Political Science 258 - Left, Right and Center

In recent years, public debates in the United States have become considerably less civil, with name-calling and tribal sentiments overwhelming amicable partisan relationships. The proliferation and amplification of voices, a result of the rise of social media and the ubiquity of the 24-hour news cycle, elevate extreme and superficial positions over those more thoroughly considered and thoughtful. Thus, all political discourse now appears suspect as biased, and all positions seem to be adopted from a particular agenda or ideology. This course begins by identifying key features of American political ideologies in the thoughts of Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau. It then turns to the historical development of conservatism and progressivism in the United States to understand the rational core of these disagreements. The goal of the course is to prepare students to navigate political debate in a civil and thoughtful way.

Fall semester. Visiting Assistant Professor Ette.