POS 2003 Intro to Political Thought
A study of ideas about such topics as government, law, society, economics, religion, war, and peace, in the writings of great political thinkers, poets, historians, philosophers, and statesmen in the western tradition such as Homer, Herodotus, Thucydides, Plato, and Aristotle in ancient Greece, Polybius and Cicero in ancient Rome, St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas in the middle ages, and Machiavelli, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, and Marx in the modern era. Emphasis will be placed on the historical context in which these individuals wrote and on the relevance of their contributions to modern thinking and debate, especially about law and government. More than one section of this course is offered. In some sections, depending on the instructor146s choice, emphasis will be on contemporary theories including Feminist writings.