Description
This course surveys American political thought from the colonial era to the present. Required readings are drawn mainly from primary sources including the writings of politicians, activists, and theorists. Topics include the relationship between religion and politics, rights, federalism, national identity, republicanism versus liberalism, the relationship of subordinated groups to mainstream political discourse, and the role of ideas in politics. We will analyze the simultaneous radicalism and weakness of American liberalism and how the revolutionary ideas of freedom and equality run up against persistent patterns of inequality. (writing intensive)