Module PHL3115 for 2019/0
- Overview
- Aims and Learning Outcomes
- Module Content
- Indicative Reading List
- Assessment
Undergraduate Module Descriptor
PHL3115: Introduction to Critical Theory
This module descriptor refers to the 2019/0 academic year.
Module Aims
The aims of this module are:
- to introduce you to 20th century Critical Theory and its Freudo-Marxist concepts
- to practise critical methods and critical reflection
- to learn about philosophical examination of modern-day social changes and problems
- to introduce you to 20th century philosophers who have been greatly influential on current philosophical and political thought.
| On successfully completing the programme you will be able to: | |
|---|---|
| Module-Specific Skills | 1. Demonstrate comprehensive knowledge and understanding of the theories and texts (readings) for the course 2. Demonstrable sound understanding of the methodological and conceptual problems of critiquing modernity |
| Discipline-Specific Skills | 3. Demonstrate critical understanding of the interrelation between epistemology, values, and material social conditions 4. Demonstrate comprehensive knowledge of a specific current type of philosophical social and political analysis |
| Personal and Key Skills | 5. Demonstrate the ability to critically analyse texts with guidance, and discuss complex problems 6. Demonstrate the ability to write short, explanatory summaries of academic texts. 7. Demonstrate the ability to research independently and write a critical philosophical essay on a course theme. |
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 assessment | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|
| Discussion in Lecture/seminars | Read set texts and discuss | 1-5 | Oral |
| Participation in tutorials | Prepare questions on the set readings | 1-5 | Oral |
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.
| Coursework | Written exams | Practical exams |
|---|---|---|
| 100 | 0 | 0 |
...and this table provides further details on the summative assessments for this module.
| Form of assessment | % of credit | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Essay | 50 | 2500 words | 1-6 | Written |
| 3 Reading Summaries | 50 | 3 x 500 words | 1-7 | Oral and written |
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 assessment | Form of re-assessment | ILOs re-assessed | Timescale for re-assessment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Essay | Essay (2500 words) | 1-6 | August/September assessment period |
| 3 Reading summary | Essay (1500 words) | 1-7 | August/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.
- Stephen Eric Bronner, ‘Critical Theory, A Very Short Introduction’ (2011), Oxford University Press
- Martin Jay, ‘The Dialectical Imagination, A History of the Frankfurt School and the Institute of Social Research, 1923-50’, (1973/1996), University of California Press
- Theodor W. Adorno and Max Horkheimer: ‘The Dialectic of Enlightenment’ (1944/2002) Stanford University Press
- Theodor W. Adorno: ‘Minima Moralia’ (2005), Verso
- Judith Butler: ‘Giving an Account of Oneself’ (2005), Fordham University Press
- Erich Fromm: ‘Escape from Freedom’ (2011), Ishi Press
- Herbert Marcuse on Ecology: The Journal of Socialist Ecology, pp. 29-49; @ https://www.marcuse.org/herbert/pubs/posthumous/79MarcuseEcologyCritiqueModernSociety1992CapNatSoc.pdf
- Jürgen Habermas: ‘The Discourse of Modernity’, (1990), MIT Press
- Axel Honneth, ‘Disrespect. The Normative Foundations of Critical Theory’ (2007), Polity Press
- Nancy Fraser 2014, Taling About Needs, Ethics Vol 99(2), pp. 291-313.
- Christian Fuchs 2017, Anxiety and Politics in the New Age of Authoritarian Capitalism, Triple C, pp. 637-650.
