Today democracy is seen as the only legitimate regime type, but there is very little consensus about what democracy refers to. This course will explore competing understandings of democracy and its relationship to state institutions and laws. Students will be introduced to contemporary debates over the normative basis of democracy and difficulties of democratic practice and citizenship. Among the questions we will explore are: what is the relationship between liberalism and democracy? Do rights represent the beginning or the end of democratic citizenship?

In the aftermath of the Great Recession, Occupy Wall Street, and Senator Bernie Sanders's primary campaign, socialism has entered the mainstream of American politics, giving rise to questions concerning why the US can't be more like, say, Denmark. But while the question of why there is no socialism in the US may be on the minds of many, the puzzle is not new. This course will examine the long history of socialist politics in the United States while analyzing why it never established roots in the American system.

This seminar explores nationalist ideologies and movements in global politics. We will examine the different--and contested--conceptions of nationalism, the relationship of nationalism to state-building and modern warfare, and the sources of ethnic conflict and political violence. The course will conclude by analyzing the role of nationalism in shaping the foreign policy of "rising" powers like China and India. Case studies from Europe, Asia and the Middle East will be selected for their contemporary relevance.

During the 1960s and 1970s military coups brought authoritarian regimes to power in the Southern Cone (Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Uruguay). Human rights movements emerged demanding information about victims of torture, executions and disappearances which became the way military regimes attempted to eliminate dissent. What accounts for the different role these movements in the transition and consolidation of democracy and the rule of law? Did they take part to the same extent in the design and implementation of accountability mechanisms to prosecute those responsible for the abuses?

This course is a critical exercise taught at the intersection of two seemingly incommensurable terms, imperialism and neoliberalism. Charting the genealogies of these terms, we will explore the lines of entanglements that hold these two concepts together as mutually reinforcing projects. In part the course will address how self-governance and self-determination under liberal democratic regimes work to accomplish the neoliberal objectives, hence curtailing the legitimacy of the sovereign will as an essential democratic value.

This course explores the relationship between political parties and social movements in the US. Through a historical examination of abolitionist, labor, civil rights, and other movements, we will analyze how formal electoral politics intersects with the more fluid politics of protest and direct action. We will look at how parties have grown out of, allied with, co-opted or eschewed movements for social change.

Our minds can direct and control our bodies. See for yourself: if you decide to lift your arm, and try to do it, your arm will probably go up! This course is about the relationship between our minds, bodies, and behavior. What is the mind? How did it make your arm go up? How is lifting your arm different from an involuntary muscle spasm? The answers are not as straightforward as you might think. We confront powerful arguments that the mind is not reducible to the brain or any part of the body.

Is free will possible if all our actions are causally determined? Might we be justified in blaming, praising, rewarding, or punishing people even if their actions are not free? Abstract metaphysical questions about freedom intersect in important ways with everyday problems in our relationships with others and our attitudes about moral ignorance, addiction, and madness. This course will examine these issues side by side in the hope of improving our understanding of freedom and responsibility.

What are the special challenges of obligation and responsibility that individuals, businesses and other organizations face in a complex global environment? We explore these questions using applied philosophical ethics from the traditional approaches to moral philosophy (studying the ethical character of both actions themselves and the results of those actions) and the more recent ethics of care. We apply these ethical considerations in different cases and contexts of individual decision-making and the choices and dilemmas that businesses and other organizations face.