First-Year Seminar: States of Nature: The Natural Order of Society in Western Thought

3 units

This small-group discussion course gives full attention to the major moments and movements of modern European history, 1650 to the present. We will also examine some fundamental texts in the Western traditions, from the Enlightenment to Romanticism; from Marxism to Darwinism and feminism; to the diverse thought of the twentieth century. Its organizing idea is that an evolving notion of nature and the natural order has impacted Europe's definition of the state, and shaped its image of a just society. This course fulfills one of the Introductory course requirements for the major in History, however, students CANNOT get credit for both this course and History 102C.