Fall/Winter Timetable
POL402Y1S L0101
Graduate Course Code: POL2011Y1S L0101
Problems in the Political Thought of the Socratic School
Themes
We will read Xenophon’s Hiero or On Tyranny, the Strauss –Kojève debate over the work, and Estienne de La Boëtie’s Discours de la servitude volontaire. What are the arguments for and against the life of a tyrant? Is the submission of the tyrant’s subjects to him intelligible? What is the relationship of modern totalitarianism to ancient tyranny?
Texts
Translations TBA. Various secondary reading.
Format and Requirements
Four-hour weekly seminar. Numerous essays and seminar participation.
Prerequisites
POL320Y1 or POL323H1 or POL323Y1 or POL330H1 or POL330Y1
Exclusions
POL402H1
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