This writing-intensive discussion seminar considers a range of ancient political thinkers, including Sophocles, Thucydides, Plato, Aristotle, Epictetus, and Augustine. We will also consider, from a political point of view, selections from the Hebrew Bible and New Testament. Among the questions that we will address: What is justice? How can it be known and pursued? How is political power generated and exercised? What are the social and ethical prerequisites-and consequences-of democracy? Must the freedom or fulfillment of some people require the subordination of others? Does freedom require leading (or avoiding) a political life? What does it mean to be "philosophical" or to think "theoretically" about politics? And what place should such thinking have in everyday political argument and judgments? Although we will attempt to engage the works on their own terms, we will also ask whether the vast differences between the ancient world and ours make those terms irrelevant or unappealing to us or whether, on the contrary, the texts' concerns still illuminate the dilemmas of political life. Format: seminar/discussion. Requirements: four 5-page papers. No prerequisites. Enrollment limit: 39 (expected: 25). This course is writing intensive. Political Theory Subfield