AP/PHIL 2060
Social and Political Philosophy
Fall 2026
Topics
- Greek political thought and democracy
- Political obligation and social contracts
- Freedom, property and equality
- Marxism and theories of justice
- Colonialism, recognition and oppression
- Feminist and anticolonial political arguments
Readings
- Required anthology: Mitchell Cohen, editor, Princeton Readings in Political Thought: Essential Texts from Plato to Populism, 2nd ed.
- Required: Étienne de la Boétie, Politics of Obedience: The Discourse on Voluntary Servitude.
- Required selections: Spinoza, Theological-Political Treatise; Kant, Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals; Hegel, Philosophy of Right.
- Required: Michel Foucault, Two Lectures: Power/Knowledge.
- Required: Glen Coulthard, Red Skin, White Masks, chapter 1.
- Required: Iris Marion Young, Five Faces of Oppression.
- Optional: Cornelius Castoriadis, The Greek Polis and the Creation of Democracy; Kai Nielsen, Radical Egalitarian Justice: Justice as Equality.
Sources
- Course catalogue ↗2026–2027
- Public course outline ↗Fall 2026
- Selected bibliography; the outline also assigns classic works excerpted in the anthology.