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PHIL B101 Happiness and Reality in Ancient Thought

Fall 2026

What makes us happy? The wisdom of the ancient world has importantly shaped the tradition of Western thought but in some important respects it has been rejected or forgotten. What is the nature of reality? Can we have knowledge about the world and ourselves, and, if so, how? In this course we explore answers to these sorts of metaphysical, epistemological, ethical, and political questions by examining the works of the two central Greek philosophers: Plato and Aristotle. We will consider earlier Greek religious and dramatic writings, a few Presocratic philosophers, and the person of Socrates who never wrote a word.

Critical Interpretation (CI)

Inquiry into the Past (IP)

Counts Toward: Classical Studies.

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PHIL B102 Science and Morality in Modernity

Not offered 2026-27

In this course, we explore answers to fundamental questions about the nature of the world and our place in it by examining the works of some of the central figures in modern western philosophy. Can we obtain knowledge of the world and, if so, how? Does God exist? What is the nature of the self? How do we determine morally right answers? What sorts of policies and political structures can best promote justice and equality? These questions were addressed in "modern" Europe in the context of the development of modern science and the religious wars. In a time of globalization we are all, more or less, heirs of the Enlightenment which sees its legacy to be modern science and the mastery of nature together with democracy and human rights. This course explores the above questions and considers them in their historical context. Some of the philosophers considered include Descartes, Locke, Hume, Kant, and Wollstonecraft.

Writing Attentive

Critical Interpretation (CI)

Inquiry into the Past (IP)

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PHIL B103 Introduction to Logic

Not offered 2026-27

Logic is the study of formal reasoning, which concerns the nature of valid arguments and inferential fallacies. In everyday life our arguments tend to be informal and sometimes imprecise. The study of logic concerns the structure and nature of arguments, and so helps to analyze them more precisely. Topics will include: valid and invalid arguments, determining the logical structure of ordinary sentences, reasoning with truth-functional connectives, and inferences involving quantifiers and predicates. This course does not presuppose any background knowledge in logic.

Quantitative Methods (QM)

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PHIL B211 Theory of Knowledge

Fall 2026

Epistemology focuses on three central philosophical questions: "What is knowledge?", "What can we know?", and "How do we know what we know?" In addition to their role in our daily lives, these questions are central to almost every discipline include the sciences, history, and philosophy itself. This course is an extended investigation into the nature of knowledge, understanding, and justification. We will look at a number of debates including skepticism, relativism, the value of knowledge, the nature of understanding, scientific knowledge, scientific realism, naturalistic epistemology, feminist epistemology, testimonial knowledge, and pragmatic influences on knowledge. The aim of this course is to develop a sense of how these concepts and theories interrelate, and to instill philosophical skills in the critical evaluation of them.

Writing Attentive

Critical Interpretation (CI)

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PHIL B212 Metaphysics: Are You Free?

Fall 2026

Metaphysics is inquiry into basic features of the world and ourselves. This course considers topics of time, free will, personal identity, and their relationship. What is free will and are we free? Is freedom compatible with determinism? Does moral responsibility require free will? What makes someone the same person over time? Can a person survive without their body? Is the recognition of others required to be a person?

Writing Attentive

Critical Interpretation (CI)

Counts Toward: Classical Studies.

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PHIL B220 Dreams and Philosophy

Not offered 2026-27

Philosophers have long puzzled over the nature of dreams and what they can teach us about ourselves and our world. This course surveys the philosophy of dreams, from Socrates' Dream in the Theaetetus, to Descartes' skepticism, to contemporary debates in cognitive science. Some questions that we will discuss include: Why do we dream? Are dreams different from hallucinations, and how so? Can you learn something new in a dream? Are dreams conscious, or are they more like false memories that you invent upon waking? How can scientists best study dreams? We will analyze arguments from philosophy and the relevant sciences in order to reveal the philosophical significance of dreams.

