POL320Y1Y L0101
Modern Political Thought
Themes
The Faculty of Arts and Science have decided that all Summer 2020 F and Y courses will be offered remotely rather than in person. A final determination of the delivery mode for S courses will be made by June 13.
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This course will follow the trajectories of 18th and 19th Century political thought through the close examination of key thinkers and texts. We will examine the theoretical foundations of the modern liberal democratic nation state, as well as the still influential critiques that have developed along with it. Together, these works and ideas continue to shape the contours of contemporary political life. The course will be structured around a few central questions, including: to what extent politics can, or should, be ‘enlightened’; whether the history of modernity is one of progress, decline, or both; how or whether the aspirations of justice, freedom, equality, fraternity, and excellence can be actualized or reconciled within a political community; and the proper relation between the individual and the state. We will conclude with a brief reflection on the legacy of modern political thought from a non-European perspective.
Texts
Burke, Reflections on the Revolution in France; Hegel, The Philosophy of Right; Gandhi, ‘Hind Swaraj’ and Other Writings; Kant, Political Writings; Marx, The Marx and Engels Reader; Mill, On Liberty and Other Writings; Nietzsche, Basic Writings of Nietzsche; Rousseau, Basic Political Writings; Wollstonecraft, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman.
Format and Requirements
participation (20%), first paper (20%), second paper (30%) and final exam (30%).
Prerequisites
POL200Y1 or POL200Y5 or (POLC70H3, POLC71H3)