Time Schedule:
Sooenn Park
POL S 309
Seattle Campus
Continuation of 308, treating materials from the fifteenth through eighteenth centuries, Machiavelli through Rousseau.
Class description
This course will provide a selective survey of early modern political theory, including primary source works of Machiavelli, Hobbes, Spinoza, Rousseau and Kant. We will study how what can be called a body of democratic political theory emerges out of such diverse and not always harmonious themes as the common good, inalienable rights of individuals, checks and balances of power, popular sovereignty, publicity and freedom of press. What are the new tensions and dilemmas that each theorist's attempts at providing for a new science of politics expose rather than resolve? What is the fundamental tenet or feature of democracy that makes it distinct from other forms of regime? Who among these five theorists gives the best answer, or the best formulated question, to help us understand the nature of democracy?
Student learning goals
General method of instruction
Recommended preparation
Pol S 201, though not a prerequisite, is recommended.
Class assignments and grading
Two essays (40% each), and a final exam (20 %)