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PHIL B221 Ethics

Not offered 2026-27

An introduction to ethics by way of an examination of moral theories and a discussion of important ancient, modern, and contemporary texts which established theories such as virtue ethics, deontology, utilitarianism, relativism, emotivism, care ethics. This course considers questions concerning freedom, responsibility, and obligation. How should we live our lives and interact with others? How should we think about ethics in a global context? Is ethics independent of culture? A variety of practical issues such as reproductive rights, euthanasia, animal rights and the environment will be considered.

Writing Attentive

Critical Interpretation (CI)

Counts Toward: Gender Sexuality Studies; International Studies; International Studies.

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PHIL B225 Global Ethical Issues

Not offered 2026-27

The need for a critical analysis of what justice is and requires has become urgent in a context of increasing globalization, the emergence of new forms of conflict and war, high rates of poverty within and across borders and the prospect of environmental devastation. This course examines prevailing theories and issues of justice as well as approaches and challenges by non-western, post-colonial, feminist, race, class, and disability theorists.

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PHIL B226 Authority, Obligation, and Justice

Not offered 2026-27

What gives the government the right to tell us what to do? When and why should we obey the law? What is a just society? These are some of the most important questions of political philosophy. In the liberal tradition, one of the most influential answers to these questions is the idea of the social contract, which centers on the agreement of society's members to live by certain rules. In this course, we'll examine this idea from the early modern period to the present day. We'll also discuss its criticisms and alternatives from traditions such as utilitarianism, Marxism, feminism, and critical race theory

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PHIL B227 Contemporary Moral Problems

Not offered 2026-27

This is an introductory survey course in which we will discuss the philosophical dimensions of several contemporary moral issues including affirmative action, the ethics of immigration, our obligations to the world's poor, abortion, our treatment of non-human animals, and so on. As we delve into specific issues, we will also explore different conceptions of morality and justice that justify particular responses regarding these issues.

Critical Interpretation (CI)

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PHIL B230 Tragedy and the Value of Life

Not offered 2026-27

Tragic dramas present tales of human misery, drawing our attention to precisely those aspects of life that seem to put its value in question. What, then, do these bleak tales ultimately suggest about our prospects for happiness? Do tragic works simply condemn life, identifying its horrible features and leaving it at that? Alternatively, do they help identify places where life could be improved, or perhaps even offer a surprising celebration of life's value? In this class, we will consider the answers to these questions offered by a variety of historical and contemporary thinkers. We will also test these thinkers' answers against some of the tragic dramas they seek to explain. Philosophers discussed will include Schopenhauer, Hegel, Nietzsche, Camus, Weil, Williams, Nussbaum, and Murdoch. Plays read will include work by Sophocles, Aeschylus, and Shakespeare.

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PHIL B233 Philosophy of Life and Death

Not offered 2026-27

Death seems to be an unavoidable feature of human life. Our task in this class will be to consider what this means for life's value. Are our lives better for having an end, or does having an end undermine life's worth? Moreover, should we even view death as an end in the first place? We will consider a range of different answers to these questions defended by thinkers including Plato, Epicurus, Lucretius, Zhuangzi, Unamuno, Kierkegaard, Williams, Nussbaum, Setiya, and May.

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PHIL B234 Public Art, Historical Preservation, and the Ethics of Commemoration

Not offered 2026-27

Philadelphia has the largest number of public artworks in the country and is also the first city in the nation to require that developers use a portion of their construction budget for public art. It is also home to a number of well-known memorials. In this course, we will take up a number of philosophical questions about the nature of public art, political aesthetics, and the ethics of commemoration using case studies drawn from Philadelphia. Some of the questions we will consider include the following: What is public art? What is public space? What is the role of public art in a democracy? Is there a distinct category of "street art" which can be distinguished from public art on the one hand and graffiti on the other? What is the moral value of commemorative art? What, if anything, do we have a moral obligation to commemorate and what grounds that obligation? How should we assess controversies surrounding the removal of art honoring persons or groups many judge to be morally objectionable, such as Confederate monuments? How should we memorialize victims of injustice? Prerequisites: At least one previous Philosophy class is suggested.

