Module SGIA3181: 20TH CENTURY GERMAN POLITICAL THOUGHT

Department: Government and International Affairs

SGIA3181: 20TH CENTURY GERMAN POLITICAL THOUGHT

Prerequisites

• Any Level 2 SGIA module

Corequisites

• None.

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None.

Aims

• This module will explore how German political theorists have dealt with key concepts of politics science, including the concept of politics itself, the state, the rule of law and the nature of parliamentary democracy. It will examine the historical specific problems to which German political theorists have responded and will pay special attention to the polemical nature of political theory. It also aims to show how the volatility of German history has forced German political theorists to confront problems that have a wider significance and contemporary relevance..

Content

• Twentieth century German political thought has had an impact far beyond the borders of German speaking states.
• The intellectual stature of figures like Max Weber, the dissemination of ideas by exiles from Nazi Germany, and the impact of ideas upon the policy of the most powerful European state have all contributed to its importance.
• This module will assess how German political theorists have dealt with such key concepts as the state, the nation, the nature of the political, socialism, democracy, the rule of law, modernity and globalisation.
• Each seminar will focus on a limited number of theorists for whom one or more of these concepts has been of prime importance.

Learning Outcomes

• Though the module, students should acquire knowledge of :
• key concepts of political thought
• the ideas of twentieth century German political theorists
• the contested and polemical nature of political theory
• the contextual nature of political theory

• Through the module, students should be able to:
• effectively utilise diverse sources, especially primary sources
• identify context dependent polemical strategies in political thought
• extract the wider significance of political concepts, including their contemporary relevance
• demonstrate and independent and critical approach to political ideas

• During the module students will demonstrate and develop the following key skills:
• the ability to integrate and assess diverse interpretations of contentious ideas and people
• the use of initiative in identifying analytically focused material • The planning and completion of written assignments • Flexibility in using knowledge to meet the requirements of assignments • The ability to take responsibility for their own work.

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

• .

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

1 essay and at least one presentation (normally 2 or 3)

■ 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