| Course Title: Advanced Topics in Politics: 'Conservative Political Thought' |
| Start Date: 01/27/2026 End Date: 05/12/2026 |
| Term: Spring Semester 2026 |
| Description: This course surveys the development of conservative political thought in the West, with emphasis on the United States, tracing its evolution from Edmund Burke and Russell Kirk through contemporary figures such as J.D. Vance, Patrick Deneen, Sohrab Ahmari, and Adrian Vermeule. Students will examine conservative arguments about tradition, authority, order, freedom, the economy, and the relationship between church and state, as well as internal tensions and transformations across time and place. Readings also include conservative appropriations of earlier thinkers-ranging from Plato to Thomas Aquinas-showing how classical and medieval ideas have been reinterpreted for modern conservatism. |
| Distribution(s): III - Social Sciences , SI - Speaking-Intensive , WI - Writing-Intensive , TP - Topics Course |
| Academic Level Of Course: Undergraduate | Credits:4.00 |
| Faculty | Phone | Email address |
| Kevin Henderson | khenderson@mtholyoke.edu |
| Meeting Dates | Method | Meeting days | Meeting times | Building name | Room | Frequency |
| 01/27/2026 - 05/12/2026 | Seminar | Tuesday and Thursday | 03:15PM - 04:30PM | CLAP - Clapp Laboratory | 206 | Weekly |
| Requisite Courses | ||
| None |
| Comments |
| Additional Comments |
| Course Tags |
| Cross-listed Sections |
| None |
| Course Availability | ||||
| Section status: Open | Capacity: 18 | Enrollment: 15 | Available: 3 | Waitlist: 0 |
BOOK INFORMATION
| Book List | Required | Publisher Full Price |
| To be determined. |
| Additional Book Comments |
| This is NOT the complete book list for this class. |