Course description:
Modern philosophers have engaged with challenging normative political questions, such as: How should we organize political societies, and why? What makes political power legitimate? Are authority and liberty compatible? What are rights and which function do they serve? Why should we care about justice and equality? Through the study of foundational texts of Western modern political philosophy, in this course we will trace the development of key conceptions within the liberal and socialist political traditions, paying particular attention to the notions of political power, rights, liberty, and equality. We will start by looking at the formulation of the idea of the social contract and natural rights within the works of Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau; we will continue with the early feminist and liberal perspectives of Wollstonecraft and J.S. Mill, as well as Kant’s groundbreaking contributions to the morals of private and public life; we will then consider some radical critiques to modern societies through the ideas of class, gender, and race, by examining Marx’s communist and Russian anarchists’ socialist alternatives, but also more contemporary reflections offered Pateman and C.W. Mills. The questions and ideas addressed by modern political theorists have laid the normative groundwork for the liberal democratic regimes of today, and continue to shape, in different ways, contemporary political theories, to be understood in light of the historical context and evolution of modern ideals.
The course will be taught in a weekly block of two 60-minute sessions, alternating lectures and discussions; we will consider the socio-political historical contexts to the background of the selected authors and their works, and critically engage with the assigned texts and their main concepts and ideas.
Overview of the Weekly Program:
Week 2: Hobbes: State of Nature and Creation of the Sovereign
Week 3: Locke: Natural rights and Political Societies
Week 4: Rousseau: Inequality and General Will
Week 5: Kant: Doctrine of Rights
Week 6: Wollstonecraft: ‘Early Feminism’ + Midterm
Week 7: J.S. Mill: Utility and Liberty
Week 8: [Class] Marx: Capitalism Problems and Communist Answers
Week 9: [Anti-Statism] Revolutionary Anarchism
Week 10: [Gender] Pateman: The ‘Sexual Contract’
Week 11: [Race] C.W. Mills: The ‘Racial Contract’
Week 12: Final In-Class Exam
- Instructor: Giorgia Brucato