American Political Thought (WI) (POL 400)
Term: 2022-2023 Academic Year Spring
Office Phone: 252-985-5261
Office Location: Braswell 133
Student Drop-In Hours (Spring 2025): Mondays/Wednesdays 1-3pm and by appointmentSchedule a Meeting With Me
Tue-Thu, 1:00 PM - 2:30 PM (1/18/2023 - 5/2/2023) Location: D01 PCB 276
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)