Political Theory and Methodology

Introduction to social justice theory and practice. Course engages theoretical and empirical connections between social justice concerns and capitalism, governance and religion. Several social justice frameworks are explored and critiqued. We analyze tensions and opportunities for furthering the common good within existing societal systems in both the US and the world. 

This course covers the major classics of political thought from Western antiquity through the Medieval period. It explores the origins of western political philosophy in ancient Greece in the writings of Thucydides, Plato, and Aristotle, and then charts its further development in Christendom in the works of St Augustine and St Thomas Aquinas.

This course covers the major classics of political thought of the Modern Era through the 19th century. It begins with the Renaissance writings of Machiavelli and moves through the political works of such modern thinkers as Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Marx, Nietzsche, and Mill.

Constitutional liberal democracy has established itself as the only legitimate form of political organization in the developed West. This course examines contemporary theories and critiques of liberal democracy.

A survey of writings representative of American political theory, including selections from colonial and revolutionary political thought, the constitutional debates, Federalist, Jeffersonian, and Jacksonian thought, theories of slavery, abolitionism, reconstruction and Social Darwinism, progressivism and post World War II thought, and contemporary theories of liberalism, conservatism and communitarianism.

This course explores the relationship between politics and identity through the lens of intersectionality. We study a range of collective identities including nationality/citizenship, class/status, race/ethnicity, gender/sexuality, religion/belief, migration/indigeneity, and political interests to understand how identities are formed, framed, and practiced.