| | Description: | Today, the number of displaced people is as its highest: one out of every 113 people on Earth. In this course, we begin with an understanding of what it means to be a refugee, and we discuss readings that lead us to an understanding of the modern refugee as we contextualize the significance of such terms as 'refugee,' 'asylum,' 'sanctuary,' 'non-refoulement,' or 'forced displacement.' With this foundation, we move to the role that language plays with resettlement into society and examine factors in the legal, healthcare and educational systems. We examine global work done through the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and more, and we concentrate on the current state of refugees and New Americans in St. Louis and the USA. The course fosters critical thinking across academic disciplines, encourages practical implications of research on resettlement and language policy, and includes invited guest lectures by local practitioners and other Washington University scholars. This course is for first-year, non-transfer students only. |
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| | Description: | An investigation of a range of contemporary moral issues and controversies that draws on philosophical ethics and culturewide moral considerations. Topics may include: racism, world hunger, war and terrorism, the distribution of income and wealth, gender discrimination, pornography, free speech, lesbian and gay rights, abortion, euthanasia, capital punishment, and animals and the environment. |
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| | 01 | M-W---- | 11:30A-12:50P | Seigle / 303 | Gais | Paper/Project/TakeHome | 19 | 19 | 0 | | |
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| | Description: | What is modernity? What kinds of politics are characteristic of modern politics? How did modern figures imagine this new world? What kind of politics were they rejecting in these efforts? This course begins by examining early modern figures, such as Thomas Hobbes and John Locke, and the concepts, principles, and aspirations of the modern project, such as the emergence of the nation state, modern notions of freedom, and religious toleration. Next, we engage with some of the most influential critics of modernity, such as Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Karl Marx, John Stuart Mill, W.E.B. Du Bois, and Hannah Arendt, asking how they challenge our modern intuitions and commitments. |
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| | 01 | -T-R--- | 10:00A-11:20A | Seigle / 111 | Baxley | Paper/Project/TakeHome | 19 | 14 | 0 | | |
| 02 | M-W---- | 2:30P-3:50P | Cupples I / 207 | Koellner, Bademsoy | Paper/Project/TakeHome | 19 | 15 | 0 | | |
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| | Description: | Americans are increasingly skeptical about the future of their democracy and about our ability to pursue equality and social justice within the existing political system, and many people identify irresolvable disagreement, political extremism, and partisan polarization as causes of the current crisis in American democracy. In this course, we will study disagreement, extremism, and polarization using insights and methods from philosophy, political science, and empirical psychology, with the aim of understanding
these phenomena and the social and political challenges they pose. Our questions will include whether it is possible for reasonable people to disagree, whether democratic deliberation requires a background of agreement or "shared facts," how our moral psychology shapes our political beliefs, whether prejudice and bias can be eliminated from political thinking, and whether there are some political positions that are so extreme they should not be taken seriously. There are no prerequisites for this course and no background in philosophy, political science, or psychology will be assumed |
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| | 01 | -T-R--- | 8:30A-9:50A | Eads / 204 | Vollbrecht | See instructor | 35 | 33 | 0 | | |
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| | 13 | TBA | | TBA | Lovett | No final | 10 | 11 | 0 | | |
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| | 01 | M-W---- | 8:30A-9:50A | Busch / 14 | Thomas | No final | 12 | 12 | 0 | | |
| 02 | M-W---- | 2:30P-3:50P | Eads / 210 | Windle | No final | 12 | 12 | 0 | | |
| 03 | M-W---- | 4:00P-5:20P | Eads / 205 | Windle | No final | 12 | 12 | 0 | | |
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| | 01 | M-W---- | 8:30A-9:50A | Hillman / 70 | Afful | Paper/Project/TakeHome | 175 | 95 | 0 | | |
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| | Description: | This course overviews the leading contemporary conceptions of social justice, including utilitarian, liberal, libertarian, communitarian, and deliberative-democratic theories, and their implications for the design of political, economic, and social institutions. In addition, this course will examine special topics such as justice between generations, global justice, and the rights of resistance or disobedience. Note: This course counts towards the undergraduate Political Theory subfield. |
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| | 01 | M-W---- | 10:00A-11:20A | Eads / 216 | Lovett | Dec 16 2024 10:30AM - 12:30PM | 40 | 17 | 0 | | |
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| | Description: | Intensive readings of great works in the history of ethics, especially by Plato, Aristotle, Hume, Kant, and Mill. Topics may include: the sources of moral knowledge, the nature of practical moral judgment, the moral role of emotion and desire, weakness of will, moral autonomy, and the universality of moral norms.
