Week Three: “Introduction to Political Philosophy,” Professor Steven B. Smith, Yale University
This week, we’re going back to New Haven and Yale University
Professor Steven B. Smith
On this visit, however, we’re going to the Department of Political Science and sampling Professor Steven B. Smith’s, “Introduction to Political Philosophy.” His course, “is intended as an introduction to political philosophy through the perspective of some of the major texts and thinkers of the Western political tradition. Three broad themes that are central to understanding political life are focused upon: the polis experience (Plato, Aristotle), the sovereign state (Machiavelli, Hobbes), constitutional government (Locke), and democracy (Rousseau, Tocqueville).”
Our interest in the course arises from the fact that the authors and works Professor Smith will discuss were, with one exception, key sources of knowledge and inspiration for our America’s founding generation. And the one exception Professor Smith will cover? It is Alexis De Tocqueville’s Democracy in America – one of the earliest systematic considerations and critiques of American politics and government in action.
Professor Smith is the Alfred Cowles Professor of Political Science and Master of Branford College at Yale. His research has been focused on the history of political philosophy and the role of statecraft in constitutional government.
As with Professor Freeman’s course, you can go directly to the first session of this course by clicking the button below.
To reach the other sessions for this class, click on the “sessions” tab at https://oyc.yale.edu/political-science/plsc-114.
Attribution: Steven B. Smith, Introduction to Political Philosophy, (Yale University: Open Yale Courses), http://oyc.yale.edu (Accessed January 20, 2022). License: Creative Commons BY-NC-SA. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/us/ Terms of Use for this Open Yale Course are available at: http://oyc.yale.edu/terms.