PSCI 397 Statesmanship through Political Biography: Junior Honors Seminar

Professor Rowe

This course is designed primarily for political science majors interested in entering the senior Honors Program, but other majors and nonmajors are also welcome. The seminar will explore controversial questions about the appropriate study or theory of politics and the practice of it by statesmen. What are the purposes, methods, and limits of political science? What is statesmanship or successful leadership? How are political science and practical statesmanship related to ethical norms and insights? What kind of political education is appropriate for citizens? Readings will include selections from James Ceaser's Liberal Democracy and Political Science and biographies of or works and speeches by Elizabeth I, Ataturk, Washington, Lincoln, and Churchill. The seminar is largely for junior majors, but if any places remain open, sophomores will be admitted. Prerequisite: sophomore standing. Enrollment limited.