A number of fringe sects or cults are examined. Topic varies from semester to semester. Required of majors. An examination of issues common to human experience, such as the problem of knowledge, theories of values, and the interpretation of science, history, and religion. Topics covered include democracy, liberalism, conservatism, fascism, Marxism, and liberation ideologies.
Emphasis is on developing writing and analytic skills.
Also offered as POL 205. The purpose of the course is to learn to recognize and evaluate informal arguments found in ordinary language and everyday-life situations. Students will work toward the skill of quick recognition of patterns of thought and direct evaluation of their validity. An intellectual-historical survey of the Greek mind with its major contributions to Western thought. An effort to uncover major milestones in Greek thinking by understanding some of the historical and cultural movements which issued into the great philosophical systems.