3 credit hours
This course is a foundational exploration of the key theories and principles of political philosophy, including the discussion of the issues of political authority, the justification of the state and its coercive power, social contract theories and the role of consent, rights and justice, civil disobedience, race and gender, issues that shaped political and moral thinking from antiquity to the present. Students will have the opportunity to read and discuss authors such as Plato, Aristotle, Machiavelli, Hobbes, Locke, Marx, Rousseau, Mill, and John Rawls. Attention will also be given to contemporary discussions of these issues.