AMERICAN POLITICAL THOUGHT

This course is a study of the development of American political ideas, through critical analysis of the

writings of intellectuals and political leaders from the American Founding to the present. As our central

theme, we will focus on the traditions of American Political Thought (APT) as simultaneously theorizing

freedom and liberty on the one hand, and intense, often violent forms of domination on the other,

especially domination on the basis of race. Consequently, we will devote time to both classic readings in

APT (the Founders, Tocqueville, Lincoln, etc.) and to multiple strands of US political thinking that

challenge the dominant narratives of APT. In analyzing the competing traditions of equality and

inequality in theory, we will also explore the connections between this theory and practices of equality

and inequality.