Module POL1026 for 2021/2
- Overview
- Aims and Learning Outcomes
- Module Content
- Indicative Reading List
- Assessment
Undergraduate Module Descriptor
POL1026: Early Modern Political Thought
This module descriptor refers to the 2021/2 academic year.
Module Aims
The module will introduce you to some canonical texts of the early modern period. You will be encouraged to appreciate the originality and saliency of these texts within the political context in which they were written and to understand the significance of the controversies and debates that have surrounded them since their publication. You will develop your ability to analyse philosophical arguments and to situate the texts studied in the appropriate historical contexts. You will be encouraged to engage in close textual reading while developing an awareness of the wider themes and concepts that inform early modern political thought.
There are no prerequisites for this module, although it is designed to complement Classical Political Thought (POL1025) and Political Thought of Modernity (POL2059).
| On successfully completing the programme you will be able to: | |
|---|---|
| Module-Specific Skills | 1. Demonstrate knowledge of the major political theories of the Western tradition between the Renaissance and the French Revolution; 2. Understand, summarise, and interpret complex and abstract arguments in politics 3. Analyse major works of political theory; |
| Discipline-Specific Skills | 4. 4. Identify and discuss the major concepts deployed in a political theory and their argumentative articulation 5. 5. Engage in both sympathetic interpretation and reasoned criticism of such theories, and evaluate different interpretations in the light of appropriate evidence |
| Personal and Key Skills | 6. Evaluate ideas, arguments and texts 7. Develop and assess communication skills 8. Take a critical attitude towards their work and learn from others 9. Work independently, within a limited time frame, to complete a specified task. |
Module Content
Syllabus Plan
Whilst the module’s precise content may vary from year to year, it is envisaged that the syllabus will cover some or all of the following topics:
1) Machiavelli’s ideas on states, politics and republics;
2) Hobbes’s science of politics and conceptions of the state of nature, contract and sovereignty;
3) Locke’s ideas on the law and right of nature, property, the limits of obedience and the right to rebellion;
4) Rousseau’s critique of modern society, account of inequality, and ideas on liberty, sovereignty and contract;
5) Burke’s critique of the French Revolution and defence of conservatism;
6) Wollstonecraft’s defence of the rights of women, her critique of male tyranny, and her proposals for political and educational reform.
Learning and Teaching
This table provides an overview of how your hours of study for this module are allocated:
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | Guided independent study | Placement / study abroad |
|---|---|---|
| 26.5 | 123.5 | 0 |
...and this table provides a more detailed breakdown of the hours allocated to various study activities:
| Category | Hours of study time | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching activity | 16.5 | 11 x 1.5 hour lectures |
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching activity | 10 | 10 x 1 hour tutorials |
| Guided Independent study | 73.5 | Preparation for essays and exam |
| Guided Independent study | 50 | Reading for tutorials |
Online Resources
This module has online resources available via ELE (the Exeter Learning Environment).
ELE – http://vle.exeter.ac.uk/
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Discussions in Tutorials and responses to readings posted on ELE | Throughout tutorials | 1-8 | Oral and written |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| 50 | 50 | 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 | 2,000 words | 1-8 | Written (and Oral feedback on request) |
| Examination | 50 | 1.5 hours | 1-9 | Written (and Oral feedback on request) |
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 (2,000 words) | 1-8 | August/September reassessment period |
| Examination | Examination (1.5 hours) | 1-9 | August/September reassessment 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.
Primary sources:
Wootton D. (1996) Modern Political Thought: Readings from Machiavelli to Nietzsche , Cambridge, MA: Hackett.
Wollstonecraft M., Botting, E. H. ed. (2014) A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, (New Haven: Yale University Press
Secondary reading:
Hampsher-Monk, I. (1992) A History of Modern Political Thought: Major Political Thinkers from Hobbes to Marx, Oxford: Blackwell.
Ball, T. Reappraising Political Theory: Revisionist Studies in the History of Political Thought (Oxford, 1994).
Ryan, A. On Politics (Penguin, 2014)
