Fall/Winter Timetable

POL2026H1F L0101

Undergraduate Course Code: POL484H1F L0101

Topics in Political Thought I

Toleration and its Limits

Themes

This seminar will provide an in-depth look at the problem of religious toleration in the history of political thought and contemporary political theory. The question of toleration—how much difference can society accommodate and where to draw the line—has recurred throughout human history, but the experiences of the Reformation brought it to the forefront of European political thinking. This course will trace the development of toleration in theory and practice since the Reformation to the present. Themes to be considered include the case for intolerance, the philosophical foundations of toleration, tolerance vs. toleration, toleration vs. religious freedom and individual rights, toleration and liberalism, toleration and empire, and the “paradoxes” of tolerance.

Texts

TBA

Format and Requirements

One two-hour seminar per week. Course requirements TBA.

Preparation

POL 320Y