Course Ad: POLS-Y675: Political Philosophy: Approaches and Issues

Y675, Section 24740 Political Philosophy: Approaches and Issues (3 cr.)
Thursdays
2-4 pm
Woodburn Hall 200
Professor Aurelian Craiutu


The purpose of this course is to introduce students to a variety of approaches and issues in political philosophy. Half of the class will be devoted to reading and commenting on primary texts such as: Plato’s Republic, Aristotle’s Politics, Machiavelli’s The Prince, Hobbes’s Leviathan, Burke’s Reflections on the Revolutions in France and Tocqueville’s Democracy in America. After examining in detail each of these classic texts, we shall explore various ways in which these works have been interpreted by mainly fours schools: contextualist (Quentin Skinner and his disciples), post-modern (Sheldon Wolin and his disciples), Straussian (Leo Strauss and his disciples), and intellectual history (Isaiah Berlin etc.). Students will also be encouraged to comment on feminist and analytical interpretations of these primary texts. On a general level, this course has several pedagogical aims. First, it seeks to provide an overview of a few canonical texts and authors. Second, the course seeks to help students develop the capacity to engage in advanced textual exegesis and to critically evaluate alternative approaches and interpretive methods. The requirements include a choice between a longer research paper or two shorter seminar essays, and an annotated bibliography on a specific subject to be determined in keeping with each student's research interests The purpose of this course is to introduce students to a variety of approaches and issues in political philosophy. Half of the class will be devoted to reading and commenting on primary texts such as: Plato’s Republic, Aristotle’s Politics, Machiavelli’s The Prince, Hobbes’s Leviathan, Burke’s Reflections on the Revolutions in France and Tocqueville’s Democracy in America. After examining in detail each of these classic texts, we shall explore various ways in which these works have been interpreted by mainly fours schools: contextualist (Quentin Skinner and his disciples), post-modern (Sheldon Wolin and his disciples), Straussian (Leo Strauss and his disciples), and intellectual history (Isaiah Berlin etc.). Students will also be encouraged to comment on feminist and analytical interpretations of these primary texts. On a general level, this course has several pedagogical aims. First, it seeks to provide an overview of a few canonical texts and authors. Second, the course seeks to help students develop the capacity to engage in advanced textual exegesis and to critically evaluate alternative approaches and interpretive methods. The requirements include a choice between a longer research paper or two shorter seminar essays, and an annotated bibliography on a specific subject to be determined in keeping with each student's research interests