PHIL 342Hist of Social&Political Phil

Catalog

What is the nature of freedom? Why is democracy valuable? When is civil disobedience justified? What does it mean to have self-determination? In this course, we will explore the history of social and political philosophy in America from the bottom up - investigating some of the philosophical ideas that inspired and shaped key social movements and political struggles in North America, as well as their contemporary relevance. We will explore early American thinking about democracy, women's rights, labor and exploitation, the abolition of slavery and fight for civil rights, and Native American struggles for land and self-determination, with a focus on the 19th and early 20th Centuries. Drawing on both traditional and non-traditional philosophical texts - including speeches, autobiographies, and essays - we will examine some of the central debates about freedom, equality, democracy, and justice which animated American history. Some key thinkers whose ideas we will discuss include Fredrick Douglass, Sojourner Truth, Henry David Thoreau, Emma Goldman, Ida B. Wells, John Dewey, and W.E.B. Du Bois. This course will be relevant to students with interests in philosophy, history, political science, race and ethnicity studies, women and gender studies, sociology, anthropology, and literature.