GOVT 4496

Last Updated

  • Schedule of Classes - February 6, 2017 7:14PM EST
  • Course Catalog - February 6, 2017 7:15PM EST

GOVT 4496
Power

Course information provided by the Courses of Study 2016-2017.

This seminar inquires into the interrelation between two meanings of the concept of power:  "power over" or control power and "power to" or protean power. Control power is based on the notion that actors can shape the social context in which they operate in predictable ways. Protean power highlights unintended and unanticipated events and processes that destabilize or upset control. Control power focuses on actors' abilities to maneuver in a world of risk to cause outcomes they deem desirable. Protean power highlights actors' evolving agility as they adapt in situations of uncertainty. The two kinds of power circulate and interact in settings in which actor practices acquiesce, resist and innovate. This seminar will read political theorists such as Aristotle, Machiavelli, Hobbes, Clausewitz, Foucault, Arendt and Hayek as they probe the meaning of power.

When Offered Fall.

Distribution Category (HA-AS)
Course Subfield (AM, CP, IR, PT)

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Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: GOVT 6496

  • 4 Credits Graded

  • 15889 GOVT 4496   SEM 101

  • Government seniors and juniors given preference. This course satisfies the government senior seminar requirement.

    Instructor Consent Required (Add)