Course

Objective:

Learning Outcomes:

• Summarize the passage of political thought through the classical, Renaissance, and Enlightenment periods based on the works of Plato, Aristotle, Machiavelli, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Tocqueville, and Marx
• Explain the historical and intellectual context in which the political thought that helped to develop the modern state came to be
• Identify the influences of Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau on the development of the United States Constitution
• Summarize the thoughts of Alexis de Tocqueville on the American political landscape, particularly with regard to religion and equality, and why this has importance beyond the American context
• Explain Karl Marx's worldview, with particular regard to his critique of democracy and the modern, politically liberal state, how it came to be, and its fundamental link to capitalism
• Compare and contrast the differences between Plato and Aristotle with regard to their understandings of the nature of the person, ethics, society, citizenship, and governance
• Compare and contrast the concepts of justice, freedom, equality, citizenship, and sovereignty in the works of Machiavelli, Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau
• Explain the different versions of and importance of the state of nature to political thought
• Explain John Stuart Mill's theory on utilitarianism and how he applies it to society and the state

General Topics: