Department of Political Science

Trying to make sense of the confusing --and sometimes bewildering--world of political discourse? For example, what in fact makes a “liberal” liberal, or a “conservative” conservative? Or, how “anarchists” or “socialists” think? Why neither experts nor pundits can decide if President Trump is a “conservative,” “populist,” or something else? This course should help.

After briefly discussing the term “ideology,” the course examines those political ideologies that continue to shape political experience worldwide: anarchism, conservatism, environmentalism, feminism, liberalism, nationalism, populism, and socialism. There are no course prerequisites, but you should be prepared to read a range of provocative texts and writers, and be ready to discuss them in class, and write about them. By the course’s conclusion, you can expect to have gained familiarity with the world’s most significant contributions to political ideas or “ideology.”