Political and Ideological Philosophy of Sayyid Qutb (2006) Sayed Khatab, The Political Thought of Sayyid Qutb: the theory of jahiliyyah (2006) Luke Loboda, The Thought of Sayyid Qutb, (2004) Electronic Text: http://www.ashbrook.org/publicat/thesis/loboda/home.html Sayyid Qutb, Milestones, Electronic Text: http://web.youngmuslims.ca/online_library/books/milestones/hold/index_2.htm WEEK 12, 15 Dec TOPIC: Post-secularism LEARNING OUTCOMES: by the end of this tutorial students should:

Have a sense of the meaning of post-secularism

REQUIRED READING: Jrgen Habermas Religion in the Public Sphere http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1468-0378.2006.00241.x/pdf FURTHER READING Habermas, Jrgen. Religious Tolerance The Pacemaker for Cultural Rights. Philosophy 79, (2004): 5-18. Habermas, Jrgen. Faith and Knowledge in Habermas The Future of Human Nature Vincent Geoghegan Religious Narrative, Post-Secularism and Utopia Critical Review of International Social and Political Philosophy 3 (2&3), 2000. Vincent Geoghegan Ideology and Utopia Journal of Political Ideologies 9:2 (especially pp. 131-132). John Caputo On Religion Chapter 2. A Centre for Postsecular Studies, London Metropolitan University http://www.jnani.org/postsecular/ Ian Fraser, Dialectics of the Self: Transcending Charles Taylor especially chapters 2-4. Alister McGrath, The Twilight of Atheism: The Rise and Fall of Disbelief in the Modern World Graeme Smith, A Short History of Secularism Nicholas Smith, Charles Taylor: Meanings, Morals and Modernity, chapter 8. Student Experience Bursary Students wishing to purchase books using the Student Experience Bursary can do so from Waterstones by either going to www.waterstones.com or by visiting the Belfast store. You must first exchange the amount of bursary required for the Waterstones Gift Card (10, 20 and 50 denominations) which can then be used online or in store. Waterstones gift cards can only be obtained from the following outlets at Queens: Location Student Finance Office (first floor) Student Opening Hours Monday Friday 9.30am 4.30pm

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Guidance Centre The Queens Welcome Centre, main Lanyon building The Elms Village Reception (University Accommodation) The Students Union Clubs and Societies finance office (2nd Floor) Summary of Module Review (2010-11)

9am to 9pm Monday to Friday (term time) 11am to 4pm Saturday and Sunday. 8am 8pm Monday Sunday Thursday and Friday between 9.30am and 11.30am (term time)

The student feedback suggests that students liked the course and found it stimulating.

INTERESTED IN FURTHER STUDY? The School of Politics, International Studies and Philosophy offers masters programmes in the following: MA MA MA MA MA MA Cognitive Science Comparative Ethnic Conflict European Union Politics Gender and Society International Relations Irish Politics MA Legislative Studies and Practice MA Political Philosophy MA Politics MRes Politics MA Violence, Terrorism and Security

For further details, see: www.qub.ac.uk/pisp/ProspectiveStudents/PostgraduateTaughtDegrees/

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