POLS 355: Modern Political Thought

Course Description

This course examines the theory of how politics works and how it should work by reading and considering major political thinkers from the Renaissance forward to modernity. These thinkers make claims about humans and societies that cross time and context. Thus, we consider how their arguments have been employed and their continued relevance given today’s issues and challenges. A number of theorists we meet are among the most influential writers in human history and we assess how our thinking has been affected by them. Alternative visions of the way things should be and explanations of how society works are considered as well. Cross-listed: POLI SCI 355/SOC JUST 355.