POLSC2415 - TRV - In the Footsteps of Thucydides

The course examines the theoretical genesis of the dominant argument of International Relations, namely that of the Realist and the Neorealist paradigm. Thucydides, an Athenian general and a combatant in the "world war" of his day, which pinned two great alliances against each other and ultimately caused the demise of the entire city-state system, traces the seductive lure of state power and its effects on those who possess it as well as those who seek it. Student will trace the footsteps of Thucydides through the pages of The Peloponnesian War and in Athens, Sparta and Milos, where "the strong did as they wished and the weak suffered as they must." This course requires travel to Greece in March. Travel component required.