POT 3103   Law and Politics in Literature

Col of Arts, Soc Sci and Human, Department of Government

3 sh (may not be repeated for credit)

Discussion of law and politics within history's most prominent literary works. Examination of the rule of law within political life in relation to character and plot development. Exploration in the ways in which literature illustrates the challenges posed by human nature to the just administration of law.

POT 4013   Ancient Political Philosophy

Col of Arts, Soc Sci and Human, Department of Government

3 sh (may not be repeated for credit)

A survey of several of the seminal works by political theorists of the ancient and medieval period, including Plato, Aristophanes, Xenophon, Aristotle, Cicero, and St. Augustine. Readings will introduce such themes as the classification of regimes, the debate between the poets and the philosophers, the role of the virtues in perpetuation of civic order, the problem of the many and the one, the tension between the philosopher and the city, the problems of justice, the ideas of Nature and human nature, and the status of the gods and/or religion in political life.

POT 4204   American Political Thought

Col of Arts, Soc Sci and Human, Department of Government

3 sh (may not be repeated for credit)

This course surveys the writings and speeches of theorists and political actors who have helped to elaborate upon, question, and further develop the principles that undergird the American regime. Readings will also allow students to consider the ways in which our devotion to these principles likens us to and distinguishes us from citizens of other nations.

POT 4601   Modern Political Philosophy

Col of Arts, Soc Sci and Human, Department of Government

3 sh (may not be repeated for credit)

Students will read several of the seminal works that helped to envision, define and critique the new political science instituted in the modern era, including Machiavelli, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Marx and Nietzsche. Readings will introduce such themes as the state of nature, the social contract, sovereignty, the law of nature, the division of labor and individual rights.

POT 4905   Directed Study

Col of Arts, Soc Sci and Human, Department of Government

1-12 sh (may be repeated indefinitely for credit)

POT 5016   Seminar in Political Theory

Col of Arts, Soc Sci and Human, Department of Government

3 sh (may not be repeated for credit)

Students will read seminal works by authors of the classical era: Plutarch, Thucydides, and Plato. Readings will center on the conflict between Athens and Sparta, and class discussion will introduce such themes as the classification of regimes, the problems of founding or law-giving, the origins of war and peace, the role of the virtues in perpetuating civic order, the characteristics of civil war and revolution, the problem of the many and the one, the tension between the philosopher and the city, the problems of justice, the distinction between Nature (phusis) and Law/Convention (nomos), and the place of the gods and/or religion in political life.

POT 5207   American Political Thought

Col of Arts, Soc Sci and Human, Department of Government

3 sh (may not be repeated for credit)

This course surveys the writings and speeches of theorists and political actors who have helped to elaborate upon, question, and further develop the principles which undergird the American regime. Readings will also allow students to consider the ways in which our devotion to these principles likens us to and distinguishes us from citizens of other nations. In addition to regular coursework, students will undertake a comparison of the principal treatise of Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America with a classic text in the tradition of American Political Thought.

POT 6905   Directed Study

Col of Arts, Soc Sci and Human, Department of Government

1-12 sh (may be repeated indefinitely for credit)