Tocqueville Forum

Summer Courses at Georgetown

The Tocqueville Forum is pleased to announce Georgetown University summer courses taught by faculty affiliated with the Forum.

Forum Graduate Fellow Brian Smith will teach an introductory class in American Political Theory (Government 109) in the second summer session from July 7-August 8. Examining major writings over the whole of American history, the course will provide an overview of the most important strands of our nation's thought. As such, the course will cover a wide range of topics including the Puritans, the American Revolution and Founding, state sovereignty versus the national government, the Civil War, transcendentalism, and pragmatism; the course will end with an examination of more contemporary American thought. A draft syllabus may be found here.

Also, Georgetown Government Ph.D. and University of Wisconsin Prof. Richard Avramenko will teach a course on de Tocqueville's Democracy in America (Government 481). This course offers students an opportunity to consider carefully Tocqueville's masterpiece. The class will consider, among other things: the relationship--historical and logical--between aristocracy and democracy; the instability of democracy; the significance of habit in Tocqueville's thought; the case for American Exceptionalism; the importance of religion for democracy. The intention is less to defend what Tocqueville says than to begin to comprehend the way in which he thought through democracy and its problems. The course will also meet in the second summer session from July 7 to August 8.

Other courses which Forum student fellows and others may find of interest include Introduction to Philosophy with Prof. William Blattner (in the pre-session, May 19-June 13), an introduction to Shakespeare course (also in pre-session), and two linked courses (Government 472 and Public Policy 310) hosted by the Fund for American Studies on the role of philanthropy in American life taught by Prof. John Hasnas of the Business School and the Government Department's Prof. Joshua Mitchell.

Details about course enrollment for visiting students may be found at the Summer School's website. We encourage our visitors to forward this information to any students who might be interested and in the D.C. area this summer.