This course is an introduction to the history of Western political thought from the late fifteenth century through the nineteenth century. We will consider the secularization of politics, the changing relationship between the individual and society, the rise of consent-based forms of political authority, and the development and critiques of liberal conceptions of property. Thinkers covered will include: Machiavelli, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Wollstonecraft, Burke, Mill, and Marx.
5 units · Letter or Credit/No Credit · GER: WAY-A-II, WAY-ER
This course is an introduction to the history of Western political thought from the late fifteenth century through the nineteenth century. We will consider the secularization of politics, the changing relationship between the individual and society, the rise of consent-based forms of political authority, and the development and critiques of liberal conceptions of property. Thinkers covered will include: Machiavelli, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Wollstonecraft, Burke, Mill, and Marx.
Offered in Spring 2026 at Stanford University.