Course

This course is a graduate survey designed to introduce students to key methods, approaches, and concepts in political theory. Its intended audience is PhD students in political science, philosophy, and related disciplines who have an interest in political theory. Over the course of the semester we will ask, “What is political theory, and how does one do it?” […]

What does it mean to govern democratically? Why do people value democratic government? What role, if any, should notions of rights, representation, deliberation, opposition, and liberation play in theorizing about, and in empirical research into, problems of democratic governance? What lessons can we learn about democracy from scholars writing in the traditions of feminist theory

How (if at all) should the modern state express and secure the liberty and equality of citizens? What is the political significance of private property? What does it mean to understand humans as rational beings, and how does this understanding of human nature influence political theory and practice? In History of Political Thought III, “Liberty,

Government is often justified as legitimate on the grounds that it is based on the consent of the governed. In History of Political Thought II, “Legitimacy, Equality, and the Social Contract,” we examine the origins of this view, focusing our attention on canonical works in the social contract tradition, by Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679), John Locke

This course examines questions of power and justice through the lens of the contemporary metropolis,with a focus on St. Louis specifically and American urban life more generally. It asks what power is andhow we can best study and criticize power relations. It asks what justice requires and how we can realize,or more closely approximate, just

Since its founding, the United States of America has been strongly identified with principles of democratic rule. This course provides an introduction to some philosophical and historical foundations of American democracy. Over the course of the semester, we will ask what democracy means, and what it requires. We will examine thinking about political rights and

This course offers an undergraduate-level introduction to the field of political theory, which is the study of the concepts and values that are central to governance and politics: for example, democracy, power, freedom, and justice. Over the course of the semester we will read some historical texts that are considered “canonical,” such as Jeremy Bentham’s Introduction