Methods In Political Theory

This course is designed to provide you with a general introduction to certain of the most significant traditions within the field of political theory. It focuses in particular on the relationship between normative political thought and the methodologies deployed in the production and study of this thought. Within the field of political theory, questions regarding method tend to be obscured or ignored by practitioners and students alike. This course will thus aim to correct this lack by highlighting some of the most important methodological approaches to the practice of political theory. It will examine both the theoretical assumptions guiding the various methods, as well as how the methods are concretely applied in the formulation and analysis of political thought. Examples of methodological traditions that will be studied include: analytic political philosophy, realism, esotericism, contextualism, dialectical analysis, immanent critique, hermeneutics, genealogy, and comparative political theory.