POL320Y1Y L5101
Modern Political Thought
Themes
This course surveys eighteenth and nineteenth century developments in the history of political thought through a close reading of its most representative texts. We will address the following concepts, among others: human nature, progress, freedom, equality, justice, domination, power, revolution, and temporality.
Texts
Rousseau, Social Contract, Discourse on the Origins of Inequality; Kant, “Idea for a Universal History, “What is Enlightenment?”; Condorcet, Sketch for a Historical Picture of the Progress of the Human Mind; Burke, Reflections on the Revolution in France; Hegel, Philosophy of Right; Marx, Selected Writings; Mill, On Liberty; Nietzsche, Beyond Good and Evil, On the Genealogy of Morals.
Format and Requirements
Two lectures; and one tutorial seminar per week or as available. Assignments include three term tests and a paper.
Prerequisites
POL200Y1 or POL200Y5 or (POLC70H3, POLC71H3)