POST 128 PZ -Conqust, Convrsion, Convivencia

This course asks students to consider the historical and political ramifications of three interrelated events that occurred in 1492: Christopher Columbus’ voyage to the Americas, the expulsion of the Jewish people from Spain, and the defeat of the last Muslim polity on the Iberian Peninsula. At stake in the destruction of Spain?s Muslim and Jewish communities and the indigenous communities of the Americas are questions that are deeply important to the study of political philosophy: Who has the authority to decide what constitutes a human being? Or a citizen? What rights do we have as people and citizens? What obligations do states have under international law? Together, these three events shook the foundations of the political order to their core. In this course, we will explore the beginnings of the new, modern political order that emerged in their wake.