17.037 / 17.038 American Political Thought, Spring 2004
Author(s)
Song, Sarah
Alternative Title
American Political Thought
Date Issued
June 2004
Abstract
This course surveys American political thought from the colonial era to the present. Required readings are drawn mainly from primary sources, including 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, how the revolutionary ideas of freedom and equality run up against persistent patterns of inequality. Graduate students are expected to pursue the subject in greater depth through suggested reading and individual research.
Subjects
american politics
united states
political theory
colonial
contemporary government
national identity
individual rights
liberalism
activism
repulicanism
radicalism
revolution
equality
freedom
protestants
protestantism
colonial america
american revolution
debate
constitution
jeffersonian republicans
hamiltonian federalists
madison
individualism
antebellum america
racism
nativism
sexism
new inegalitarians
politics of inclusion
politics of difference
markets
morals
17.037
17.038
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Political Science
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