Module Identifier IP32420  
Module Title TWENTIETH CENTURY POLITICAL THOUGHT  
Academic Year 2006/2007  
Co-ordinator Professor Howard L Williams  
Semester Intended for use in future years  
Next year offered N/A  
Next semester offered N/A  
Course delivery Seminars / Tutorials   24 Hours. Seminar (8 x 3 hours)  
Assessment
Assessment TypeAssessment Length/DetailsProportion
Semester Assessment 1 x 1,000 word Outline  20%
Semester Assessment Esay: 1 x 4,500 words  80%
Supplementary Exam Students may, subject to Faculty approval, have the opportunity to resit this module. For further clarification please contact the Academic Administrator in the Department of International Politics. 

Learning outcomes

On successful completion of this module students should be able to:
-Demonstrate a clear understanding of the main ideas of the two thinkers and their relevance to contemporary society and politics.
-Demonstrate a sound grasp of the following concepts: Arendt's concepts of totalitarianism; the 'banality of evil'; Schmitt's concepts of sovereignty; the 'crisis of parliamentary democracy'; 'the weapon' and 'the political' freedom;

Brief description

This module examines closely the main writings of Carl Schmitt and Hannah Arendt. Particular attention will be paid to the points of contrast and the areas of agreement in their thinking. Students will also be given the opportunity to look at the development of the ideas of the two thinkers over time.

Aims

To introduce the ideas of two of the most influential of recent political thinkers: Hannah Arendt and Carl Schmitt

Content

Hannah Arendt:
The Eichmann Trial (Seminar 1)
The Origins of Totalitarianism (Seminar 2 & 3)
The Human Condition (4)
Carl Schmitt:
The Concept of the Political (Seminar 1)
The Crisis of Parliamentary Democracy (2)
The Leviathan: Schmitt and Hobbes
Political Theology: the question of sovereignty

The content may alter according to availability of texts

Transferable skills

This module will provide the opportunity for students to develop their oral, intellectual and communication skills. In preparing for seminars emphasis will be placed on understanding, following the argument and summarizing it concisely. In the seminars students will be encouraged to develop clear, cogent and persuasive arguments. The seminars offer the opportunity for students to show independent reasoning and judgement. Essay writing will encourage students to carry out research on their own initiative and to develop their IT presentation skills.

10 ECTS credits

Reading Lists

Books
** Recommended Text
Barry, Brian Liberal Theory of Justice Oxf.U.P. 0198750323
Barry, Norman P. Introduction to Modern Political Theory edition 2r.e. . Macmillan Educ. 0333497961
Baynes, Kenneth Normative Grounds of Social Criticism State Univ.New York P. 0791408671
Habermas Autonomy and solidarity London ; New York 0860913678
Habermas, Jurgen Berlin Republic Polity P. 0745620450
Habermas, Jurgen Inclusion of the other Polity 0745630464
Habermas, Jurgen Moral Consciousness and Communicative Action edition n.e. . Polity P. 0745611044
Habermas, Jurgen Past as Future Polity P. 0745614531
Habermas, Jurgen Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere Polity P. 0745602746
Hayden, Patrick John Rawls Univ.Wales P. 0708317286
Held, David Introduction to Critical Theory edition n.e. . Polity P. 0745607691
Holub, Robert C. Jurgen Habermas Routledge 0415022088
McCarthy, Thomas A. Critical Theory of Jurgen Habermas Hutchinson 0091335108
Outhwaite, William Habermas Polity P. 0745602053
Pogge, Thomas W. Realizing Rawls Cornell U.P. 0801496853
Rawls, John Law of Peoples Harvard U.P. 067400079X
Rawls, John Political Liberalism edition n.e. . Columbia U.P. 0231052499
Rawls, John Theory of Justice edition 2r.e. . Oxf.U.P. 019825055X
Sandel, Michael J. Liberalism and the Limits of Justice edition 2r.e. . Camb.U.P. 0521567416
Shute On human rights New York, NY : BasicBooks 0465052231
Wiggershaus, Rolf Frankfurt School edition n.e. . Polity P. 0745616216
Williams, Howard Ll. International Relations and the Limits of Political Theory Macmillan 0333626664
Perpetual Peace MIT P. 0262522357
Philosophy,Politics and Society Blackwell 0631048901
Political Thought Since 1945 E.Elgar Pub. 1852783117
Social Contract from Hobbes to Rawls Routledge 0415108462

Journals
H. Williams (1999) Kantian review Kant, Rawls, Habermas and the Metaphysics of Justice http://voyager.aber.ac.uk/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?DB=local&Search_Arg=%22kantian+review%22&SL=None&Search_Code=FT*&CNT=20 edition 3 43101. Cardiff : University of Wales Press 0013694154
Habermas (1995) Journal of philosophy Reconciliation through the Public Use of Reason http://voyager.aber.ac.uk/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?DB=local&Search_Arg=journal+of+philosophy&SL=None&Search_Code=JALL&CNT=20 edition March . New York : Columbia University
(1996) German politics : journal of the Association for the Study of German Politics Jurgen Habermas and German Reunification http://voyager.aber.ac.uk/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?DB=local&Search_Arg=german+politics&SL=None&Search_Code=JALL&CNT=20 edition 5 part 2 pages 214-40. London : Frank Cass 0009644008

Web Page/Sites
** Supplementary Text
http://www.helsinki.fi/~amkauppi/hablinks.html
Introductory lecture on John Rawls http://www.mit.edu:8001/afs/athena.mit.edu/user/l/k/lking/www/writing/notes/rawls.html

Notes

This module is at CQFW Level 6