POS 202 Political Philosophy II

This course introduces the students to the study of contemporary political theory, or contemporary political philosophy, as it is also known. This field of study often enjoys an underserved reputation of a somewhat arcane discipline with little or no practical import. One of the principle aims of this course is to debunk this myth and convince the students that the study of contemporary political thinkers may actually help them to better understand the political dimension of their own real-life experience, as well as to appreciate the crucial importance of this dimension. This intention informs the design of the course, which consists of four thematic blocks. In each block we will study the works of seminal thinkers representative of the most important contemporary political theories (or schools of thought) while linking their theoretical insights with current political issues.