Académique Documents
Professionnel Documents
Culture Documents
Required texts:
Course Description:
This course is designed as an introduction to some of the seminal works of Western political
theory written over the past 2500 years. Political philosophy provides an opportunity to reflect upon the
great questions of politics, such as the nature and legitimacy of authority and government, the tension
between freedom and security, the tensions between equality and liberty, the pursuit of justice and the best
form of government. This semester, we shall focus upon several dominant themes in political thought:
republicanism, liberalism and statesmanship and their relationship to liberty and good politics. The course
will be divided into three roughly equal sections. The first shall concentrate upon the classical Greek
understanding regarding political institutions, law and morality and their influence on society, politics and
government. In the second section, we will study Enlightenment philosophers John Locke and Rousseau in
order to understand contemporary liberalism, democracy and politics. In the final third, we shall examine a
preeminent work regarding modern liberal democracy and the problems of democratic practice and
politics—Alexis de Tocqueville’s Democracy in America.
1. email: You must put your full name on all email correspondence. Emails sent without a name will not
be answered.
2. You may not reschedule an exam for any reason—except for a documented medical emergency.
3. In order for you to receive an excused absence, you must notify me or the Teaching Assistant prior
to class and it must concern a documented medical emergency or university sanctioned function;
otherwise, all absences and tardies will be considered unexcused.
4. Attendance is expected and required. Failure of 4 quizzes will cause the loss of 5% of your final grade;
failure of 6 quizzes will result in the loss of 10% of your grade (one full-letter grade.) There will be a
further grade reduction of 5% for each additional 2 quiz failures/absences. Should you miss
a quiz due to an absence or tardy, a grade of “F” will be assigned and will stand. There are no make-up
quizzes or exams.
5. All grades are final (unless there is a mistake when determining a grade—this does happen).
The time to be concerned with a grade is during the semester, not after. When challenging a grade, it is the
responsibility of the student to produce the requisite materials. There is no extra credit given in this class.