POL320Y1Y L5101
Modern Political Thought
Themes
This course focuses on a number of central texts from the 18th and 19th century, all of which have had an enduring influence on the history of political thought. By working through these canonical texts, students will be introduced to a number of perspectives in the Enlightenment tradition of political theory while also canvassing some of the important critical responses to Enlightenment thought. Topics the course will address include the grounds of political legitimacy, the significance of freedom and equality, the nature of autonomy, as well as the place of justice and morality in political life.
Texts
Jean-Jacques Rousseau, The Basic Political Writings, Hackett; Immanuel Kant, Toward Perpetual Peace and Other Writings, Yale; G. W. F. Hegel, Philosophy of Right, Cambridge; Karl Marx, The Marx-Engels Reader, ed. Tucker, Norton; John Stuart Mill, The Basic Writings of John Stuart Mill: On Liberty, The Subjection of Women and Utilitarianism, Modern Library; Friedrich Nietzsche, On the Genealogy of Morals, Kaufmann translation, Vintage; other texts TBA.
Format and Requirements
Attendance and participation, two tests, term paper, and a final examination.
Prerequisites
POL200Y1 or POL200Y5 or (POLC70H3, POLC71H3)