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PHIL B235 The Philosophy of Karl Marx

Fall 2026

Karl Marx is one of the most influential thinkers in human history. He is also one of the most controversial. There are many "Marxists" in the world, and there are many who regard Marx as a dangerous and pernicious figure. Often, however, people form strong opinions like these based on second-hand information. Although most know Marx's name, it is a rarer thing to have actually read him. Marx contributed to many fields: he studied law, he worked as a journalist, he wrote works in classics, economics, history, and anthropology, and he led a major political movement. He was also a philosopher - and it was arguably as a philosopher that he produced his most original works. In this course, we will read a broad selection of Marx's writings with the aim of developing an understanding of his distinctive philosophy. In the process, we will explore fundamental questions, including but not limited to the following: What is the meaning of freedom? Is true equality possible? What is the value of work? What is capitalism? What is class? How and why do revolutions occur? Do ideas have the power to make history? What impact does technology have on our lives? And what, ultimately, does the future hold in store for us?

Course does not meet an Approach

Counts Toward: German and German Studies; Political Science.

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PHIL B240 Environmental Ethics

Not offered 2026-27

This course surveys rights- and justice-based justifications for ethical positions on the environment. It examines approaches such as stewardship, intrinsic value, land ethic, deep ecology, ecofeminism, Asian and aboriginal. It explores issues such as obligations to future generations, to nonhumans and to the biosphere.

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PHIL B249 Ideology and Propaganda

Not offered 2026-27

In contemporary political discourse, we often hear the accusation that a belief is "mere ideology" or that an utterance is "pure propaganda." We sometimes even hear that we live in an age of heightened "ideological conflict" or that we are now more than ever inundated by propaganda. What do we mean, though, by "ideology"? And what do we mean by "propaganda"? What is their relationship to one another? What is their relationship to truth? And what is their relationship to our ethical and political values? In this course, we will examine these questions from both historical and contemporary perspectives, tracing "ideology" and "propaganda" from their origins in the early-modern critique of prejudice, through Marx and the Marxist tradition, to cutting-edge debates among recent political philosophers - all with the aim of developing a sharper analysis of ideology and propaganda as they function in the real world.

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PHIL B252 Feminist Theory

Not offered 2026-27

Beliefs that gender discrimination has been eliminated and women have achieved equality have become commonplace. We challenge these assumptions examining the concepts of patriarchy, sexism, and oppression. Exploring concepts central to feminist theory, we attend to the history of feminist theory and contemporary accounts of women's place and status in different societies, varied experiences, and the impact of the phenomenon of globalization. We then explore the relevance of gender to philosophical questions about identity and agency with respect to moral, social and political theory. Prerequisite: one course in philosophy or permission of instructor.

Critical Interpretation (CI)

Counts Toward: Gender Sexuality Studies; Political Science.

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PHIL B258 Data Ethics in Social Media

Fall 2026

From sharing our life experiences to reading the news, social media permeates our daily lives. It affects how we communicate, what we buy, and who we vote for. It also generates an immense amount of data, which is eagerly collected by individuals, corporations, and governments. In this course we will investigate some of the threats (and promises) of this data. We will ask questions like: What is the value of privacy online, and how might it be protected? Are we being manipulated by algorithms? Are the algorithms that generate and moderate content biased? What are some of the ways online data can be used for good? Students will investigate these questions through practical and theoretical approaches. Course materials will be drawn from diverse sources including philosophy, data science, sociology, legal theory, and the Internet. Visiting speakers will enrich our discussion by offering academic and professional perspectives on the uses and misuses of data.

Critical Interpretation (CI)

Counts Toward: Data Science.

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PHIL B261 Goodness and Governance in Aristotle and the Early Confucians

Not offered 2026-27

In order for a good society to arise, do the individuals who live in that society first have to be good themselves? Alternatively, are individuals so shaped by their societies that they can never be good before their societies are? What if both these views seem correct: if social goodness depends on individual goodness and individual goodness depends on social goodness, then is there a real path toward either one? We will consider these and related questions by engaging with historical thinkers who took them particularly seriously: the early Aristotelians, the early Confucians, and their critics.

