In this course we will read influential texts in political thought and theory. We will examine authors you hear a lot about but perhaps never had the opportunity to study in detail, much less in one setting: Hegel, Marx, Nietzsche, Freud, Arendt, Foucault, Fanon, Debord, Jameson, Spivak, and Butler. Students majoring in Politics as well as literature, Philosophy, and History are welcome, as are majors in the Social, Natural, and Applied Sciences. No prior knowledge of these thinkers is required; just the wish to read challenging works and discuss thought-provoking topics.