Module Information

These are the anticipated lecture topics:

1. Political Theory and its history
2. Machiavelli's The Prince
3. Modern political theory - Hobbes and sovereign power
4. John Locke and liberal political theory
4. Rousseau - the social contract theory continued
6. Liberalism and Utilitarianism - John Stuart Mill, James Mill & Bentham
7. Conservatism - Edmund Burke and Michael Oakeshott
8. Fascism - is there a coherent ideology as exemplified in the work of Carl Schmitt?
9. Anarchism - Bakunin, Godwin and Kropotkin
10. Feminism - Mary Wollstonecraft, Susan Moller Okin and Martin Mussbaum.
11. Socialism - the utopian socialists versus Marx
12. Nietzsche - Beyond Good and Evil
13. Foucault - Post-modern Politics
14. Habermas - a universal dialogue?
15. Rawls - The Search for Justice
16. Political Theory and its Future.

The aims of this course are to introduce the student to the use and critical appraisal of some of the principal texts in the history of political thought. This will be done through the study of key classical and 20th century writers, and the investigation of a number of ideologies such as liberalism, nationalism, conservatism, fascism, socialism, feminism and anarchism.

This module will provide the opportunity for students to develop their oral, intellectual and communication skills. In the lectures emphasis will be placed on understanding, following the argument and summarizing it concisely. In the seminars emphasis will be placed on developing clear, cogent and persuasive arguments. The seminars offer the opportunity for students to show independent reasoning and judgment. Essay writing will encourage students to carry out research on their own initiative and to develop their IT presentation skills. The examination will test knowledge retention, comprehension and skills of analysis under conditions of time constraint.

10 ECTS credits