Critical Interpretation (CI)

Inquiry into the Past (IP)

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PHIL B264 Science and Democracy

Not offered 2026-27

Champions of science claim that, in addition to being our best source of truth and our most effective lever for progress, science is also a crucial aid to good governance. For the past century, scientists-in the role of "experts"-have helped to shape public policy in the United States. Both early advocates for and contemporary defenders of this model argue that the objectivity of science makes it especially well-suited to democratic societies, in which it is essential that policy decisions not reflect the interests or prejudices of any one group. However, recent debates (e.g., about social equity, climate change, and vaccine safety) have surfaced questions about just how democratic science and scientific governance really are. Progressive critics argues that science reflects the interests and biases of scientific inquirers, such that making science democratic requires ensuring that differing identity groups are fairly represented among scientists. Until this is done, they argue, scientific governance cannot be democratic. Populist critics argues that scientists, just in virtue of being scientists, have prejudices and interests all their own-that the interests of scientists are different from and even opposed to the interests of non-scientists. For this reason, their argument suggests, "experts" can never be impartial contributors to democratic governance. In this course, we will examine science and democracy from a philosophical point of view, develop a rigorous conceptual framework to make sense of the so-called "science wars," and take a tour of key issues in both the philosophy of science and political theory.

Critical Interpretation (CI)

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PHIL B271 Minds and Machines

Not offered 2026-27

What is the relationship between the mind and the body? What is consciousness? Is your mind like a computer, or do some aspects of the mind resist this analogy? Is it possible to build an artificial mind? In this course, we'll explore these questions and more, drawing on perspectives from philosophy, psychology and cognitive neuroscience. We will consider the viability of different ways of understanding the relationship between mind and body as a framework for studying the mind, as well as the distinctive issues that arise in connection with the phenomenon of consciousness. No prior knowledge or experience with any of the subfields is assumed or necessary.

Writing Attentive

Critical Interpretation (CI)

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PHIL B300 Reason and Its Discontents

Not offered 2026-27

Philosophers have often cherished reason as the most important and illustrious human capability. This can be seen already in Aristotle's definition of the human being as the animal with a rational function but comes especially to the fore among early-modern philosophers, for whom reason is the wellspring of progress, virtue, and enlightenment. Even according to tradition, however, human beings are characterized by at least two other essential powers: we have a power of reason, but we also have distinctly human powers of feeling (i.e., sensation and emotion) and will (i.e., volition and action). In this course, we will investigate one of the most creative and exciting eras in the history of philosophy-the philosophy of 19th-century Germany-focusing on the debate concerning the hierarchy of the human faculties: Is reason in fact the most decisive human capability? If not, is feeling primary? The will? How should this impact our understanding of human nature? What impact does it have on our understanding of social progress? Of morality? Of religion? Of science? The course doubles as an intensive introduction to 19th-century German philosophy. Figures discussed will include Kant, Fichte, Schelling, Hegel, Feuerbach, Marx, Schopenhauer, and Nietzsche. One prior philosophy course (PHIL 102 will be especially helpful) or consent of instructor

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PHIL B305 Topics in Value.

Section 001 (Fall 2025): Emotions and the Good Life

Not offered 2026-27

This is a topics course. Topics may vary.

Writing Attentive

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PHIL B307 What Is Beauty Good For?

Fall 2026

What role does beauty play in a happy human life? To answer this question, we will need to answer another: namely, what is beauty in the first place? In this class, we will try to get a handle on beauty's value by considering a long-standing debate about its nature. According to one side of this debate, beauty is intimately bound up with desire and love. According to the other, beauty helps us break free from desire and throw off practical concerns. Do either of these views of beauty succeed, and what does each one suggest about beauty's significance? Readings will draw on a range of historical and contemporary philosophers including Plato, Kant, Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, Iris Murdoch, Arthur Danto, and Alexander Nehamas.

Counts Toward: History of Art.

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PHIL B309 Topics in Philosophy

Not offered 2026-27

This is a topics course, and the description varies according to the topic. Prerequistie: At least one previous Philosophy course is required.

