This seminar surveys some of the major themes and canonical texts in modern political thought. Although roughly following a chronological order, the course is thematically constructed. The first week presents the uniquely modern way of looking at the relationship between statecraft and soulcraft, and dilemmas and challenges it poses. The first half of the course explores the development of liberalism understood as a way of coping with modernity. Drawing from Hobbes, Locke, Kant, and Mill, we will discuss such topics as reason and revelation, social contract and popular sovereignty, obedience and resistance, authority and legitimacy, rights versus good, and history and progress. Using Rousseau as a transitional figure, the latter half moves on to interrogate liberal modernity by engaging with Hume, Burke, Hegel, Marx, Nietzsche, and Weber, in which we will examine issues like reason and rationality, society versus community, alienation, revolution, and class, and the disenchantment of authority. During the last week, we will revisit this master narrative and discuss it in light of the contemporary theoretical development. Format: seminar. Requirements: class participation, presentation and three 6- to 7-page papers. Prerequisites: no prior exposure to political thought is presumed, although some knowledge of ancient political ideas will be useful. Enrollment limit: 39. Political Theory Subfield

Hour: KIM