The burning issue of political theory today is how liberal democracies can deliver justice to cultural, ethnic, and religious minorities within their borders. Within liberal and democratic theory, the traditional emphasis on individual rights and freedoms has made it difficult to recognize and accommodate community goods, notably the goods of cultural identity and cultural membership. Many proponents of multiculturalism and cultural pluralism argue that any adequate political theory needs to embrace a theory of the good that moves collective goods like identity and membership from the periphery to the center of political concern. This course explores the structure and substance of arguments for and against special forms of accommodation for cultural minorities in political theory and political philosophy. Special attention will be paid to areas of tension between the demands made by cultural minorities and liberal-democratic values and institutions-notably the tension between collective, cultural group rights on the one hand and individual rights on the other. We will also explore the "backlash" to proposals supporting multiculturalism and special group cultural rights, including appeals to "cosmopolitanism" and a "post-ethnic" liberal sensibility. Seminar format. Requirements: active class participation, weekly critical response papers (2 pages), one mid-term essay and one final research paper (12-15 pages). Prerequisites: two previous courses in political theory. Enrollment limited to 15.