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PHIL B346 Ethics Without the Individual

Not offered 2026-27

We typically take the world to be filled with many discrete individuals. From the time I was born until this very moment, I have remained the same person, and I will continue to be that person at least until the day of my death. Moreover, the person who I am differs from the person who you are. We are each a self-contained whole, fundamentally the same as ourselves and fundamentally different from everyone else. In this course, we will discuss thinkers who challenge this common view, denying either that each individual has a persistent self, or that each individual's self is unique to her alone. Most of the thinkers we discuss will suggest that the typical picture of the discrete individual is not only false, but ethically disastrous: believing that we possess a unique and persistent self stands in the way of true happiness, genuine moral action, or both. Readings will mainly draw on early Hindu, Buddhist, and Daoist thought, however, we will also consider more recent work by figures such as Hume, Schopenhauer, and Russell. Prerequisites: One previous Philosophy course or permission of instructor.

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PHIL B398 Senior Seminar

Senior majors are required to write an undergraduate thesis on an approved topic. The senior seminar is a two-semester course in which research and writing are directed. Seniors will meet collectively and individually with the supervising instructor.

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PHIL B399 Senior Seminar

The senior seminar is a required course for majors in Philosophy. It is the course in which the research and writing of an undergraduate thesis is directed both in and outside of the class time. Students will meet sometimes with the class as a whole and sometimes with the professor separately to present and discuss drafts of their theses.

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PHIL B403 Supervised Work

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PHIL B425 Praxis III: Independent Study

Praxis III courses are Independent Study courses and are developed by individual students, in collaboration with faculty and field supervisors. A Praxis courses is distinguished by genuine collaboration with fieldsite organizations and by a dynamic process of reflection that incorporates lessons learned in the field into the classroom setting and applies theoretical understanding gained through classroom study to work done in the broader community. Note: Students are eligible to take up to two Praxis Fieldwork Seminars or Praxis Independent Studies during their time at Bryn Mawr.

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CMSC B325 Computational Linguistics

Not offered 2026-27

Introduction to computational models of understanding and processing human languages. How elements of linguistics, computer science, and artificial intelligence can be combined to help computers process human language and to help linguists understand language through computer models. Topics covered: syntax, semantics, pragmatics, generation and knowledge representation techniques. Prerequisite: CMSC B151 , or CMSC H106 or CMSC H107, and CMSC B231 or CMSC H231 or MATH B231 or MATH H231, or permission of instructor.

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CMSC B373 Artificial Intelligence

Not offered 2026-27

Survey of Artificial Intelligence (AI), the study of how to program computers to behave in ways normally attributed to "intelligence" when observed in humans. Topics include heuristic versus algorithmic programming; cognitive simulation versus machine intelligence; problem-solving; inference; natural language understanding; scene analysis; learning; decision-making. Topics are illustrated by programs from literature, programming projects in appropriate languages and building small robots. Prerequisites: CMSC B151 or CMSC H106 or CMSC H107, and CMSC B231, or CMSC H231 or MATH B231 or MATH H231.

Counts Toward: Neuroscience; Philosophy.

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COML B213 Theory in Practice: Critical Discourses in the Humanities

Not offered 2026-27

What is a postcolonial subject, a queer gaze, a feminist manifesto? And how can we use (as readers of texts, art, and films) contemporary studies on animals and cyborgs, object-oriented ontology, zombies, storyworlds, neuroaesthetics? By bringing together the study of major theoretical currents of the 20th century and the practice of analyzing literary works in the light of theory, this course aims at providing students with skills to use literary theory in their own scholarship. The selection of theoretical readings reflects the history of theory (psychoanalysis, structuralism, narratology), as well as the currents most relevant to the contemporary academic field: Post-structuralism, Post-colonialism, Gender Studies, and Ecocriticism. They are paired with a diverse range of short stories across multiple language traditions (Poe, Kafka, Camus, Borges, Calvino, Morrison, Djebar, Murakami, Ngozi Adichie) that we discuss along with our study of theoretical texts. We will discuss how to apply theory to the practice of interpretation and of academic writing, and how theoretical ideas shape what we are reading. The class will be conducted in English, with an additional hour taught by the instructor of record in the target language for students wishing to take the course for language credit.

