Undergraduate Programme and Module Handbook 2005-2006 (archived)
Module POLI3021: ISSUES IN CONTEMPORARY POLITICAL THEORY
Department: GOVERNMENT AND INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS (POLITICS)
POLI3021:
ISSUES IN CONTEMPORARY POLITICAL THEORY
| Type |
Open |
Level |
3 |
Credits |
20 |
Availability |
|
Module Cap |
None. |
Location |
Durham
|
Prerequisites
- Foundations of Western Political Thought (POLI2171).
Corequisites
Excluded Combination of Modules
Aims
- The module will introduce students to the analysis of some of the key political and moral concepts which have featured in European political discourse during the past two centuries.
- To encourage rigour and discrimination in the formulation and presentation of written and oral arguments.
Content
- The past two centuries in Europe and America have seen the elaboration of the distinctive tradition of politics that we call liberalism: a tradition which invokes a range of potent and familiar concepts - liberty, equality, rights, consent and so on.
- These concepts are, however, characteristically more contestable and problematical than they may at first seem, and a presupposition of this module is that an attempt to come to terms with such contestability is itself a valuable part of an education in Politics.
- Accordingly, students will be encouraged to look critically at the liberal tradition of political theory, and so to acquire, not a specifically historical or textual knowledge, but some skill in the analysis of political and moral argument and of the ways in which liberal authors have understood and evaluated political processes and relationships.
Learning Outcomes
Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to
the learning outcomes of the module
Teaching Methods and Learning Hours
| Activity |
Number |
Frequency |
Duration |
Total/Hours |
|
| Seminars |
14 |
7 in Term 1 and 7 in Term 2 |
2 hours |
28 |
| Preparation and Reading |
|
|
|
172 |
| Total |
|
|
|
200 |
Summative Assessment
| Component: Essays |
Component Weighting: 100% |
| Element |
Length / duration |
Element Weighting |
Resit Opportunity |
| essay 1 3000 words |
|
50% |
|
| essay 2 3000 words |
|
50% |
|
In addition to assessed essays, each student will be required to make One seminar presentation in each of the 2 terms
■ Attendance at all activities marked with this symbol will be monitored. Students who fail to attend these activities, or to complete the summative or formative assessment specified above, will be subject to the procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University
