A Republic If You Can Keep It

Thus was Ben Franklin’s quip in response to a query from a curious citizen as to what the Constitutional Convention had come up with. The American Founders were very cognizant of the poor track record of republics and the risks they were asking the new American nation to undertake. The issues remain with us. The topic of this course is a twist on something one sees frequently in the popular press: can an authoritarian turn fatally undermine democracy in the present-day US? In other words, can it happen here? Authors to be read come from the four-year Basic Program core curriculum, including: Thucydides, Plato, Aristotle, Machiavelli, Hobbes, Locke, Alexander Hamilton and James Madison in the Federalist Papers, Alexis de Tocqueville. We shall also read an essay by Max Weber, and quite possibly discuss the movie, All the King’s Men, in conjunction with Basic Program Movie Nights. (This course was developed in collaboration with Basic Program alumnus, Tom Reepmeyer.)

Course Outline

Course Syllabus

Notes

Online registration closes June 4 at 5 pm CT.

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