Is it worthwhile to study politics? Why? Should political knowledge be valued for its role in an active political and civic life? Should it be a way to achieve desired political and social ends? Or is it a professional and scientific project? What is the relation between studying politics and creating or maintaining a democratic politics and political culture? With these questions in mind we analyze and debate basic concepts: power, culture, institutions, and action. We assess competing views of them as developed by political scientists as well as by economists and sociologists. We focus on the meanings of these concepts and on how they help us to understand important dimensions of politics. The course also provides a window onto major themes in the history of Political Science in the United States and elsewhere. This course is required for M.A. students in Politics and open to Ph.D. students in Politics. It is open to students in other Departments and programs. Authors include Hannah Arendt, G.A. Cohen, Robert Dahl, Michel Foucault, Steven Lukes, Jane Mansbridge, Elinor Ostrom, John Rawls, William Riker, Amartya Sen, Michael Walzer, Max Weber, and others.