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 Content
Syllabus Plan
Given the scale of the historical period covered by the module, the texts read will be selected and may vary from year to year. Some of the authors/texts will likely include:
- 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)
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 Learning | 122.5 | Independent study |
Online Resources
This module has online resources available via ELE (the Exeter Learning Environment).
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)
