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269. Topics in Political Theory. (3h) Intensive study of one or more major topics in political theory. Course may be retaken for credit if topic varies.

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270. Ethics and Politics. (3h) Investigates the relationship between ethical reasoning and political theory. Representative philosophers include Hume, Kant, Nietzsche, Mill, Sidgwick, Green, Ayer, Hare, and McIntyre.

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271. Classical Political Thought. (3h) Examines the nature and goals of classical political theoriz­ing, with attention to its origins in ancient Athens and its diffusion through Rome. Representative writers include Plato, Aristotle, and Cicero.

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272. Democratic Theory. (3h) Examines the theoretical underpinnings of democracy and some of the critiques of those foundations. Focuses on understanding some of the major theories of democ­racy and on how key democratic concepts are defined differently within these various traditions.

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273. Marx, Marxism and the Aftermath of Marxism. (3h) Examines Marx’s indebtedness to Hegel, his early humanistic writings, and the vicissitudes of 20th-century vulgar Marxism and neo- Marxism in the works of Lenin, Lukacs, Korsch, Horkeimer, Marcuse, and Sartre.

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274. Arab and Islamic Political Thought. (3h) Examines the history, basic concepts, central questions and preoccupations of political thought in the Arab region, while critically analyzing what it means to engage political theory comparatively. 

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275. American Political Thought. (3h) Examines texts from the founding to the present that consider debates over the Constitution and the power of government; liberal and republican theories of citizenship; race, class and gender inequality, tensions between diversity and national identity; theories of justice; and the development of progressive, conservative, and libertarian political ideologies in the United States.

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276. Modern Political Thought. (3h) Examines political thought from the 19th century to the present, with a focus on the relationship between ethics and politics. Topics include the nature of the good life, freedom, and the political society that makes them possible.

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277. Feminist Political Thought. (3h) Introduces feminist thought and its implications for the study and practice of political theory. Topics include feminist critiques of the Western political tradi­tion and schools of feminist political theory. 

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278. Politics and Identity. (3h) Investigation of the ways in which concepts of identity have informed political norms, structures, and practices; the myriad forms of identity takes (particularly gender, sexual orientation, class, race, religion, nationality and ethnicity) drawing on examples from across the globe; and theoretical approaches proposed for engaging differences. 

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281. Environmental Political Thought. (3h) Explores the human relationship to the natural world and the implications of this relationship to political issues, such as the preservation of wilderness, industrialization, consumerism, public and private ownership, and social justice.