MLA Seminar in Political Philosophy: MLA Proseminar: Introduction to Political Philosophy

This course is an advanced-level introduction to political philosophy. We start with canonical works and historical texts that address this basic question: Why the state? What justifies government? Among other things, we will examine social contract and utilitarian responses to the basic question. Then, we move to contemporary readings to examine various practical problems, such as distributive equality, human rights and state sovereignty, justice and war, and global environmental justice.