Contemporary European Political Philosophy
1. Institution: Dartmouth College
Department: Government
Course-level: Advanced undergraduate seminar, open to graduate students
Format: Seminar
2. Institution: Roanoke College
Department: Public Affairs
Course-level: Advanced undergraduate seminar
Format: Seminar
Description: In this seminar we engage with central themes and approaches of contemporary, 20th- and 21st- Century European/Continental political philosophy. We examine the German, French and Italian Continental philosophical traditions. We discuss how European philosophers think about the relationship between theory (or philosophy) and political practice. We also analyze the ways in which the respective thinkers conceptualize power and political transformation. This focus will allow us to critically assess the commonalities (and differences) of the thinkers and the three traditions discussed. We start out with Theodor W. Adorno and Hannah Arendt (German political philosophy), followed by Jacques Lacan and Julia Kristeva (French political thought), and we end with Adriana Caverero and Giorgio Agamben (Italian political philosophy).