Fall 2025
The Dictator
Dates: September 03, 2025 - December 17, 2025Day/Time: Wednesday 8:00 AM - 10:20 AM EDT
Level: 300-Level
Certificate: Global Humanities*, Human Rights
Instructor: Zahid Rafiq, Bard College
Who is the dictator? What kind of people become dictators? Do they go to school with us? And why do some (so many) people want to be ruled by dictators? In this course we will look at literature, mostly novels and non-fiction, that engage with dictators and their power. We will see the lives and fate of these literary dictators and also enquire into the kind of societies that give rise to dictators and also into the societies that dictators end up making.
Credits: 4 US / 8 ECTS