ASRC 3406

Conservatism in Black

Course Description

Course information provided by the 2026-2027 Catalog.

Hardly a day passes that we do not encounter some reference to the idea of Conservatism in ordinary discourse, especially in the political sphere. And there is no dearth of claimants to conservative identity. Even a presidential candidate once described himself as “severely conservative”. I think it is time to put the phenomenon of conservatism under the intellectual microscope. But it is a particular sector of conservative thought that interests us in this course. It is that sector that is either overlooked or ignored, by design or default, it matters little, in the literature. It is that sector peopled by African American thinkers. The aim in this class is to explore the idea of conservatism, the core claims associated with it, its many variants, as well as what philosophical claims are made in its name and what philosophical arguments are offered in its justification. Who is a conservative? What is conservatism? How has conservatism evolved over time and what might we learn from this history both for our understanding of the idea during our own time and our assessment of its claims in social and political philosophy? This we do from the perspective of African American contributors to the discourse.

Distribution Requirements (ALC-AS)

Last 4 Terms Offered (None)

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