Critical Theory Emphasis

The course is intended as an open discussion of theoretical and political problems which contribute to the new figure of the Citizen in the wake of the XXIst Century.  Citizenship is a notion as old as the political institution itself, which for that reason remained at the core of the "tradition" (as Hannah Arendt would say) in Political Philosophy.  Originally linked with the form and status groups of the City-State, it lived through the profoundly different conditions of the Empires, the Merchant Republics, the monarchic or democratic Nation-States, the colonial Dominions and post-colonial New Nations, while keeping some of its typical individual values and collective ideals.  It is now facing the challenging issues of the so-called "Globalization," which some philosophers think amount to entering a "post-national era" (Habermas, among others).  Starting with a brief comparison between significant definitions of the Citizen in different periods, we shall examine in greater or lesser detail such questions as:  liberty and equality as complementary or opposite values; ownership and membership (the political individual); different kinds of "rights" and access to citizenship; citizenship and nation, from the "national" to the "social" state, and the "mixed" constitutions; majorities and minorities; republican secularism; "impolitical" questions (citizenship and civility).

Seminar:  15-20 page seminar paper.

The course will begin on Monday, January 18; there will be two make-up classes for the ones missed in the first two weeks.