Gwybodaeth Modiwlau

Module Identifier

IP31020

Module Title

POSTRUCTURALISM: AN INTRODUCTION

Academic Year

2008/2009

Co-ordinator

Simona-Elena Rentea

Semester

Intended for use in future years

Course Delivery

Delivery Type	Delivery length / details
Seminars / Tutorials	10 Hours. (10 x 1 hour)
Lecture	10 Hours. (10 x 1 hour)

Assessment

Assessment Type	Assessment length / details	Proportion
Semester Assessment	Essay: 1,500 words	20%
Semester Assessment	Seminar Performance	10%
Semester Assessment	Extended Written Assignment: 1 x 4,500 words	70%
Supplementary Exam	Students may, subject to Faculty approval, have the opportunity to resit this module, normally during the supplementary examination period. For further clarification please contact the Teaching Programme Administrator in the Department of International Politics.

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this module students should be able to:

- demonstrate a good understanding of approaches described as poststructural
- discuss some of the ethico-political questions raised by this work
- demonstrate a familiarity with key poststructuralist writers, based on a direct reading of their texts.

Brief description

Research inspired by post-structuralist approaches forms a challenging contribution to recent international relations, political theory and postcolonialism. There are two linked modules that explore this field. This first module, which is introductory, looks at the writings of thinkers associated with the move. There are no prerequisites, apart from a willingness to read in depth and engage with the material.

Content

The module begins with a brief examination of Nietzsche and Saussure and then focuses on four writers - Foucault, Derrida, Agamben and Butler. The course is divided into three sections. The first section is introductory and looks at how Nietzsche and Saussure have informed contemporary poststructural thought. The second part looks at issues of power, sovereignty and the law in the work of Foucault, Derrida and Agamben. The third part concentrates on freedom, ethics and 'the community to come' in the work of Foucault, Agamben, Derrida and Butler.

Lectures

Section A
1. Course introduction and outline
2. Genealogy, values and the uses of history
3. Decentering the subject of language

Section B: Power, sovereignty and the law
4. Foucault I: power, sovereignty and government
5. Derrida I: the force of law
6. Agamben I: sovereignty and bare life

Section C: Ethics, freedom and the coming community
7. Foucault II: freedom, ethics and resistance
8. Derrida II: the politics of friendship
9. Agamben II: the coming community
10. Butler: agency and performativity

Seminars
Section A
SEMINAR 1: Introduction
SEMINAR 2: Nietzsche
SEMINAR 3: Saussure

Section B: Power, sovereignty and the law
SEMINAR 4: Foucault I
SEMINAR 5: Derrida I
SEMINAR 6: Agamben I

Section C: Ethics, freedom and 'the coming community'
SEMINAR 7: Foucault II
SEMINAR 8: Derrida II
SEMINAR 9: Agamben II
SEMINAR 10: Butler

Aims

This module, which is introductory, allows students to develop a critical appreciation and understanding of poststructural work through a reading of primary writings. They will then be well placed to go on if they wish to study scholars of international politics or other disciplines who draw on this work. The module concentrates on giving a flavour of the excitement of these approaches, rather than examining the debates between postmodernism and its critics.

Transferable skills

This module deals with material that is very intellectually demanding and will help students develop keen analytical abilities, patience and perseverance. During the seminars they will have the opportunity to learn how to facilitate group discussions, to practice their skills in explaining and discussing their own ideas, and to select material suitable for inclusion in discussion. The final written assignment demands individual initiative in researching a topic, finding material and producing a coherent written piece of some length.

10 ECTS credits

Reading List

General Text
Culler, Jonathan. (1989) On deconstruction :theory and criticism after structuralism /Jonathan Culler. Primo search Edkins, Jenny. (1999.) Poststructuralism and international relations :bringing the political back in /Jenny Edkins. Primo search Michel Foucault (2000) Ethics: Subjectivity and Truth. Essential Works of Michel Foucault 1954-1984 London: Penguin Books Primo search Sheridan, Alan Michael Foucault: The Will to Truth Primo search Stavrakakis, Yannis. (1999.) Lacan and the political. Primo search Should Be Purchased
Jacques Derrida (1997) The Politics of Friendship London: Verso. Primo search Recommended Text
Giorgio Agamben (1995) Homo Sacer: Sovereign Power and Bare Life Stanford: Stanford University Press Primo search Giorgio Agamben (2000) Means without ends: Notes on Politics Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press Primo search Giorgio Agamben (1993) The Coming Community Minneapolis and London: University of Minnesota Press Primo search

Notes

This module is at CQFW Level 6