Module POL2059 for 2021/2
- Overview
- Aims and Learning Outcomes
- Module Content
- Indicative Reading List
- Assessment
Undergraduate Module Descriptor
POL2059: Political Thought of Modernity
This module descriptor refers to the 2021/2 academic year.
Module Aims
This module aims:
- To introduce you to the some of the most important texts and traditions (in Western political thought) through the study of selected texts.
- To enable your understanding of how political arguments fit together to form complex philosophical theories and, by extension, of how ostensibly discrete political viewpoints are actually embedded in a whole network of beliefs.
- To develop your ability to critically assess both theoretical texts and subsequent interpretations of them.
- To encourage you to think critically about individual political ideas as well as about the notion of modernity after the French Revolution.
| On successfully completing the programme you will be able to: | |
|---|---|
| Module-Specific Skills | 1. demonstrate knowledge of major Western political theories of the modern period; 2. understand, summarise and interpret complex and abstract arguments in politics and summarise and critique a political theory; 3. appreciate the part played by these theories in the emergence of modern understandings of a range of political concepts. |
| Discipline-Specific Skills | 4. identify and discuss the major concepts deployed in a theory and their argumentative articulation; 5. engage in both sympathetic interpretation and criticism of such theories, and to evaluate different interpretations in the light of appropriate evidence. |
| Personal and Key Skills | 6. evaluate ideas, arguments and texts; 7. prepare essays and presentations; 8. learn from others by undertaking peer evaluation and take a critical attitude towards your work. |
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 via 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 33 | 67 | 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 | 33 | 1,500 words | 1-8 | Written (and oral on request) |
| Exam | 67 | 1.5 hours | 1-8 | Written (and oral 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 (1,500 words) | 1-8 | August/September reassessment period |
| Exam | Exam (1.5 hours) | 1-8 | 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.
Indicative Primary Reading List
- Immanuel Kant, What is Enlightenment? (1784)
- Thomas Paine, Rights of Man (1791)
- G.W.F. Hegel, The Philosophy of Right (1821)
- Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America (1836)
- Karl Marx, Capital (1867)
- John Stuart Mill, On Liberty (1859)
- Friedrich Nietzsche, On the Genealogy of Morality (1887)
- Hannah Arendt, Between Past and Future (1961)
Secondary reading:
David Boucher and Paul Kelly (eds.), Political Thinkers: From Socrates to the Present (Oxford University Press, 2017)
Gary Browning, A History of Modern Political Thought: The Question of Interpretation (Oxford University Press, 2016)
Iain Hampsher-Monk, A History of Modern Political Thought: Major Political Thinkers from Hobbes to Marx (Blackwell, 1992)
