POLT 336 - Political Theories of the Police

FC SSCI WADV

4 credits
Few dimensions of state power are as persistently controversial as policing. Yet, political theory has had little to say about policing. This course interrogates that silence. First, we consider genealogies that present police power as the “hidden God” of the modern state. Second, we engage with historical debates over the origins and evolution of American policing. Finally, we examine the struggle between law and order politics and police abolition movements. Ultimately, we ask whether theories of the police are limited to revelations on the intrinsic violence of politics, or whether, following Michel Foucault, we might theorize beyond the “repressive hypothesis.” Recommended preparation: previous experience with introductory political theory courses.

Undergraduate Research Intensive