Honors Seminar

This course is restricted to Political Science Honors Program seniors first and any remaining seats are open to Political Science Honors Program juniors. This course is by permission only. Honors Seminar: Essays in Command. Command is at the very essence of political life, but, like humor, it does not lend itself readily to abstract consideration. Better to study it by looking at actual commanders and what they do or fail to do. This seminar consists of reading and discussing essays about concrete examples of command decision making. Among those we will read are: George Orwell's on Gandhi's strategy of revolutionary leadership; Murray Kempton's on Dwight Eisenhower's distinctive approach to presidential command; John Maynard Keynes' on the power dynamics involved as French Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau, British Prime Minister Lloyd George and American President Woodrow Wilson contend with one another to put their stamp on the peace treaty to be imposed on Germany, and, Henry Adams on William Seward's dexterous congressional leadership during the Secession Winter of 1860. Because these essays and the others we shall read presume background knowledge that the seminar participants may not possess, supplementary reading will be provided to supply sufficient background. The night before each meeting, participants will submit two "conversation starters", questions or themes stimulated by the weeks reading that they would like to have discussed. For their final research paper students will consult with me to devise a topic that enables them to go beyond the class reading and discussion to deepen their understanding of political command.