Foundations of Political Science

Image of head of Statue of Liberty Paris 1883.

Head of Statue of Liberty on display in park in Paris, 1883. (Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division [reproduction number, LC-USZ62-18086 (b&w film copy neg.)])

Instructor(s)

MIT Course Number

17.960

As Taught In

Fall 2004

Level

Graduate

Translated Versions

Türkçe

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Course Description

Course Features

Course Description

This subject, required of all first-year PhD students in political science, introduces fundamental ideas, theories, and methods in contemporary political science through the study of a small number of major books and articles that are intrinsically good and have been influential in the field. The first semester focuses principally on issues of political theory and international relations, while the second focuses principally on American and comparative politics. Readings in the fall semester from Rawls, A Theory of Justice; Hayek, The Constitution of Liberty; Arrow Social Choice and Individual Values; Olson, The Logic of Collective Action; Waltz, Theory of International Relations; Bull, The Anarchical Society; Foucault, Discipline and Punish; Elster, Cement of Society; Keohane, After Hegemony, Allison and Zelikow, The Essence of Decision, and Doyle, "Kant, Liberal Legacies, and Foreign Affairs."

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Related Content

Joshua Cohen. 17.960 Foundations of Political Science. Fall 2004. Massachusetts Institute of Technology: MIT OpenCourseWare, https://ocw.mit.edu. License: Creative Commons BY-NC-SA.


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