This course is intended as a general introduction to political theory since 1900, examining prominent theorists of politics including Max Weber, Hannah Arendt, Carl Schmitt, Isaiah Berlin, Jurgen Habermas, John Rawls, Michel Foucault, and Jacques Derrida. Our theme for the Fall 2012 course will be: The Disenchantment of the World? Topics include: the nature of the the political and the concern, particular to the last century, that politics is itself under attack; the spread of liberal democracy across the globe and a critical appraisal of the moral meaning of this regime; contemporary theories of social justice; and an exploration of various issues pertaining to violence and the politics of security.

This course is intended as a general introduction to political theory since 1900, examining prominent theorists of politics including Max Weber, Hannah Arendt, Carl Schmitt, Isaiah Berlin, Jurgen Habermas, John Rawls, Michel Foucault, and Jacques Derrida. Our theme for the Fall 2012 course will be: The Disenchantment of the World? Topics include: the nature of the the political and the concern, particular to the last century, that politics is itself under attack; the spread of liberal democracy across the globe and a critical appraisal of the moral meaning of this regime; contemporary theories of social justice; and an exploration of various issues pertaining to violence and the politics of security.

This course is intended as a general introduction to political theory since 1900, examining prominent theorists of politics including Max Weber, Hannah Arendt, Carl Schmitt, Isaiah Berlin, Jurgen Habermas, John Rawls, Michel Foucault, and Jacques Derrida. Our theme for the Fall 2012 course will be: The Disenchantment of the World? Topics include: the nature of the the political and the concern, particular to the last century, that politics is itself under attack; the spread of liberal democracy across the globe and a critical appraisal of the moral meaning of this regime; contemporary theories of social justice; and an exploration of various issues pertaining to violence and the politics of security.

This course is intended as a general introduction to political theory since 1900, examining prominent theorists of politics including Max Weber, Hannah Arendt, Carl Schmitt, Isaiah Berlin, Jurgen Habermas, John Rawls, Michel Foucault, and Jacques Derrida. Our theme for the Fall 2012 course will be: The Disenchantment of the World? Topics include: the nature of the the political and the concern, particular to the last century, that politics is itself under attack; the spread of liberal democracy across the globe and a critical appraisal of the moral meaning of this regime; contemporary theories of social justice; and an exploration of various issues pertaining to violence and the politics of security.

This course will provide an overview of major figures and themes of modern political thought. We will focus on themes and questions pertinent to political theory in the modern era, particularly focusing on the relationship of the individual to community, society, and state. Although the emergence of the individual as a central moral, political, and conceptual category arguably began in earlier eras, it is in the seventeenth century that it takes firm hold in defining the state, political institutions, moral thinking, and social relations. The centrality of "the individual" has created difficulties, even paradoxes, for community and social relations, and political theorists have struggled to reconicle those throughout the modern era. We will consider the political forms that emerged out of those struggles, as well as the changed and distinctly "modern" conceptualizations of political theory such as freedom, responsibilty, justice, rights and obligations, as central categories for organizing moral and political life.

Through reading texts of Plato (Socrates), Aristotle, Augustine and Aquinas, the student encounters a range of political ideas deeply challenging to--and possibly corrosive of--today's dominant democratic liberalism. Can classical and medieval thinking offer insight into modern impasses in political morality? Is such ancient thinking plausible, useful, or dangerous?

Through reading texts of Plato (Socrates), Aristotle, Augustine and Aquinas, the student encounters a range of political ideas deeply challenging to--and possibly corrosive of--today's dominant democratic liberalism. Can classical and medieval thinking offer insight into modern impasses in political morality? Is such ancient thinking plausible, useful, or dangerous?

Through reading texts of Plato (Socrates), Aristotle, Augustine and Aquinas, the student encounters a range of political ideas deeply challenging to--and possibly corrosive of--today's dominant democratic liberalism. Can classical and medieval thinking offer insight into modern impasses in political morality? Is such ancient thinking plausible, useful, or dangerous?

Through reading texts of Plato (Socrates), Aristotle, Augustine and Aquinas, the student encounters a range of political ideas deeply challenging to--and possibly corrosive of--today's dominant democratic liberalism. Can classical and medieval thinking offer insight into modern impasses in political morality? Is such ancient thinking plausible, useful, or dangerous?

This course examines the politics of international economic relations. The course will analyze the interplay between politics and economics in three broad areas: international trade, international finance, and economic development. In each section, we will first discuss economic theories that explain the causes and consequences of international commerce, capital flows, and economic growth. We will then explore how political interests, institutions, and ideas alter these predictions, examining both historical examples and current policy debates.