History of Political Theory: Modern

This course surveys some of the canonical texts and major themes of European political theory in the nineteenth and early twentieth century. The thinkers we will study are Alexis de Tocqueville, Karl Marx, Jeremy Bentham, John Stuart Mill, Friedrich Nietzsche, Sigmund Freud, and Max Weber. We will consider a range of problems, including the nature of modern power; the contested character of democracy, equality and liberty; the relationship between political, social, and economic life; the emancipation and enfranchisement of marginal or subordinated groups; and the subterranean forces that contour political life and motivate its inhabitants. We will also be tending to the ways some of these texts etch a relationship between democracy and empire,democracy and capitalism, and democracy and colonialism. Course requirements: Attendance at lecture; participation in discussion section; 3 papers, take-home final.