Political Ideas from the Early Modern Age to the Digital Revolution

The course is a systematic and critical introduction to the major political ideas that have been developed from the emergence of modernity to the current digital revolution. We will tackle fundamental questions such as:
- What is freedom, and how does it square with state authority?
- What is equality, and what kind of equality should we strive for in a democratic state?
- How to rethink politics in plural world? Issues related to Hinduism, Islam, Confucianism, etc.
- What’s the relation between religion and the democratic state?
- Are capitalism and democracy mutually sustaining or in conflict?
- How does technology change war? What are ethical implications?
- What is the impact of the digital revolution on democracy (e.g. Internet, big data, robots, etc.)?. Students will be strongly encouraged to discuss specific texts in the class, propose their own themes, and write the class essay by drawing on their specific background and interests.