Course Description
Summary
Contemporary American conservatism has moved a long way from its historical roots in the ideologies of classical conservatism and classical liberalism. How did we get from Edmund Burke to Donald Trump? From the Federalists to the Freedom Caucus? With an election looming, and chaos unfolding, this course will explore how the aforementioned ideologies have intersected with four distinct traditions within American conservative thought: (1) libertarianism; (2) neo-conservatism; (3) white supremacism; and (4) evangelical Christianity. Analyzing the political logics of these ideological variants, and how they’ve converged and diverged in practice, will give us a better understanding of the political conjuncture in which we find ourselves.
