CODE | PHI3039 | ||||||||
TITLE | Thematic Readings in Political Thought | ||||||||
UM LEVEL | 03 - Years 2, 3, 4 in Modular Undergraduate Course | ||||||||
MQF LEVEL | 6 | ||||||||
ECTS CREDITS | 4 | ||||||||
DEPARTMENT | Philosophy | ||||||||
DESCRIPTION | The unit will typically focus on an author (or a selection of authors) or a theme (or a selection of themes) in classical and/or contemporary political philosophy. Students will have the opportunity to engage in depth with such authors or themes through close readings of primary texts as well as relevant secondary material. The authors will vary in each occurrence of the unit and may include philosophers from any period in the history of political thought (from Plato to Hobbes and from Arendt to Rawls and Derrida). Themes may include freedom, cosmopolitanism, human rights, utopianism, migration, democracy and others. Study-unit Aims: The unit aims to offer students the opportunity to engage meaningfully and critically with current themes in political theory and with the history of political thought. Students will be introduced to the skills required to read texts in political philosophy and to articulate and present their thoughts and ideas about the authors, texts and themes covered in the unit. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - engage critically with primary texts in political thought; - analyse, through close reading, primary texts in political thought; - identify and review relevant secondary literature concerning specific authors and/or themes in classical and contemporary political thought; - consolidate earlier knowledge in the field of political philosophy. 2. Skills By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - read analytically and critically a broad selection of texts in political philosophy; - identify and reflect upon key concepts and discussions in political theory; - engage in meaningful discussions on specific texts covered in the Unit; - present coherent arguments related to the topics in classical and contemporary political philosophy; - write an assignment on a specific author/theme in political thought. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: The Main Texts will change each time this Unit is offered, on the basis of the chosen author/theme. A list of Primary and Secondary Texts (Required Readings), as well as Suggested Readings, will be made available to students through VLE. Further Reading: - Kymlicka, W. (2002) Contemporary Political Philosophy: An Introduction. 2nd ed. Oxford: Oxford U.P. - Zwolinski, M., ed. (2014) Arguing about Political Philosophy. 2nd ed. New York-London: Routledge. |
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STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture and Seminar | ||||||||
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2024/5. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |