Politics 307 - Political Theory and the Body Politic

Institution:

Whitman College

Subject:

Description:

not offered 2008-09 This seminar examines the metaphor of the body politic in the history of western political thought, paying particular attention to the transformation of this political trope during the transition to modernity. Through a diverse set of reading ranging from Aristotle to Hobbes to Foucault, students focus on how these authors use the body politic to imagine political community as they see it and as they believe it ought to be. Often, but not always, these authors evoke metaphorical or material bodies to describe the contours of this community, its form and shape, its impermeable limits, who it naturally includes and excludes, the relationship between its origins and the contemporary polity, and the possibility of its violation. Whether the body emerges in these works as divine or profane, satirical or scientific, this class assumes that it always points beyond itself toward a variety of different political puzzles. Prerequisite: Politics 222 or consent of instructor.

Credits:

4.00

Credit Hours:

Prerequisites:

Corequisites:

Exclusions:

Level:

Instructional Type:

Lecture

Notes:

Additional Information:

Historical Version(s):

Institution Website:

www.whitman.edu

Phone Number:

(509) 527-5111

Regional Accreditation:

Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities

Calendar System:

Semester

The Course Profile information is provided and updated by third parties including the respective institutions. While the institutions are able to update their information at any time, the information is not independently validated, and no party associated with this website can accept responsibility for its accuracy.