Goucher College 2021-2022 Undergraduate Catalogue 
    
    Mar 28, 2024  
Goucher College 2021-2022 Undergraduate Catalogue PLEASE NOTE: This is an archived catalog. Programs are subject to change each academic year.

PSC 327 - Bootlicking and Other Authoritarian Pathologies (4 Cr.)

(PHL 327) (GCR RPP)
What is the nature of authority and authoritarianism? Why are certain individuals drawn to and motivated by authority and by acquiescing to it and also by following even to their own detriment or to the extent that they give up their sense of self, responsibility, or individuality? This class will explore these questions from an interdisciplinary perspective focusing on philosophy, political theory, psychoanalysis, anthropology, religion, genocide studies, and history. We will touch especially on questions of authority in the context of how beliefs are formed, how words and language are used, how actions are motivated and justified, how movements arise and are maintained, and how authoritarian structures are sustained and constructed (among others). Some of the specific examples we will look at may involve perspectives of race, gender, and power around white supremacy, white nationalism, antisemitism, misogyny, and/or patriarchy. No prior experience with any of these fields or the topic is necessary. Spring semester. Offered Spring 2021 and every other year. Shuster.