Introductory description

Why should we obey our government? Could modern societies function without private property? Should we abolish marriage? Does a capitalist economic system help us to flourish, or alienate us from what makes us human? What does it mean to 'decolonise'? Guided by these kinds of questions, this module introduces students to some of the foundational debates in modern (mainly) European political theory. Students will critically examine arguments about democracy and revolution, gender and race, markets and capital, and freedom and alienation made by some of the most important political thinkers from the 17th century up until today. They will be expected to read these thinkers' primary writings in depth, to critically analyse them and consider whether, or how, they apply to our world today. A major part of the module is therefore also to consider how these foundational theories speak to contemporary debates in political theory, including debates about democracy in times of crisis, gender roles, work, anticolonial violence, and prisons.

Key texts may include Hobbes’s Leviathan, Locke’s Second Treatise of Government, Rousseau’s Discourse on the Origin of Inequality, Wollstonecraft’s A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, Marx's Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts, Hayek's 'The Use of Knowledge in Society', Franz Fanon's The Wretched of the Earth, and Davis's Are Prisons Obsolete?

The module builds on ideas explored in Introduction to Politics during your first year, and it leads towards the term two module Topics in Political Theory, which deals with present-day arguments about social justice.

Module aims

Outline syllabus

This is an indicative module outline only to give an indication of the sort of topics that may be covered. Actual sessions held may differ.

Indicative syllabus:
Week One: Hobbes on Sovereignty (core text: Thomas Hobbes's Leviathan)
Week Two: Locke on Property (core text: John Locke's Two Treatises of Government)
Week Three: Rousseau on Inequality (core text: Jean-Jacques Rousseau's Discourse on Inequality)
Week Four: Wollstonecraft on Feminism (core text: Mary Wollstonecraft's A Vindication of the Rights of Woman)
Week Five: Marx on Alienation (core text: Karl Marx's Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts)
Week Six: Reading Week
Week Seven: Mill and Taylor on Marriage (core text: J S Mill and Harriet Taylor's The Subjection of Women)
Week Eight: Hayek on Markets (core text: Friedrich Hayek's 'The Use of Knowledge in Society OR The Road to Serfdom)
Week Nine: Fanon on Decolonization (core text: Frantz Fanon's The Wretched of the Earth)
Week Ten: Davis on Prisons (core text: Angela Davis's Are Prisons Obsolete?)

Learning outcomes

By the end of the module, students should be able to:

• Interpret and assess critically the best-known texts of some of the most important European political and social thinkers, from Hobbes to Davis.
• Confront and assess complex ideas in political theory, and present and defend your point of view in writing.
• Demonstrate an understanding of how political ideas are bound up in world-historical events and structures such as the English and French Revolutions, European colonialism, class struggle, feminism, and decolonisation.

Indicative reading list

Reading lists can be found in Talis

Subject specific skills

On completion of this module, you should be able to:

• Interpret and assess critically the best-known texts of some of the most important European political and social thinkers, from Hobbes to Davis.
• Confront and assess complex ideas in political theory, and present and defend your point of view in writing.
• Demonstrate an understanding of how political ideas are bound up in historical events and structures such as colonialism, patriarchy, revolutions, capitalism, and decolonisation.

Transferable skills

The module provides students with opportunities to acquire and to develop the following key skills:

• Critical thinking and analytical skills. This involves identifying premises and conclusions of arguments; determining whether the conclusions follow from the premises; and understanding the practical implications of theoretical commitments.
• Close textual analysis skills. This involves interpreting a complex text, and distilling from it various interconnected lines of argument.
• Written communication skills. This involves presenting your interpretation, analysis or critique of an argument in a clear, organised, and persuasive way.
• Oral communication skills. This involves communicating complex ideas in person and responding constructively to the view of others.