Critical Interpretation (CI)

Cross-Cultural Analysis (CC)

Counts Toward: Africana Studies; Africana Studies; East Asian Languages & Culture; English; French and Francophone Studies; Gender & Sexuality Studies; Gender Sexuality Studies; Gender Sexuality Studies; German and German Studies; History of Art; Italian and Italian Studies; Philosophy; Russian; Spanish.

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FREN B333 Nature and Freedom

Not offered 2026-27

When referring to Rousseau's political theory, the conjectural state of nature first described in his Discourse on the Origin of Inequality (1755) has frequently been identified with native societies as observed in America since 1492. Many scholars have been opposing this primitivist interpretation of his second discourse and showed that Rousseau might instead be considered the father of all 'social construct' theories. But in spite of this scholarly consensus, Graeber and Wengrow still tend to assume Rousseau's state of nature is mostly inspired by the encounter of Europeans with native people. Why is this confusion still informing the way we read Rousseau? How did considerations on the so-called 'noble savage' taint his political theory? How can we assess the role an 'indigenous critique' played in defining Rousseau's state of nature? And incidentally: how 'indigenous' is this 'indigenous critique'? Answering to Graeber and Wengrow's (mis)reading of Rousseau will allow us to cast a new light not only on Rousseau's 'unnatural' anthropology, but also on Graeber & Wengrow's broader claims on human nature and political freedom. Our end goal is not to offer a scholarly take on either Rousseau's discourse of Graeber and Wengrow's book, but to answer this pressing question: should/could we discard the very notion of nature to regain political agency here and now? Authors include: Léry, Montaigne, Hobbes, Rousseau, Lévi-Strauss, Serres, Graeber and Wengrow.

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ITAL B221 What is Aesthetics? Theories on Art, Imagination, and Poetry

Not offered 2026-27

This course investigates how global thinkers, poets, and artists reflected in their works on the roles and powers of art, poetry, and human creativity. The course approaches this theme through a cross-cultural and trans-historical approach, which encompasses the Italian Humanism, which argued for the first time for the importance of aesthetic knowledge, as well as the Age of Enlightenment, which founded 'aesthetics' as a specific scientific discipline. Readings from these writers will show how artistic products, human imagination, and poetry are not just light-hearted activities but powerful cognitive tools which can reveal aspects of human history. If the human being is deemed to be a combination of reason and feeling - soul and body - art and poetry, which border both the rational and irrational realms, appear the most appropriate scientific tool to reveal the human essence and its destiny. The discussion will focus on pivotal global writers and philosophers such as Giambattista Vico and Giacomo Leopardi, who pioneered aesthetic, historical, literary, and anthropological ideas which are still crucial in the current theoretical debate on arts and poetry. All readings and class discussion will be in English. Students will have an additional hour of class for Italian credit.

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ITAL B326 Love, Magic, and Medicine: Poetical-Philosophical Bonds

Not offered 2026-27

The course investigates how the concepts of love, magic, and medicine emerged and developed throughout early modernity and beyond. In exploring the fields of Philosophy, Medicine, and Magic, global thinkers, poets, and artists drew not only from classical sources, but were also deeply influenced by a wide range of models, such as fictional ancient sources, Islamic philosophy, and the Jewish Kabbalah. In this interesting syncretism, love was considered as an inspiration experienced by the entire universe, and magical practice was understood as a philosophy in action, which had the power to establish a bond of a loving nature between the different realms of reality. Magicians were therefore conceived as wise philosophers capable of joining this network of correspondences and controlling them (art)ificially. As a result, the figures of poets and artists interestingly merged into those of magicians of physicians, and poetry was conceived both as a magic able to arouse mental images stronger than real visions, and as a medicine able to exert a mental and physiological agency on the body. The course will approach these themes through a multi-disciplinary and trans-historical approach, which will include in the discussion a wide variety of figures, such as global early modern and modern philosophers, physicians, poets, artists, and composers.All readings and class discussion will be in English. Students will have an additional hour of class for Italian credit.

