GOVT 1615

Introduction to Political Theory

Course Description

Course information provided by the Courses of Study 2023-2024.

This course introduces students to political theory as a distinctive mode of political inquiry. By surveying the wide range of forms through which political theory has been practiced—such as treatises, dialogues, plays, aphorisms, novels, manifestos, letters, speeches, illustrations, and films—we explore the ways in which political theory reflects upon, criticizes, and reshapes the basic concepts, habits of perception, and modes of feeling through which people make sense of the political world, from big events like wars and revolutions to everyday experiences of felt injustice or alienation. Our approach will be both historical and conceptual, attending to the force of each theoretical intervention in its context, while also drawing out the broader philosophical and political questions it continues to pose to us now.

When Offered Spring.

Breadth Requirement (HB)
Distribution Category (HA-AS, SSC-AS)
Course Subfield (PT)

Comments Although not a prerequisite, GOVT 1615 can be taken in sequence with GOVT 3626.

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