Teaching political theory as political theory and nothing else

The needs of a student of political theory can not be met with mere fragments torn out of the great books of the past.

I will be blogging about my recent, treasured experience of teaching political theory for a bit. I have also taken the liberty of contacting a number of people at this time of year to alert them to the blog. Best to one and all.

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I, Burocrat

According to the Three Laws a public administrator must:
1. not harm a minister, or, through inaction, allow a minister to come to harm.
2. obey the orders of a minister except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
3. protect its own existence, as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.

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The rough draft of a conference paper for the Law and Parliament Conference in Ottawa, Canada, November 2006.

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Mysteries in the British Library

What happened to Harry Spens? This translation is the only entry for him the British Library catalogue.

Plato’s Republic is the foundation text of political theory in general and utopian theory and practice in particular. It has had many Englsih translations. The first in Scotland in 1760’s. What is that translation like and why has it disappeared? Is hegemony the answer? I went to the Rare Book Room to find out.

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