Political Myth
SOC-STD 98PM
Subject & Catalog Number
Course Information
Description
Political myth, or ideologically-marked narratives that are essential to the identity of a social group, has often been thought of as antithetical to political theory. By obscuring the truth in false narratives, or by communicating truths through narrative and arational means, myth has been interpreted as hostile to freedom, liberalism, rationalism, and deliberative democracy. And yet, despite Max Weber’s claim that the modern world had become ‘disenchanted,’ the last century saw an explosion of political myths implicitly and explicitly driving mass political movements. Political myth prompts key questions about political theory: Is it possible or even desirable to have a politics without myth? If not, then what role exactly does myth play in politics? Can political myths be open to contestation and reevaluation? Under what conditions can political myth be a means of oppression, and under what conditions can it serve emancipatory ends? To address these questions, this class will examine the relationship between myth and politics through a series of major theoretical statements drawn mostly from European intellectual history followed by a series of case studies. This is a junior tutorial.
Course Notes
This course will be lotteried and is open to non-concentrators if space permits. This course must be taken for a Letter Grade and cannot be taken Pass/Fail.
Not Available for Cross Registration
