2016-17 Academic Catalog

Politics can be defined as struggle for power. However, what power means is neither self-evident nor a non-controversial issue. The course explores different definitions of power, its difference from violence and force, as well as the extent to which criticism, resistance, and freedom are intrinsic components of power. Special attention will be given to the relationship between power and revolution, especially to the difficulty of turning revolutionary violence into political representation. In the attempt to answer these questions we will read texts by Arendt and Foucault and will consider the concrete examples of the French, Soviet, and Iranian Revolutions.