Module POL2050 for 2021/2
- Overview
- Aims and Learning Outcomes
- Module Content
- Indicative Reading List
- Assessment
Undergraduate Module Descriptor
POL2050: Political Philosophy
This module descriptor refers to the 2021/2 academic year.
Module Aims
To introduce students to a range of positions in contemporary political theory and philosophy, familiarizing them with key texts, authors and debates, such as those concerning, liberty, justice, community, equality, identity, recognition, citizenship, power and the critique of power. To introduce students to a range of theoretical/methodological approaches associated with these literatures and to explore some of their implications in the assessment of modern societies, their values and their institutional arrangements. To develop in students the ability to critically reflect about the nature and scope of political discourse.
| On successfully completing the programme you will be able to: | |
|---|---|
| Module-Specific Skills | 1. demonstrate substantive knowledge of the theories and issues considered, their significance and the major criticisms made of them. 2. summarize and assess a range of political philosophies and theoretical discourses. |
| Discipline-Specific Skills | 3. identify and discuss the major concepts deployed in a theory and to apply them in making and analyzing moral and political judgments. 4. engage in both sympathetic interpretation and reasoned criticism of such theories, and to evaluate different interpretations. |
| Personal and Key Skills | 5. construct and evaluate ideas, to relate to various intellectual languages. 6. formulate and express ideas at different levels of abstraction, to assess and criticise the views of others. |
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:
Rawls’s theory of justice and his critics; the liberal communitarian debate; theories and types of equality; theories of liberty: negative, positive, republican; deliberation and public reason; citizenship, multiculturalism, recognition, and solidarity; civic, cosmopolitan, and environmental rights/duties; forms of powers and their critique; discourses of difference.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| 27.5 | 122.5 |
...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 |
| Scheduled learning and teaching activity | 1 | Review session |
| Guided Independent study | 122.5 | A variety of private study tasks directed by module leader |
Online Resources
This module has online resources available via ELE (the Exeter Learning Environment).
