The Civic Republican Response to “Liberalism and its Critics”

Abstract

Political theory instructors are often familiar with the syllabus themed “Liberalism and its Critics.” Liberalism, however, is often narrowly and teleologically defined as the progressive expansion of human freedom. Further, counter or alternative narratives leave students as mere critics without constructive insight into the balance of individualism and cosmopolitanism. With these problematic approaches in mind, this article offers a civic republican viewpoint to supplement the limited approaches in “Liberalism and its Critics.” The course proposed by the authors reframes common methodology to include civic republicanism as a parallel and sympathetic intellectual development to liberalism, at times intertwined, and at others anticipating and supplementing its deficiencies. This article first shows the deficiencies of the inadequate narrative/counter-narrative approach and highlights why civic republicanism presents a novel approach to teaching theory. The authors then provide a possible course description with specific learning outcomes, a recommended course structure with suggested readings, and some concluding considerations on implementing such a course.

Keywords:

• Citizenship
• curriculum
• learner outcomes
• undergraduate education

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Daniella M. Mascarenhas

Daniella Mascarenhas is a professorial lecturer of justice, law, and society at American University. She received her PhD in political science in 2018 from the University of Houston. Her research has focused on the political theory of punishment in an American criminal justice system. Recently, her research efforts have focused on law and punishment in ancient republics. She teaches courses at American University on critical issues in criminal justice and legal research.

Jordon B. Barkalow

Jordon Barkalow is an associate professor of political science at Bridgewater State University in Bridgewater, MA, where he also serves as a co-coordinator of the program in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics (PPE). An award-winning teacher and active mentor of undergraduate research, his major research interest lies in American political thought. He has secondary research interests in early modern political thought, politics and literature, and philosophical engagement of the scholarship of teaching and learning. He can be contacted at [email protected] and on Twitter (@Pol_Theory_Prof).

Abram Trosky

Abram Trosky is lecturer in politics and public law at Framingham State University, where he teaches classes in political theory, race and American Politics, and American legal systems and develops climate justice curricula. He has been lecturer in ethics and American government at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy and humanities instructor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Massachusetts College of Art and Design, where he is currently a writing coach and mentor in the Artward Bound and Academic Compass programs. Dr. Trosky’s research applies moral philosophy, political theory, and social psychology to American public and foreign policy analysis and prescription. He is the author most recently of a chapter in Lexington Books’ Short Stories and Political Philosophy on the reception and lessons of Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery.”

Gaelan Murphy

Gaelan Murphy is an assistant professor of political science at MacEwan University in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. His research and teaching are focused on history of political thought, with a special interest in Plato and the importance of Socratic dialogue to undergraduate education.

Brendon Westler

Brendon Westler is a postdoctoral fellow with the Center for the Study of Liberal Democracy at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He conducts research in the area of political theory with a particular focus on the history of liberalism and Hispanic political thought. His published work has appeared in the Journal of the History of Ideas, the Review of Politics, and Perspectives on Politics. He has also conducted research on student retention, publishing an article in the Journal of Political Science Education.