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POLS B228 Living Justly in an Unkind World

Fall 2026

An introduction to the fundamental problems of political philosophy, especially the relationship between political life and the human good or goods.

Critical Interpretation (CI)

Counts Toward: Classical Studies; Philosophy.

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POLS B231 Introduction to Political Philosophy: Modern

Not offered 2026-27

A continuation of POLS 228, although 228 is not a prerequisite. Particular attention is given to the various ways in which the concept of freedom is used in explaining political life. Readings from Locke, J.S. Mill, Hegel, Marx, Nietzsche and others.

Critical Interpretation (CI)

Counts Toward: Philosophy.

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POLS B245 Philosophy of Law

Fall 2026

Introduces students to a variety of questions in the philosophy of law. Readings will be concerned with the nature of law, the character of law as a system, the ethical character of law, and the relationship of law to politics, power, authority, and society. Readings will include philosophical arguments about law, as well as judicial cases through which we examine these ideas within specific contexts, especially tort and contracts. Most or all of the specific issues discussed will be taken from Anglo-American law, although the general issues considered are not limited to those legal systems. Recommended Prerequisite: sophomore standing, freshman only with professor's consent.

Critical Interpretation (CI)

Counts Toward: Philosophy.

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POLS B272 The Power of the People: Democratic Revolutions

Not offered 2026-27

We often invoke "democracy" as the very ground of political legitimacy, but there is very little agreement on what democracy means, why we might desire it, or how state institutions, law, and political culture might embody it. In this seminar we will grapple with some recent and influential accounts of democratic governance and democratic movements today. Our objective will be to develop a critical vocabulary for understanding what democracy might mean, what conditions it requires, and what "best practices" citizens committed to democracy might enlist to confront political challenges such as the structural divisions that persist among class, gender, and race; persistent inequality and influence of money and corporations; and the potential for democratic, grass-roots power as a vital ingredient to democratic flourishing. Writing Intensive.

Writing Intensive

Critical Interpretation (CI)

Counts Toward: Philosophy.

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POLS B358 Freedom in the 21st Century

Not offered 2026-27

This course investigates what freedom means, how political communities organize themselves around freedom, and how contestation about freedom is essential in twenty-first century political life. We will take orientation from the argument developed by David Graeber and David Wengrow in The Dawn of Everything, which suggests that freedom and not equality is the site of political struggle today. We'll give some time to contextualizing Graber and Wengrow's historical inquiry as a political project in response to interrelated crises of ecology and democracy of the present moment. Expanding from this point of origin (which will be linked to the other courses in the 360), we'll then consider how theorists and practitioners around the world have considered freedom's perils and possibilities: abolitionist organizing in the work of Mariame Kaba; democratic socialism in the theory of Axel Honneth; freedom as a mask for state-sactioned violence in the critical queer work of Chanan Reddy; escape and flight from such states realized through "freedom as marronage"; and freedom as an Indigenous political project in the the work of Taiaiake Alfred, Glen Coulthard, and Leanne Betasamosake Simpson. Each approach will offer an opportunity to think through the meaning and politics of freedom as well as to develop frameworks of political analysis that can illustrate how struggles for freedom shape and structure politics today. Prerequisite: One course in Political Theory or Philosophy or Permission of instructor.

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POLS B371 Topics in Political Philosophy

Section 001 (Fall 2025): Governing the Self and Others

Not offered 2026-27

An advanced seminar on a topic in political or legal philosophy/theory. Topics vary by year. Prerequisite: At least one course in political theory or philosophy or consent of instructor.

Counts Toward: Philosophy.

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POLS B381 Nietzsche

Not offered 2026-27

This course examines Nietzsche's thought, with particular focus on such questions as the nature of the self, truth , irony, aggression, play, joy, love, and morality. The texts for the course are drawn mostly from Nietzsche's own writing, but these are complemented by some contemporary work in moral philosophy and philosophy of mind that has a Nietzschean influence.

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