Course Overview
Are human beings necessarily political animals? What is a just society and a just political order? What are the sources of political legitimacy? Of democratic legitimacy? What are limits of legitimate political power?
This course provides an introduction to political theory and the beginnings of answers to these core questions about political governance. Its primary focus will be the ideas that have, since the ancient Greeks, most informed contemporary political systems of the Western World, though many of these ideas have fundamentally challenged aspects of those systems. We will pay special attention to the ideas that undergird and challenge the U.S. political system. Along the way we will see that ideas that today seem to us traditional, perhaps even old-fashioned, were revolutionary for their times. And seemingly traditional ideas, taken seriously, can deeply challenge our current political realities.
All students who successfully complete the course will receive a Certificate of Completion and have the opportunity to request a Syracuse University credit transcript.
Course Objectives
- Familiarize students with the central debates in political theory
- Provide an introduction to the work of some of the discipline’s most influential thinkers
- Introduce students to critical and analytical engagement with significant texts
- Help students acquire the essential political vocabulary to formulate political questions and answers
- Equip students to critically engage—and defend—the political system in which they live
Course Information
Course Prefix and Number: PSC 125
Format: On Campus (at Syracuse University)
Eligibility: Students must be of rising high school junior or senior status – or a 2023 high school graduate.
Credit: 3 credits
Grading: A-F
Cost:
- Residential: $4,535
- Commuter: $3,590
Program rates are subject to change and will be approved by the board of trustees. Discounts and scholarships are also available.
Program Information
Summer College – On Campus: Experience what college is really like: take a college-level course, live in a residence hall, have meals with friends in a dining hall, and participate in activities and events on campus.
“Syracuse University Summer College has changed my life in more ways than I can imagine. Not only did I get to meet wonderful people and have a fantastic professor who was so knowledgeable about his field, but my course has also had so much impact outside of political theory.”
— Zoya K., Summer College – Online Student, 2021.
Course Dates and Details
| Program | Course Dates | Class Time (Eastern Time) | Credit/Noncredit | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Summer College – On Campus | 2-Week Session III: Sunday, July 30 – Friday, Aug. 11, 2023 | MTWThF; TBD | 3 credits | Closed |
Course Requirements
Typical Day
Tentative Schedule
Students are required to attend class Monday – Friday.
When class is over, and on weekends, students can look forward to various Summer College – On Campus activities to meet and connect with other students! Check out our On Campus Experience page for more information!
Faculty Bios
Grant Reeher, Ph.D.
Grant Reeher is Director of the Campbell Public Affairs Institute and a professor of political science at Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. His research and teaching interests are primarily in American politics and political theory, with an emphasis on legislative politics, democratic representation, and active citizenship. Among other books, he is the author of First Person Political: Legislative Life and the Meaning of Public Service (2006), Narratives of Justice: Legislators’ Beliefs about Distributive Fairness (1996), co-author of Click on Democracy: The Internet’s Power to Change Political Apathy into Civic Action (2002), and co-editor of The Trusted Leader: Building the Relationships that Make Government Work (2008, 2nd ed. 2012). His academic journal publications include pieces in Health Affairs; Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law; The Responsive Community; Polity; and PS: Political Science and Politics. He has also published many editorial essays on various political topics, including pieces in The New York Times, The Chicago Tribune, The Ottawa Citizen, Newsday, The Philadelphia Inquirer, and The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, and pieces that have been distributed through Knight-Ridder. At various points he has been a regular columnist for The Syracuse Post-Standard. He has also been quoted in thousands of newspaper, magazine, and online stories, including pieces appearing in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, The Financial Times, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, Military Times, TIME, Newsweek, The Atlantic, The Los Angeles Times, Salon, Newsday, Roll Call, CNN, CNBC, Ouest France, Reforma, and Jerusalem Post. Recently, he has been a regular expert commentator for The Hill and The Washington Examiner, two prominent inside-the-beltway publications. Reeher is a graduate of Dartmouth College, and earned his Ph.D. from Yale University.
In addition to his work at Syracuse University, Reeher is creator, host, and producer of “The Campbell Conversations” on WRVO Public Media, a weekly regional National Public Radio public affairs show featuring extended in-depth interviews with regional and national writers, politicians, activists, public officials, and business professionals. He has also arranged and hosted candidate debates on the program. The program has won awards from the New York State Broadcasters Association, the New York State Associated Press, and the Syracuse Press Club for best special program, best interview, and public service. WRVO Public Media is the largest NPR affiliate in Central New York, with a listening area that includes 22 counties and southern Ontario.