Classics 312-A: Special Topic in Aristotle: Aristotle and Political Aristotelianism

Credits 4
Credit Type
Semester Offered
Spring
Faculty
Walling

 

Aristotle remains one of the most influential political thinkers of all time, influencing thinkers as different as Saint Thomas Aquinas and Karl Marx. This class will be dedicated to a broad exploration of his political and ethical ideas, and an attempt to trace the influence they hold on contemporary debates in political theory. We will cover both Aristotle's own texts, and contemporary thinkers influenced by the Aristotelian perspective so as to theorize topics like virtue and judgment, freedom, justice, constitutionalism, political deliberation, and the nature of moral development. Throughout the course we will be asking what hold Aristotle's arguments have on us today, and what use his theories and concepts can have in contemporary political projects. May be elected as Philosophy 312 or Politics 317.

Distribution Area
Students entering Fall 2024 or later: Textual Analysis (TA)
Students entering Fall 2024 or later: Power and Equity (PEQ)
Students entering Fall 2024 or later: Writing Across Contexts (WAC)
Students entering Fall 2024 or later: Studying the Past (STP)
Students entering prior to Fall 2024: Humanities (HU DIST)
Students entering prior to Fall 2024: Social Sciences (SO DIST)