Political Science 101 or 240, or permission of the instructor. This course studies the political consequences of the confrontation between revealed religion and scientific rationalism that is at the core of Western culture, through an examination of the works of medieval Islamic, Jewish, and Christian political philosophers. An examination of the ideas of Machiavelli, Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau. Emphasis is placed on close reading and critical interpretation of selected primary texts. A critical examination of Kant, Burke, Mill, Marx, and Nietzsche.
Emphasis is placed on close reading and interpretation of selected primary texts.
This course examines the major provisions of the American Constitution and their development through judicial interpretation. The first semester considers the nature of the judicial process, the constitutional powers of the separate departments, and the place of the states in the federal system. The second semester examines civil rights and liberties as protected by the original Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the Fourteenth Amendment. A study of the legal and organizational structure of the international system and of the processes and forms of international order. Political Science 240 or permission of the instructor.