POSC 262 - Political Theory

Credit Hours: 4
Frequency of Offering: Offered annually in the fall semester

This course will serve as both an introduction to political theory, in general, and a survey of theories of democracy, in particular. The class will analyze the historical and theoretical underpinnings of democratic forms of political organization, and it will probe many of the key issues faced by any democracy-such as legitimacy, authority, order, and dissent. Students will study a number of the early modern social contract theorists such as Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau. The course will also investigate the work of democratic theorists and critics such as Marx, before turning to contemporary debates and alternative approaches to understanding democracy. Formerly Democratic Political Thought

Prerequisite(s): POSC 100 or permission of the instructor.