IP32320 - CLASSICAL THEORY IN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

Module Identifier

IP32320

Module Title

CLASSICAL THEORY IN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

Academic Year

2007/2008

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

11 Hours. (11 x 1 hour)

Lecture

11 Hours. (11 x 1 hour)

Assessment

Assessment Type	Assessment Length/Details	Proportion
Semester Exam	2 Hours	70%
Semester Assessment	Essay: 1 x 2,000 words	30%
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

The objectives of this module are to teach students to evaluate classical writers in political theory and to deliberate for themselves on the issues raised by these writers.

Brief description

This module looks at the work of earlier political thinkers on international relations from the standpoint of contemporary international problems. The theorists discussed will vary from year to year but may include Hobbes, Grotius, Kant, Marx, Clausewitz, Gramsci and Lenin. Emphasis will be placed on Kant's Perpetual Peace, Hobbes's Leviathan and Lenin's theory of imperialism.

Content

1. The nature of political theory
2. Debating the Leviathan
3. Sovereignty
4. Kant's philosophy
5. Cosmopolitanism
6. Imperialism

Aims

The aims of this module are:

To develop in students an awareness of the classical antecedents of the contemporary debates in international relations.

To develop an understanding of the contribution of classical political thinking to the understanding of domestic and international politics.

To introduce the students to the study of the history of political thought.

Reading Lists

Books
** Recommended Text
Georg Cavalles (1999) Kant and the Theory and Practice of International Rights University of Wales Press
H Williams (1991) International Relative in Political Theory Open University Press
H Williams (2003) Kant's Critique of Hobbes University of Wales Press
Sharon Anderson Gold (2001) Cosmopolitanism and Human Rights University of Wales Press

Notes

This module is at CQFW Level 6