Power and Politics

 

Dr. McWhorter
PHIL 363
Spring, 2010

[NOTE: This course syllabus is incomplete. For a finalized version, please email me.]

Power is a concept often taken for granted by political theorists. Although it may be the object of their concerns—how to limit power or how to share power, for example—power itself is rarely examined, defined, and analyzed. In this course, we will examine a number of historical and contemporary texts in political and economic philosophy to shed light on the concept of power and develop analyses of it.

There are no prerequisites. Students should be prepared, however, to read extensively and to write and present cogent, original arguments on topics assigned.

This course counts as an elective toward both the Political Science and the Philosophy majors. WGSS majors and minors can also get WGSS credit if they agree to write their term papers on a topic related to gender or sexuality.

If you have questions, please email Dr. McWhorter.