Fundamental Texts

4 credits · Undergraduate

This course examines how thinkers have grappled with questions from ancient debates on justice and political order to contemporary critiques of liberal democracy. As a “great books” course, this class involves the extensive but rewarding reading of foundational texts. These includes works by thinkers such as Plato, Rousseau, Kant, Mill, Foucault, and Shklar. We will trace key shifts in political thought, from classical ideals of governance to modern debates on sovereignty, democracy, and capitalism. By engaging with foundational texts, students will gain a deeper understanding of the political structures that shape our world as well as the intellectual traditions in which they are embedded.