Eugène Delacroix, Liberty Leading the People (July 28, 1830), 1830

Course Description

This course is an introduction to theories that have shaped our thinking about the nature of power, authority, and justice in modern liberal societies. We examine the meaning and purpose of political philosophy; the meanings and moral foundations of rights; the idea of a social contract; state sovereignty and individual autonomy; competing conceptions of human nature; the role of reason, nature, and natural law in politics; the concepts of justice, liberty, equality, and democracy; and the emerging tensions between the nation-state and the forces of globalization. Students also engage in a critical analysis of primary texts by thinkers such as Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, and Marx. The relevance of these thinkers and their theories to contemporary social and political issues is a theme than runs throughout the course.