Aristotle tells us that human beings are “political animals.” Not only must we cooperate to survive, our moral and intellectual capacities can only flourish in association with others. Living in a political community presents some basic challenges, as familiar to Aristotle as they remain today: how to preserve order, to protect the weak from the strong, to provide for the common defense, to care for those unable to care for themselves. Political thinkers ask such questions, but they also probe deeper, questioning the assumptions and beliefs that undergird our expectations of what politics is and should be, including the very goals a society should pursue.

What is the meaning of justice for global citizens, for individuals and groups within national boundaries? How can we best achieve it, especially in the context of modern democracy? What are the various forms of injustice in our contemporary society? How is inequality interconnected with race, class, gender, ability, and sexuality? With colonialism and nation building? With labor and production? In our food system and our relationship to the environment? How is the tension between justice and inequality manifest in the prisons and legal system? In our access to civil rights and civil liberties? In the lives of migrants and immigrants across the world? What are the historic legacies of inequality and oppression? How have they shaped societies and the lives of individuals? Why are we so often blind to injustice and oppression in our midst? Finally, as Babson students, what is our relationship to issues of justice and equality? How can we best work to address the injustices of our contemporary world?

This course provides a critical introduction to U.S. politics. We will explore the historical and theoretical foundations of the American system of government, including its major political institutions. The legacies of settler-colonialism, racial oppression, and structural inequality will guide our inquiry into the successes and failures of the American experiment. We seek to gain a better understanding of the myriad forces — including race, gender, and class — that shape the range of political action available to us as participants in the world’s oldest constitutional democracy.