POLI 271: Race, Gender, and Class in American Political Thought
Political Science 271.01
Fall 2007
Professor Sarita McCoy Gregory
Phone: (845) 437-5683
Office: RH 404
Office Hours: W 1 – 3 pm
(or by appointment)
Location: RH 210
Time: TTH 1:30 - 2:45 p.m.
Email: sagregory@vassar.edu
This intermediate-level course is designed to introduce students to early classic texts in
American Political Thought (the revolution, constitutional convention, abolitionist
debates). Part one of the course begins by exploring the “founding” of America, with a
specific emphasis on the Revolution and the framing of the Constitution in the eighteenth
century. We will explore the issue of slavery as both an institution and as a source of
cleavage for the framers and the leaders of the abolitionist movement. Part two of the
course turns to the rise of capitalism and other intellectual and political movements which
followed the Civil War, namely the white women’s suffrage movement and the 20th
century civil rights movements. Key questions that will be addressed are: what are the
core concepts and constellations of concepts historically found in American political
thought? What is liberalism and to what extent does it inform our thinking about
American political thought? To what degree have the constructions of race, gender,
nativism, and class shaped American political thought? Who are the "people" and how
are their interests brought into (or excluded from) the political process? Note that if
certain topics not included on the syllabus interest you, I encourage you to bring those
interests into the class discussions and into your final paper.
Group Projects
Immigration and Citizenship American Exceptionalism Black Morality The Battleground Over Civil Rights
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Comments (1)
Anonymous said
at 9:53 pm on Oct 30, 2007
Welcome to our wiki page for Poli 271. You can add your annotations and other papers or links related to your group projects here.
SG
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