Political Theory
PLSC 302: American Political Thought
Dr. Engeman
MWF 10:25am / LSC
This course surveys some of the theoretical problems and issues of American politics from the founding to the present day. We will consider the thought of the Revolutionary and Founding periods; the democratization of the Jacksonian era; arguments for and against emancipation and secession; the period of post-war industrialization, social Darwinism and Progressivism; the New Deal era and the ensuing left-right debate.
PLSC 303: Conservatism
Dr. Engeman
MWF 1:40pm / LSC
This course will explore the reasons why the United States remains the most conservative modern democracy. We will look at several historical and contemporary approaches to conservatism and conclude with contemporary theoretical and political debates about the nature of conservatism.
PLSC 306H: Modern Political Thought
Dr. Danford
TTh 10:00am / LSC
The Renaissance is often regarded as a time of the rediscovery of classical principles in a world which had lost sight of man's humanity, a world dominated by the convoluted theology of scholasticism and the dark ages. The earliest modern thinkers, however, understood themselves to be not so much recovering the understanding of the ancients as challenging that understanding in its most fundamental aspects. They attempted to establish a new kind of humanism, what Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn has called "autonomous humanism," which proclaimed man above and apart from the rest of the natural order. The understanding introduced by these thinkers, and above all by Machiavelli and Francis Bacon, continues to dominate our lives and our minds in important respects. As this course will attempt to show, the new understanding was advanced as a self-conscious challenge to and rejection of the classical understanding of man, of the city, of God, of nature and the cosmos. The aim of the course is to help students to come to terms with this radical modern understanding, along with the powerful justification advanced in support of it. We will proceed by studying the writings of the great thinkers responsible for the modern revolution, and consider some of the responses of critical successors. THIS IS AN HONORS SECTION.
PLSC 308: Contemporary Political Theory
Mr. Yoksas
MWF 9:20am / LSC
As the twentieth century progressed, skepticism toward modern progress increased. Modern political institutions, though rational and scientific, were increasingly viewed as places devoid of any lasting human meaning or purpose. Though modern societies could boast an increase in individual freedom as one of their stated objectives, the members themselves started to exhibit traits of universal conformity. Our contemporary age is the age of mass society: a disenchanted society that proved to be dangerously susceptible to manipulation from those in positions of authority. What resulted was a political condition that in its most extreme cases led to the rise of the dictatorial state: a new type of regime that relied upon the powerful new tools of science and mass communication. This course is a journey into the criticism of modern society through the works of Friedrich Nietzsche, Max Weber, Reinhold Niebuhr, Hannah Arendt, and Michel Foucault.
PLSC 312: Feminist Theory
Dr. Walsh
W 7:00pm / LSC
This course examines feminist visions of women's emancipation. Feminists share an experience of women's oppression which they identify as pathological, but they often disagree about the sources of that oppression and the appropriate means to end women's subordination. This course will explore a variety of thoughtful and sometimes conflicting feminist voices. Particular attention will be devoted to various feminist challenges to the distinctions between theory and practice, public and private, equality and difference.
PLSC 313: Resistance & Obligation
Dr. Mayer
MWF 10:25am / LSC
Is terrorism ever justified? On what grounds may subjects overthrow a government? When is civil disobedience a legitimate tactic of protest? These questions are all concerned with a fundamental issue in political theory: when, and how, we may disobey the commands of government. In this course we assess the legitimacy of violent and nonviolent methods of resistance through an examination of classical and contemporary texts. A range of views will be considered, from advocates of terrorism and assassination at one extreme, to those who insist that subjects must never actively resist at the other.
LSC=Lake Shore Campus
WTC=Water Tower Campus
PLSC 302: American Political Thought
Dr. Engeman
MWF 10:25am / LSC
This course surveys some of the theoretical problems and issues of American politics from the founding to the present day. We will consider the thought of the Revolutionary and Founding periods; the democratization of the Jacksonian era; arguments for and against emancipation and secession; the period of post-war industrialization, social Darwinism and Progressivism; the New Deal era and the ensuing left-right debate.
PLSC 303: Conservatism
Dr. Engeman
MWF 1:40pm / LSC
This course will explore the reasons why the United States remains the most conservative modern democracy. We will look at several historical and contemporary approaches to conservatism and conclude with contemporary theoretical and political debates about the nature of conservatism.
PLSC 306H: Modern Political Thought
Dr. Danford
TTh 10:00am / LSC
The Renaissance is often regarded as a time of the rediscovery of classical principles in a world which had lost sight of man's humanity, a world dominated by the convoluted theology of scholasticism and the dark ages. The earliest modern thinkers, however, understood themselves to be not so much recovering the understanding of the ancients as challenging that understanding in its most fundamental aspects. They attempted to establish a new kind of humanism, what Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn has called "autonomous humanism," which proclaimed man above and apart from the rest of the natural order. The understanding introduced by these thinkers, and above all by Machiavelli and Francis Bacon, continues to dominate our lives and our minds in important respects. As this course will attempt to show, the new understanding was advanced as a self-conscious challenge to and rejection of the classical understanding of man, of the city, of God, of nature and the cosmos. The aim of the course is to help students to come to terms with this radical modern understanding, along with the powerful justification advanced in support of it. We will proceed by studying the writings of the great thinkers responsible for the modern revolution, and consider some of the responses of critical successors. THIS IS AN HONORS SECTION.
PLSC 308: Contemporary Political Theory
Mr. Yoksas
MWF 9:20am / LSC
As the twentieth century progressed, skepticism toward modern progress increased. Modern political institutions, though rational and scientific, were increasingly viewed as places devoid of any lasting human meaning or purpose. Though modern societies could boast an increase in individual freedom as one of their stated objectives, the members themselves started to exhibit traits of universal conformity. Our contemporary age is the age of mass society: a disenchanted society that proved to be dangerously susceptible to manipulation from those in positions of authority. What resulted was a political condition that in its most extreme cases led to the rise of the dictatorial state: a new type of regime that relied upon the powerful new tools of science and mass communication. This course is a journey into the criticism of modern society through the works of Friedrich Nietzsche, Max Weber, Reinhold Niebuhr, Hannah Arendt, and Michel Foucault.
PLSC 312: Feminist Theory
Dr. Walsh
W 7:00pm / LSC
This course examines feminist visions of women's emancipation. Feminists share an experience of women's oppression which they identify as pathological, but they often disagree about the sources of that oppression and the appropriate means to end women's subordination. This course will explore a variety of thoughtful and sometimes conflicting feminist voices. Particular attention will be devoted to various feminist challenges to the distinctions between theory and practice, public and private, equality and difference.
PLSC 313: Resistance & Obligation
Dr. Mayer
MWF 10:25am / LSC
Is terrorism ever justified? On what grounds may subjects overthrow a government? When is civil disobedience a legitimate tactic of protest? These questions are all concerned with a fundamental issue in political theory: when, and how, we may disobey the commands of government. In this course we assess the legitimacy of violent and nonviolent methods of resistance through an examination of classical and contemporary texts. A range of views will be considered, from advocates of terrorism and assassination at one extreme, to those who insist that subjects must never actively resist at the other.
LSC=Lake Shore Campus
WTC=Water Tower Campus