Sylabus
Course schedule
Week 1: Introduction: Course overview. What is political theory?
Reading (recommended only): H. Arendt, “Philosophy and Politics” (selections).
L. Strauss: “What is Political Philosophy?” (selections).
M. Foucault: “Truth and Power” (selections).
Week 2: Power & Authority
Reading: H. Arendt, On Violence (selections).
H. Arendt, What is Authority? (recommended only).
Week 3: Freedom
Reading: I. Berlin, “Two Concepts of Liberty”.
B. Constant, “The Liberty of the Ancients Compared with that of the Moderns” (recommend only).
Week 4: Democracy I
Reading: TBA
Week 5: Democracy II
Reading: TBA
Week 6: MIDTERM EXAM
Week 7: Nationalism
Reading: E. Gellner, Nationalism (selections)
Week 8: Liberalism I
Reading: A. Heywood, Political Ideologies, Chapter 2.
Additional reading – TBA.
Week 9: Liberalism II
Reading: TBA
Week 10: Conservatism
Reading: A. Heywood, Political Ideologies, Chapter 3.
E. Burke, Reflections on the Revolution in France: Selections TBA.
Week 11: Socialism
Reading: A. Heywood, Political Ideologies, Chapter 4.
K. Marx & F. Engels, The Communist Manifesto.
Week 12: Authoritarianism & Totalitarianism
Reading: TBA
Anotace
Tento kurz uvádí studenty do studia politické teorie. První polovina kurzu zkoumá některé klíčové pojmy, myšlenky a problémy, které od samého počátku definují politické studie.
Druhá polovina je věnována průzkumu nejdůležitějších "-ismů ", tedy moderních politických ideologií. Po celý semestr budeme zkoumat texty jak politického myšlení, tak soudobých politických teoretiků.