PHIL 327: Contemporary Western Political Theory

PHIL 327-002: Contemp Western Pol Phil
(Fall 2025)

10:30 AM to 11:45 AM MW

Innovation Hall 215G

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Section Information for Fall 2025

PHIL/GOVT 327: Contemporary Western Political Theory

Community and Democracy

In this course we will examine the relation between community and democracy in late modernity / post modernity.  Through close readings of theoretical texts by thinkers such as Jean-Luc Nancy, Michel Foucault, Giorgio Agamben, and Wendy Brown we will ask: How democracy can be understood; What the limits of democracy are; Whether community is compatible with democracy; How this tension may affect the possibility of politics.  We will also listen to outsider voices that shift the range of the political in light of these issues with selected readings from Moten & Harney’s Undercommons and Saidiya Hartman’s Wayward Lives.

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Course Information from the University Catalog

Credits: 3

Exploration through lecture and discussion of recent developments in the Western tradition of political thought from the middle of the 19th century to today. Different sections focus on one or another of the various political theories that have been influential during this period such as liberal, libertarian, conservative, communitarian, Marxist, feminist, and postmodern thought. Notes: May be repeated for credit when topic is different. Offered by Philosophy. May be repeated within the term for a maximum 12 credits. Equivalent to GOVT 327.
Specialized Designation: Topic Varies
Recommended Prerequisite: GOVT 101 or three credits of philosophy.
Schedule Type: Lecture
Grading:
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.

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