Prof.

Victor Magagna
Office: SSB 375
Home: (858) 337-1926

Price Center Auditorium

Lectures on MWF
POLI 113A SYLLABUS
FALL 2016

Course Purpose
The purpose of this course is to provide students with an analytic introduction to the East Asian
political tradition and its lasting legacies for the contemporary world. The course centers around
the following themes: Confucian root, the paradox of proper order, and the lasting legacies of
East Asian thought.
Course Grades
Grades consist on one take-home midterm and one take-home final exam. The assignments are
worth 40% and 60% of your grade, respectively.
The midterm will be assigned during Week 5 and will be due the following week (Week 6). The
final exam will be assigned during Week 9 or 10 and will be due the Friday of finals week. The
exam prompts and specific instructions will be posted on TED for both the midterm and the
final. You will be expected to submit an electronic copy ONLY to Turnitin by the due date. A
hard copy is not necessary. You MUST turn in an electronic copy to Turnitin by the due date or
your exam will be counted late even if you turned in a hard copy.
If you need help writing these assignments, you are encourage to make an appointment with the
writing center (https://writingcenter.ucsd.edu). Specific deadlines and submission instructions
will be announced when the assignments are uploaded to TED.
Academic dishonesty will not be tolerated. You must write your own exam, and it must be
new. You may not use text that you have written for a previous assignment or for another class.
You may not use text from the internet or other sources without quoting and citing appropriately.
Students who turn in plagiarized exams will not pass the class, and we may pursue additional
disciplinary sanctions. If you have questions about what constitutes plagiarism please ask the
TAs and we will be happy to clarify. Please note that each student is responsible for knowing and
abiding by UCSD's policies on Academic Dishonesty and on Student Conduct. UCSDs
academic dishonesty policies may be read online at http://wwwsenate.ucsd.edu/AcademicIntegrity/AcademicIntegrity.htm.
Course Readings
Weeks 1-5:
Yao, X. 2000. An Introduction to Confucianism. Cambridge University Press. (entire)
de Bary, W.T., et al. 1999. Sources of Chinese Tradition, Vol. I: From Earliest Times to
1600. Colombia University Press. (Confucius, Mencius, and Xun-Zi sections)

Weeks 6-10:
de Bary, W.T., et al. 1999. Sources of Chinese Tradition, Vol. I: From Earliest Times to
1600. Colombia University Press. (Your choice of Neo-Confucians)
Teaching Assistants
The teaching assistants for the term are: Derek Bonnet, Shannon Carcelli, Andy Janusz, John
Kuk, Rachel Schoner, and Abigail Vaughn. They will hold office hours by appointment only.
Please direct all emails about the course to poli113a@gmail.com.