The course surveys some of the major texts and themes in European political theory from the Renaissance and the Reformation to the French Revolution. Through critical textual analysis, we consider a range of issues, including the character of, and intersections between, modernity, liberalism, and the market, as well as how women and the property-less are figured by these texts. We begin by outlining the origins of modernity as developed in the works of More, Machiavelli and Luther; second, we trace the impact of the Reformation in England, focusing on the Putney Debates and on the social contract theories of Hobbes and Locke; third, we look at the extension and eventual subversion of the social contract in the work of Rousseau and Hume; the course concludes with a series of revisions to the modern, liberal tradition, from the rights of man to a liberalism without rights, as developed in the work of Paine, Burke, Wollstonecraft and Bentham. Through all of these discussions, we consider the nature of political theory. Format: lecture, with limited discussion. Requirements: regular class participation; weekly precis assignments (one pg.); and three essays (5-7 pgs.).

No Prerequisites. Enrollment limit: 39 (expected 25).

Political Theory Subfield

Hour: KIZILBASH