POL 296 - Special Topics in Global Politics

FDR: SS2
Credits: 3 in fall and winter, 4 in spring

Prerequisites vary by topic. Meets the global politics field requirement in the politics major. A seminar in political science for students at the introductory or intermediate level. Topic, hour, and instructor are announced prior to registration. May be repeated for degree credit if the topics are different.

Winter 2022, POL 296A-01: Special Topics in Global Politics: Politics of the Enlightenment (3). Traditionally understood, the Enlightenment was a period of political, social, and religious reform within Europe during the 17th and 18th centuries that enabled both the possibility of secular politics and growing significance of Reason within political discourse. While championed by many, this new role for Reason also provoked a number of skeptics and detractors as well, concerned that Reason might not inherently aid in the pursuit of human happiness and freedom, but instead shield and promote radically new forms of oppression, as well as collective experiences of nihilism. By exploring both the arguments advanced by Enlightenment thinkers (e.g., Kant, Spinoza) and their critics (e.g., Nietzsche, Kierkegaard, Marx, Adorno/Horkheimer, Foucault), this class will explore the degree to which the Enlightenment has influenced our politics and the ways we ought to think about its continuing effects. (SS2) Miller.