Module SGIA3261: ANCIENT AND MEDIEVAL POLITICAL THOUGHT

Department: Government and International Affairs

SGIA3261: ANCIENT AND MEDIEVAL POLITICAL THOUGHT

Prerequisites

• Political Thought from Plato to Machiavelli (SGIA2051) OR Political Controversy (SGIA2141) (2004/05). Foundations of Western Political Thought (SGIA2171) (2005/06 onwards).

Corequisites

• None.

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None.

Aims

• The module will require a detailed critical study of some of the major texts of Classical and Medieval European political thought in their historical and intellectual context.
• It will contribute to the development of a systematic understanding of politics, including its contested nature and boundaries.
• It will provide a broad basis of enquiry into the rhetorical and philosophical basis on which political principles have been asserted and contested.
• It will give students detailed and specific knowledge, informed by developments at the forefront of academic enquiry.
• It will contribute also to a wider understanding of key concepts, theories and methods: in particular, the methods of contextualist intellectual history.

Content

• Students will be required to study a range of texts in the history of Classical and Medieval political thought and to locate them in their historical and intellectual contexts.
• They will be encouraged also to reflect on some important methodological issues implicit in the study of the history of political thought.
• The module will address the following issues in critical detail: The Sophists: epistemological scepticism and moral relativism.
• Plato: ontology, epistemology and knowledge.
• Aristotle: ethics, politics and community.
• Augustine: the transvaluation of classical politics.
• Giles of Rome: the political theory of papal monarchy.
• St Thomas: Aristotelianism Christianised.
• Marsilius: secular republicanism.

Learning Outcomes

• Students will develop a knowledge and understanding of:
• Important elements of Classical and Medieval political philosophy.
• The historical and cultural context of the texts and issues studied.
• The methodological issues implicit in the study of the history of political thought.
• The contested and dynamic nature of politics as both a significant field of human activity and as an academic subject.

• Students will develop a range of subject-specific skills, including:
• Identification and application of appropriate methods of critical analysis to political arguments.
• Critical reflection on the nature of political debate in relation to specific historical and intellectual contexts.
• An understanding of the methodologies of intellectual history.
• Understanding the significance of political ideas and ideals to the conduct of politics.

• Students will develop a range of key skills, including:
• Gathering and organising evidence from a range of primary and secondary sources.
• Assessing the suitability and quality of resources.
• Planning and successful completion of written assignments.
• Self-organisation and time-management.
• Self reliance and self criticism.

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

• Teaching will take the form of a series of 12 lectures supplemented by 12 tutorials at which presentations will be given and discussed under tutorial guidance.
• Lectures will give a detailed outline, appropriate to a level three module, of the context and content of the texts and ideas to be studied and advice as to critical approach and reading.
• Tutorials will consolidate and deepen the content of lectures and provide an opportunity for the presentation and discussion of selected issues.
• The meetings will be based upon prescribed texts with suitable guidance on the issues they raise.
• The tutorial programme will enable students to explore aspects of Classical and Medieval political thought critically and in detail and to develop skills in communication and group participation.
• It will also provide a basis on which to select an area of specialist research for the summative essay.
• Tutorial presentations will enhance students' ability to research topics, present their findings to their peers and stimulate debate.
• They will be formatively assessed in terms of the students' subject-specific knowledge and understanding as well as their intellectual, practical and transferable skills.
• Analyses of texts in seminars will further students' appreciation of Classical and Medieval political debate and, more generally, of the nature of political thought as an intellectual enterprise.
• Students will be encouraged to undertake independent bibliographical research as part of their preparation for tutorials and essays.
• The production of a formative essay will give students the opportunity to deepen their knowledge and understanding of particular aspects of the module and practise and further develop their intellectual and practical skills.
• The summative essay will test the subject-specific knowledge, subject specific skills and key skills acquired during the module.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

One seminar presentation. One 1500-word essay.

■ 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