AP/SOSC 3515 6.00

Social And Political Thought: East And West

The course aims to compare and contrast the social and political ideas of East Asian and Western thought in both ancient and contemporary perspectives. It examines classical Chinese thinkers such as Laozi, Zhuangzi, and Confucius alongside Greek thinkers Heraclitus, Plato, and Socrates through a close textual analysis of selections of their most relevant writings. Through group-based discussions directed toward the learning objectives of critical thinking, reading, and writing, the class focusses on topics which are still important for the modern world including the origins of the concepts of society, politics, civilization, the mind, the body, the state, knowledge, and nature.