The works of theorists such as Plato, Aristotle, Locke, Rousseau, Madison, Tocqueville, Marx, Schumpeter are explored. Specific topics, such as the relative role of market and state or the exceptional quality of American liberalism, will be examined. Introduces students to a variety of modes of analysis and methods of approaching political questions. A methods seminar focusing on the interplay between problems and sources and the process of defining researchable historical problems. Involves study of descriptive statistical methods, their uses and abuses, and qualitative issues concerning sources, interpretation and narrative, with a concentration on examining primary sources.
Students write a major research paper.