PHIL 4323 Radical Political Philosophy
In political theory, a radical philosophy is one that argues that significant change-down to the roots-needs to take place in order for a just political regime to exist. This is in comparison with philosophies that hold that reform or less extensive changes would be enough to produce a just political regime. This course focuses on philosophies that argue that such a radical change is necessary and can take a variety of foci to address that topic such as a contemporary, historical, or comparative philosophies. Possible topics for a course that focuses on modern thinkers might include anarchism, socialism, Marxism, feminism, environmentalism, critical race theory, queer theory, critical theory, and/or others. This course may also address the history of radical philosophy from antiquity to the present starting with Plato's Republic or Aristotle's Politics, and moving forward through time. A comparative version of this course might begin with Gandhi and then move to his impact on the civil rights movement in the United States.