Questions of Political Theology (German 266 Syllabus)
| Author | Russell A. Berman |
|---|---|
| Published | 2023 |
| Format | Reference |
TL;DR — The Winter 2023 Stanford syllabus for German 266, a seminar on the latent theology underneath politics, family, economics and culture, with readings from Schmitt, Strauss and Girard.
A six-page course syllabus for German 266, Questions of Political Theology, taught at Stanford in Winter 2023. The document names Russell A. Berman as the instructor. It circulated online as a “Peter Thiel syllabus”; Thiel appears in the reading list (his René Girard memorial address, and chapter 6 of Zero to One, “You Are Not a Lottery Ticket”).
The course description says it is looking for “latent theology” — theological structures underneath social and intellectual life — rather than religion-and-politics flashpoints, with a mainly Judeo-Christian and German frame: Carl Schmitt and Leo Strauss in dialogue with René Girard. Each week pairs theology with a domain (history, philosophy, anthropology, psychology, the family and onward), with readings ranging from Löwith’s Meaning in History, Schmitt’s Political Theology and Heidegger’s rectorial address to Freud, Frazer, Shakespeare, Tom Wolfe, Machiavelli, Burnham’s The Machiavellians and the Coen brothers’ No Country for Old Men. The syllabus lists page counts per week (the first week totals roughly 330 pages) and the course requirements.
What it is: a university course syllabus — a reading list, not an argument. No official copy was found.
Where this came from
- A copy saved in October 2026.
6 pages. A PDF copy is held in Kyle’s private archive; it is not linked or shared here.