Module SGIA3411: DEMOCRACY AGAINST THE STATE: A SOCIAL HISTORY OF WESTERN POLITICAL THOUGHT

Department: Government and International Affairs

SGIA3411: DEMOCRACY AGAINST THE STATE: A SOCIAL HISTORY OF WESTERN POLITICAL THOUGHT

Prerequisites

• Any Level 2 SGIA module

Corequisites

• None.

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None.

Aims

• The general aim of this module is to introduce students to historical interpretations of Western political thought that emphasize the fundamentally contested nature of theoretical knowledge in the study of politics. It is designed to build upon previous modules in the history of political thought and move beyond them by pushing the boundaries of the importance of historical contextualization in the development of political thought and emphasizing the articulation of competing conceptions of the state and political community. In particular, the ways in which issues of class, status and social hierarchy are constructed and contested will serve as the starting point for a historical understanding of Western political thought.

Content

• Historicizing State Formation and Contextualizing Political Theory
• Democracy, the Polis and Socratic Political Philosophy
• Cicero, Republicanism and the Imperium Populi Romani
• Machiavelli and Populist Republicanism - Bodin, Popular Sovereignty and Absolutism
• Hobbes, Sovereignty and the ‘Modern’ State?
• Locke, Levellerism and English Liberalism
• Rousseau, Classical Republicanism & the French Revolution
• Jefferson and ‘Publius’: Constituent Power and the ‘Tyranny of the Majority’
• Bentham & Mill: Radicalism, Utilitarianism and the Capitalist State
• Hegel: Ethical Life and the ‘Metaphysical’ State
• From 1848 to the Paris Commune: Marx and Proletarian Democracy
• Bureaucracy and Domination: Weber and the ‘Modern’ State
• Competitive Elitism and the Neo-liberal ‘Rechsstaat’: Schumpeter and Hayek

Learning Outcomes

• Understanding of the ways in which dominant conceptualizations of politics, democracy and the state have been constructed through a process of intellectual contestation that responds to the needs and interests of antagonistic groups in the political process
• Competing conceptions of the state and the nature of political community
• Divergent interpretations of key theorists in the history of political thought
• The ways in which a knowledge of social history can further our critical understanding of the meaning of political theory
• An awareness of the political and social controversies that stimulated the development of key conceptual innovations in the history of political thought

• Become proficient in the different ways of contextualizing political ideas and primary texts within a relevant historical context and interpreting the meaning in light of that context
• Develop the capacity to think historically about political ideas in ways that avoids interpreting the past from the vantage point of future developments
• Develop the capacity to understand that all political theory represents a contested form of knowledge creation
• Develop an ability to relate abstract political ideas to concrete political developments

• Develop critical reading skills
• Develop critical writing skills
• Enhance students skills of oral communication in small group settings
• Develop the capacity to work independently, including time management and self-organization

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

• The module will be taught in weekly two hour seminars commencing after two one hour lectures. The module emphasizes the importance of historical context for the interpretation of primary texts, and as such, seminars will focus on both the primary texts and the relevant historical context within which they were written.
• Seminar discussion will focus on exploring the ways in which a knowledge of social history can further our critical understanding of the meaning of political theory and facilitating an awareness of the political and social controversies that stimulated the development of key conceptual innovations in the history of political thought. As part of their formative assessment, students are responsible for seminar presentations that require them to relate the essential reading to its appropriate historical context in a way that furthers seminar discussion pertaining to the primary text. In this way, the seminars meet a number of subject-specific skills and key skills such as: the capacity to think historically about political ideas in ways that avoids interpreting the past from the vantage point of future developments; the ability to relate abstract political ideas to concrete political developments; the development of critical reading skills and the enhancement of oral communication skills.
• Formative assessment will entail the submission of a 1500 word essay based on competing approaches to contextualizing the history of political thought dealt with in the essential readings. Aside from developing critical reading and writing skills, the assignment meets the first subject specific skill in the learning outcomes by deepening students’ understanding of the different ways of contextualizing political ideas and primary texts within a relevant historical context and interpreting the meaning in light of that context.
• Summative Assessment will require the submission of one 5000 word essay to be submitted in the Easter term on the last Friday before the beginning of exams. The summative assessment is instrumental in achieving a number of learning objectives. In terms of subject-specific knowledge, the essay is designed to: put into practice the skills of historical contextualization explored in the formative assessment; develop the capacity to think historically about political ideas in ways that avoids interpreting the past from the vantage point of future developments; and develop an ability to relate abstract political ideas to concrete political developments. In terms of key skills, it is designed to foster the development of critical reading and writing skills, and the capacity to work independently, including time management and self-organization.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

One 1500 word essay and one or more seminar presentation.

■ 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