Undergraduate Module Descriptor

POL1025: Classical Political Thought

This module descriptor refers to the 2018/9 academic year.

Module Content

Syllabus Plan

Whilst the module’s precise content may vary from year to year, it is envisaged that the syllabus will cover the following topics:

Socrates on knowledge, virtue and Athenian democracy

Plato’s conception of justice

Plato’s theory of Forms

Plato’s Ideal State

Aristotle and the state as a product of nature

Aristotle on citizenship and constitutions

Epicurus’s and the Stoics’ critique of Greek political theory

Cicero and the roman reception of Greek thought

Learning and Teaching

This table provides an overview of how your hours of study for this module are allocated:

Scheduled Learning and Teaching ActivitiesGuided independent studyPlacement / study abroad
26.5123.50

...and this table provides a more detailed breakdown of the hours allocated to various study activities:

CategoryHours of study timeDescription
Scheduled Learning and Teaching activity16.511 x 1.5 hour lectures
Scheduled Learning and Teaching activity1010 x 1 hour tutorials
Guided independent study73.5Preparation for and completion of summative assessments.
Guided Independent study50Reading and preparation for Tutorials

Online Resources

This module has online resources available via ELE (the Exeter Learning Environment).

How this Module is Assessed

In the tables below, you will see reference to 'ILO's. An ILO is an Intended Learning Outcome - see Aims and Learning Outcomes for details of the ILOs for this module.

Formative Assessment

A formative assessment is designed to give you feedback on your understanding of the module content but it will not count towards your mark for the module.

Form of assessmentSize of the assessment (eg length / duration)ILOs assessedFeedback method
Essay1000 words2,3,4Written

Summative Assessment

A summative assessment counts towards your mark for the module. The table below tells you what percentage of your mark will come from which type of assessment.

CourseworkWritten examsPractical exams
50500

...and this table provides further details on the summative assessments for this module.

Form of assessment% of creditSize of the assessment (eg length / duration)ILOs assessedFeedback method
Essay502,000 words1-7Written
Take-home textual analysis essay (7 days)502,000 words1-7Written
0
0
0
0

Re-assessment

Re-assessment takes place when the summative assessment has not been completed by the original deadline, and the student has been allowed to refer or defer it to a later date (this only happens following certain criteria and is always subject to exam board approval). For obvious reasons, re-assessments cannot be the same as the original assessment and so these alternatives are set. In cases where the form of assessment is the same, the content will nevertheless be different.

Original form of assessmentForm of re-assessmentILOs re-assessedTimescale for re-assessment
EssayEssay (2,000 words)1-7August/September assessment period
Take-home textual analysis essay (7 days)Take-home textual analysis essay (2,000 words)1-7August/September assessment period

Indicative Reading List

This reading list is indicative - i.e. it provides an idea of texts that may be useful to you on this module, but it is not considered to be a confirmed or compulsory reading list for this module.

Basic reading:

 

Socrates: The Apology

Plato: Republic

Aristotle: The Politics

Cicero: On the Commonwealth, On Duties

Inwood, B. (1997). Hellenistic Philosophy: Introductory Readings. Indiana: Hackett Publishing Company, Inc.

 

ELE – http://vle.exeter.ac.uk/