All courses numbered 500 and above are graduate courses.
Undergraduates need to submit a course permit to enroll.
HIST 720 Politics and Intellectuals in Modern Europe
Taught as schedule allows (consult the Course Directory)
In the context of widely distributed media, mass literacy, and expanding education, intellectuals came to play an increasingly important role in the politics of nineteenth- and twentieth-century Europe. This course will explore the intersection of political ideas, intellectuals as political actors, and the politics of institutions of higher learning. We will begin with several weeks of common readings focused on definitions of the ‘intellectual’, ‘case studies’ of intellectuals claiming and/or playing a role in politics and the public sphere, and the politics of universities. Students will then pursue individual research on a topic of their choice, with the goal of producing an article-length essay. There is a wide range of possible topics: from work in the history of political thought, to intellectuals as social/political actors (dissidents, ideologues, critics, ‘public’ intellectuals), to intellectuals’ attempts to intervene in politics through journals, books or other communicative forms, to the politics of various forms of educational or research institutions, including universities and think-tanks.
