22 courses with the subject PLPT, each shown exactly as we captured it from the college's catalog, with every element we hold. Where the wording looks broken, that is our reading of the catalog, not the college's text.
PLPT 1010Introduction to Political Theory3
Effective Date 03/01/2009 Introduces political philosophy as a mode of inquiry, and consideration of selected problems and writers in Western political theory.
Effective Date 01/01/2020 Western Political Theory from Plato to the Reformation. Among authors covered are Plato, Aristotle, Epictetus, St. Augustine, St. Thomas Aquinas, and Martin Luther. For the medieval period, central themes are natural law, allegorical interpretation of Scripture, and the origins of modern liberal political theory.
Effective Date 08/01/2025 Studies the course of political theory from the late 19th century through the present. Includes the major critical perspectives on modern politics and culture and explores the problems that have preoccupied political theory in this period.
Effective Date 08/01/2025 This course explores the critical and the constructive dimensions of African American political thought from slavery to the present. We will assess the claims that black Americans have made upon the polity, how they have defined themselves, and how they have sought to redefine key terms of political life such as citizenship, equality, freedom, and power.
Effective Date 08/01/2025 This course addresses questions of power and justice in the workplace. Topics include: Marx’s charge that capitalism is inherently exploitative; sweatshop labor, the question of a fair wage; workplace democracy; whether private firms are autocratic; the phenomenon of “bullshit jobs”; demands for “meaningful work”; proposals for a Universal Basic Income (UBI) or “job guarantee”; the work-leisure distinction; and AI and automation in the workplace.
Effective Date 08/01/2025 Discusses the main debates concerning the character and merits of modern liberalism, along with the contributions of some of its leading defenders and critics. Particular attention is given to: Kant, Mill, and Rawls; the meaning of political freedom; conservative, left-leaning, and communitarian criticisms of the liberal tradition and freedom of speech.
Effective Date 08/01/2025 Discusses the main themes in modern analytic jurisprudence: Austin’s command theory of law; the nature of legal authority; theories of judicial interpretation; the natural law tradition; legal realism; the relation between law, power, and violence; the justification of (capital) punishment; the issue of legal responsibility and free will.
Effective Date 08/01/2019 Examination of the nature and function of liberty in social theorists such as Adam Smith, JJ Rousseau, Ayn Rand, John Rawls, Robert Nozick.
Effective Date 01/01/2020 Major themes in the liberal tradition of political theory. The course examines central elements of liberal political theory and traces the development of classical liberalism into contemporary welfare-state liberalism. Focus is on strengths and weaknesses of both positions, and criticisms of the overall liberal approach. Among authors covered are Locke, Mill, Hobhouse, Rawls, and Nozick.
Effective Date 01/29/2025 Examines politics surrounding claims that large-scale issues (e.g. terrorism, climate change) are emergencies and responses to those claims. Should laws accommodate emergencies or should emergency responses be “outside” the law? What happens if emergency action violates democratic and justice-based norms? What is the difference between bottom-up and top-down emergency response? Readings draw primarily from political theory, sociology, and law.
One previous course in political theory or instructor permission. Credits: 3
PLPT 4305American Political Thought to 18653
Effective Date 09/28/2011 This course examines the development of American political thought from the Puritans through the Civil War. The questions they posed and attempted to answer are the eternal questions of all political thought, such as, what is the best form of government; what are the rights and obligations of citizens; what is the proper relationship between the state and religion.
Effective Date 01/01/2026 Investigates a special problem of political theory such as political corruption, religion and politics, science and politics, or the nature of justice.
One course in PLPT or instructor permission. Credits: 3
PLPT 4990Honors Core Seminar in Political Theory9
Effective Date 08/01/2025 A critical analysis of important issues and works in political theory. Students are required to write weekly analytical essays and actively participate in small seminar discussions on issues including: theories of common good, economic justice, toleration and free society, and radical criticism.
