Foundations of Political Theory

This course offers an overview of fundamental questions in political theory, with a focus on the meaning of individual liberty and its tension with the duties we owe to each other.

It is organized around two thematic areas: first, the historical development of key political concepts (such as the ideas of justice, freedom, and authority) as they emerge in the work of thinkers like Plato, Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, and Simone De Beauvoir; second, normative debates about how these ideas continue to inform our understanding of individual rights and collective obligations.

Students have some flexibility in shaping their assignments, with the option to focus either on the history of political thought or on contemporary normative debates.

Lectures combine a close reading and interpretation of classic texts with Socratic-style discussions of controversial political and moral dilemmas relevant to our communities today.