Module SGIA2171: FOUNDATIONS OF WESTERN POLITICAL THOUGHT

Department: Government and International Affairs

SGIA2171: FOUNDATIONS OF WESTERN POLITICAL THOUGHT

Prerequisites

• Any level 1 SGIA module

Corequisites

• None.

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None.

Aims

• Develop knowledge and understanding of some of the main currents of European political thought in the ancient and modern worlds.
• Strengthen confidence in interpreting and assessing major texts in the history of political thought.
• Provide a basis for enquiry into the rhetorical and philosophical ground on which political principles have been asserted and contested.
• Build on the analysis of political concepts and ideologies in the Level 1 module Introduction to Political Theory.
• Enhance understanding of methodology in relation to the history of political thought.

Content

• Topics will vary from year to year, but they may include the following political thinkers: Plato, Aristotle, Machiavelli, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Burke, Wollstonecraft, Kant, Rawls, Marx, and recent critics of the social contract tradition.

Learning Outcomes

• Important elements of political philosophy and the history of political thought.
• The moral and epistemological assumptions that have informed political argument.
• The broader intellectual and political movements in which the texts considered for study were immersed.

• Accurate and effective description of political ideas and theories.
• Critical analysis of political ideas and theories.
• Sensitivity to historical context in interpreting political ideas.
• Use of primary sources and critical analysis of secondary sources.

• Evaluating the relative strength of different sources.
• Planning and completing written assignments.
• Self-organisation and time-management.
• Self reliance and self criticism.
• Writing concise examination answers under time pressure.

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

• Lectures will give a detailed outline, appropriate to a Level 2 module, of the context and content of the texts and ideas to be studied and advice as to critical approach and reading. In addition, there will be a revision lecture to prepare students for the examination.
• Tutorials will enable students to explore aspects of political thought covered in the lectures and to develop skills in communication and group participation.
• The formative essay will provide practice in addressing specific questions relating to the history of political thought in preparation for the examination. The essay will also provide a basis for revision.
• The summative essay will test understanding and the skill of compression in requiring succinct analysis of a political concept in relation to two thinkers. Like the formative essay, it will help to prepare students for the exam.
• The written examination will test the subject-specific knowledge, subject specific skills and key skills acquired during the module in accordance with departmental assessment criteria.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

One tutorial presentation. One essay of 1,500 words.

■ 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