PT203 Theories of Liberty
Seminar Leader: Andreas Blank
Course Times: Tue 17:00 – 18:30, Thu 17:00 – 18.30
Email: [email protected]
Office Hours: Tue 10:30 – 11:30, Thu 16:00 – 17:00
Course Description
One of the most exciting developments in political thought of the past two decades is
the revival of a conception of liberty that predates liberalism. This concept is often dubbed
the “republican conception” of liberty. Such a conception be traced back at least to
Renaissance interpretations of the constitution of the Roman Republic in antiquity, most
prominently in Niccolò Machiavelli’s Discourses on Livy. It became influential in the
political thought of the English Interregnum (for instance in the political writings of John
Milton) and has left significant traces in the theory of liberty as division of power (most
prominently in Charles Louis de Montesquieu’s The Spirit of Laws). The seminar explores
the history of this pre-liberal idea of liberty, and contrasts it with concepts of liberty in
classical liberalism (as in John Locke and John Stuart Mill), as well as concepts of liberty in
20th century liberalism (for example in the work of Isaiah Berlin and Judith Shklar). More
recently, the republican concept of liberty has been used as a theoretical tool to deal with
problems of oppression in international relations and questions of justice and democracy
across borders. The seminar also considers some influential texts from the contemporary
debate and asks whether the liberal conception of justice could not be understood to fulfill
very similar theoretical functions.
Requirements
(including expectations regarding participation and course assignments)
Attendance
Attendance at ALL classes is expected. More than two absences (that is absences from two sessions of
90 minutes) in a semester will significantly affect the participation grade for the course.
Students are advised to consult the Student Handbook for regulations governing periods of illness or
leaves of absence.
Assessment
Two short text-related presentations
Active classroom participation
Mid-term essay (1500 – 2000 words)
Final essay (4000 – 4500 words)
Writing Assignments
Mid-term essay due October 12 (optional: draft of mid-term essay due October 3)
Final essay due December 16 (optional: draft of final essay due December 5)
Policy on Late Submission of Papers
Syllabi for core and elective classes should note or refer to the following policy from the Student
Handbook on the submission of essays: essays that are up to 24 hours late will be downgraded one full
grade (from B+ to C+, for example). Instructors are not obliged to accept essays that are more than 24
hours late. Where an instructor agrees to accept a late essay, it must be submitted within four weeks of
the deadline and cannot receive a grade of higher than C.
Thereafter, the student will receive a failing grade for the assignment.
Grade Breakdown
Presentations (20 %), Classroom participation (20 %), mid-term essay (20 %), final essay (40 %)
Schedule
Part I: Liberty in the History of Political Thought
Week 1: Republican liberty in the Renaissance
Tuesday: Overview of the course (August 30)
Thursday: Machiavelli, Discourses on Livy, book 1, intro and chapters 1 – 6 (September 1)
Week 2: Republican liberty in the Renaissance and the English Interregnum
Tuesday: Machiavelli, Discourses on Livy, book 1, chapters 7 – 10, 16 – 18 (September 6)
Thursday: John Milton, “Of the Tenure of Kings and Magistrates” (September 8)
Week 3: Liberty as division of power
Tuesday: Montesquieu, The Spirit of Laws, book 1, chapters 1 – 3 (September 13)
Thursday: Montesquieu, The Spirit of Laws, book 3, chapters 1 – 9 (September 15)
Week 4: Liberty as division of power
Tuesday: Montesquieu, The Spirit of Laws, book 5, chapters 1 – 8 (September 20)
Thursday: Montesquieu, The Spirit of Laws, book 11, chapters 1 – 6 (September 22)
Week 5: Liberty in classical liberalism
Tuesday: Locke, Second Treatise on Government, chapters 1 – 4 (September 27)
Thursday: Locke, Second Treatise on Government, chapter 5 (September 29)
Week 6: Liberty in classical liberalism
Tuesday: no meeting (October 4: national holiday)
Thursday: Locke, Second Treatise on Government, chapters 7 – 8 (October 6)
Week 7: Liberty in classical liberalism
Tuesday: John Stuart Mill, On Liberty, chapter 1 and 2 (October 11)
Thursday: John Stuart Mill, On Liberty, chapter 3 and 4 (October 13)
Week 8: Fall break (October 17-21)
Week 9: Liberty in 20th century liberalism
Tuesday: Isaiah Berlin, “Political Ideas in the 20th Century” (October 25)
Thursday: Isaiah Berlin, “Two Concepts of Liberty”, intro and sections 1 – 4 (October 27)
Week 10: Liberty in 20th century liberalism
Tuesday: Isaiah Berlin, “Two Concepts of Liberty”, sections 5 – 8 (November 1)
Thursday: Judith Shklar, “The Liberalism of Fear” (November 3)
Part II: Liberty in Contemporary Political Thought
Week 11: The revival of the republican concept of liberty
Tuesday: Philipp Pettit, Just Freedom. A Moral Compass for a Complex World, chapter 1 (November 8)
Thursday: Philipp Pettit, Just Freedom. A Moral Compass for a Complex World, chapter 2 (November 10)
Week 12: Republican liberty and the problem of oppression
Tuesday: Iris Marion Young, “Modest Reflections on Hegemony and Global Democracy” (November 15)
Thursday: Mira Bachvarova, “Non-domination’s Role in the Theorizing of Global Justice” (November
17)
Week 13: Republican liberty and the controversy over global democracy
Tuesday: James Bohman, “Cosmopolitan Republicanism: Citizenship, Freedom and Global Political
Authority” (November 22)
Thursday: Cristina Lafont, “Can Democracy Go Global?” (November 24)
Week 14: Republican liberty and the liberal conception of liberty
Tuesday: Michael David Harbour, “Non-domination and Pure Negative Liberty” (November 29)
Thursday: Gillian Brock, “Basic Liberties and Global Justice” (December 1)
Week 15: Republican liberty and cosmopolitanism
Tuesday: Daniele Archibugi, chapter 4 (December 6)
Thursday: Daniele Archibugi, chapter 8 (December 8)
Essay Deadlines
Mid-term essay due October 12
Final essay due December 16
Library and Book Purchase Policies
All course texts will be provided online at Reserves Direct.