IP32420 - TWENTIETH CENTURY POLITICAL THOUGHT

Module Identifier	IP32420
Module Title	TWENTIETH CENTURY POLITICAL THOUGHT
Academic Year	2001/2002
Co-ordinator	Professor Howard Williams
Semester	Intended for use in future years
Next year offered	N/A
Next semester offered	N/A
Course delivery	Seminar	10 Hours 10 x 2 hours
Assessment	Essay	1 x 1,500 - 2,000 word essay	30%
	Exam	2 Hours	70%

Content

Habermas and the Frankfurt School (1)
Habermas and German politics (2)
Habermas's concept of the public sphere (1)
The idea of discourse ethics (1)
Rawls's A Theory of Justice - the veil of
ignorance and the difference principle (2)
Political Liberalism and the politics of the United
States (2)
The 'law of peoples'- international justice (1)
Rawls and Habermas compared - recapitulation and conclusion (1)

Figures in brackets refer to the number of seminars devoted to each topic

Aims

To introduce the ideas of two of the most influential of recent political thinkers: John Rawls and Juergen Habermas

Objectives

To acquire a clear understanding of the main ideas of the two thinkers and their relevance to contemporary society. This understanding should be expressed through a sound grasp of the following concepts: Rawls's concepts of equality, liberty and distributive justice; Habermas's concepts of the public sphere, democracy, constitutional patriotism and post-national identity.

Reading Lists

Books
** Recommended Text
K Baynes. The Normative Grounds of Social Criticism.
J Rawls. Theory of Justice.