Politics 387TH - Advanced Topics in Politics: 'Conservative Political Thought'

This course surveys the development of conservative political thought in the West, with emphasis on the United States, tracing its evolution from Edmund Burke and Russell Kirk through contemporary figures such as J.D. Vance, Patrick Deneen, Sohrab Ahmari, and Adrian Vermeule. Students will examine conservative arguments about tradition, authority, order, freedom, the economy, and the relationship between church and state, as well as internal tensions and transformations across time and place. Readings also include conservative appropriations of earlier thinkers-ranging from Plato to Thomas Aquinas-showing how classical and medieval ideas have been reinterpreted for modern conservatism.

This course is open to juniors and seniors