215.43 sec. 001 - On Tyranny (Fall 2025)
Instructor: Kinch Hoekstra (view instructor's teaching evaluations - degree students only | profile)
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Units: 3
Grading Designation: Graded
Mode of Instruction: In-Person
Meeting:
W 10:00 AM - 12:40 PM
Location: 2240 Piedmont 102
From August 20, 2025
To November 19, 2025
Course End: November 19, 2025
Class Number: 33200
Enrollment info:
Enrolled: 0
Waitlisted: 0
Enroll Limit: 24
As of: 04/08 07:13 AM
The tyrant is typically marked by unrestrained and unjust rule. We will discuss analyses of the rise of tyranny, the psychology of the tyrant, arguments for and against tyrannicide, and related ideas such as the tyranny of the majority, despotism, totalitarianism, and authoritarian populism.
Readings to be drawn from: Xenophon, Plato, Aristotle, Tacitus; Aquinas, Bartolus, Salutati; the Vindiciae contra tyrannos, James I, Hobbes; Montesquieu, Robespierre, Tocqueville; Koestler, Strauss, Arendt, Kojève; and recent works.
Exam Notes: (P) Final Paper
(Subject to change by faculty member only through the first two weeks of instruction)
Course Category: Jurisprudence and Social Policy (JSP)
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