Prerequisites: one course in Philosophy at the 100 or 200-level, or permission of the instructor.
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| | 01 | -T-R--- | 1:00P-2:20P | Eads / 204 | Baxley | No final | 25 | 24 | 0 | | |
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| | Description: | This course explores how social constructions of gender, race, class, and sexuality have shaped traditional legal reasoning and American legal concepts, including women's legal rights. We will begin by placing our current legal framework, and its gender, race, sexuality, and other societal assumptions, in an historical and Constitutional context. We will then examine many of the questions raised by feminist theory, feminist jurisprudence, and other critical perspectives. For example, is the legal subject gendered male, and, if so, how can advocates (for women and men) use the law to gain greater equality? What paradoxes have emerged in areas such as employment discrimination, family law, or reproductive rights, as women and others have sought liberal equality? What is the equality/difference debate about and why is it important for feminists? How do intersectionality and various schools of feminist thought affect our concepts of discrimination, equality, and justice? The course is thematic, but we will spend time on key cases that have influenced law and policy, examining how they affect the everyday lives of women. Over the years, this course has attracted WGSS students and pre-law students. This course is taught by law students under the supervision of a member of the School of Law faculty. Waitlist managed by dept. |
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| | 01 | --W---- | 4:00P-6:50P | AB Law Bldg / 404 | Tokarz | Paper/Project/TakeHome | 26 | 22 | 0 | | Desc: | Waitlist managed by dept. |
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| | 01 | -T-R--- | 10:00A-11:20A | Wrighton / 301 | Bernstein | Paper/Project/TakeHome | 50 | 35 | 0 | | |
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| | Description: | This course offers a critical introduction to the main issues and debates in western political theory, including but not limited to the topics of justice, legitimacy, equality, democracy, liberty, sovereignty, and the role of history in the political and social world. This course is designed to be the first in a three-semester sequence on the history of political thought, and students are encouraged, but not required, to take the courses in chronological sequence. The first semester begins with ancient Greek political thought, and follows its development up to the early 16th century. Note: This course counts towards the undergraduate Political Theory subfield. |
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| | 13 | TBA | | TBA | Lovett | See department | 999 | 0 | 0 | | |
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| | 01 | -T----- | 9:00A-11:50A | Wilson / 104 | Baril | See instructor | 0 | 6 | 0 | | Desc: | Democracy in the United States faces several related challenges, including political polarization, extremism, and a shortage of reasoned moral and political debate. Many Americans believe our democracy is in crisis and are increasingly skeptical that political progress and social justice can be achieved in our democratic system. This course aims to engage with the crisis of American democracy by examining the practice of reasoning about values, which is a key component of "civil society," i.e. the norms, practices, and non-state institutions that constitute a democratic society. Students will study a selection of moral and political issues, learn strategies for reasoning with others about them, and organize a series of "Dinner & Dialogue" events designed to model constructive moral and political discourse. This course is part of the Civil Society Initiative; for more information: https://philosophy.wustl.edu/civil-society-initiative Enrollment is limited, so all students will initially be wait-listed. Students who wish to enroll should complete the following brief questionnaire: https://philosophy.wustl.edu/civil-society-questionnaire Students who fill out the questionnaire by April 1st will be notified about enrollment by April 16th. For more information on the course, contact anne.m.baril@wustl.edu. |
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| | Description: | A selective investigation of one or two advanced topics in the philosophical understanding of society, government, and culture. Readings may include both historical and contemporary materials. Possible topics include: liberalism, socialism, communitarianism, citizenship, nationalism, cosmopolitanism, social contract theory, anarchism, and the rights of cultural minorities. Prerequisites: one course in Philosophy at the 300-level, graduate standing, or permission of the instructor.
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| | 01 | M-W---- | 1:00P-2:20P | McDonnell / 361 | Wellman | Dec 18 2024 1:00PM - 3:00PM | 19 | 24 | 0 | | |
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| | Description: | A seminar on social theory and its ethnographic implications. Course combines major works of modern social theory, including Marx, Weber, and Durkheim, with current work by contemporary anthropologists, such as Clifford Geertz, Eric Wolf, Marshall Sahlins, and Fredrik Barth, and ethnographers from related disciplines, such as Pierre Bourdieu and Paul Willis. Prerequisite: Previous anthropology coursework or permission of instructor. |
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