SGIA2171: FOUNDATIONS OF WESTERN POLITICAL THOUGHT

• SGIA1231 Introduction to Political Theory

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• Develop knowledge and understanding of some of the main currents of European political thought in the ancient and modern worlds.
• Strengthen confidence in interpreting and assessing major texts in the history of political thought.
• Provide a basis for enquiry into the rhetorical and philosophical ground on which political principles have been asserted and contested.
• Build on the analysis of political concepts and ideologies in the Level 1 module Introduction to Political Theory.
• Enhance understanding of methodology in relation to the history of political thought.

• Topics will vary from year to year, but they may include the following political thinkers: Plato, Aristotle, Machiavelli, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Burke, Wollstonecraft, Kant, Rawls, Marx, and recent critics of the social contract tradition.

Subject-specific Knowledge:

• Important elements of political philosophy and the history of political thought.
• The moral and epistemological assumptions that have informed political argument.
• The broader intellectual and political movements in which the texts considered for study were immersed.

Subject-specific Skills:

• Accurate and effective description of political ideas and theories.
• Critical analysis of political ideas and theories.
• Sensitivity to historical context in interpreting political ideas.
• Use of primary sources and critical analysis of secondary sources.

Key Skills:

• Evaluating the relative strength of different sources.
• Planning and completing written assignments.
• Self-organisation and time-management.
• Self reliance and self criticism.
• Writing concise examination answers under time pressure.

• Lectures will give a detailed outline, appropriate to a Level 2 module, of the context and content of the texts and ideas to be studied and advice as to critical approach and reading. In addition, there will be a revision lecture to prepare students for the examination.
• Tutorials will enable students to explore aspects of political thought covered in the lectures and to develop skills in communication and group participation.
• The formative essay will provide practice in addressing specific questions relating to the history of political thought in preparation for the examination. The essay will also provide a basis for revision.
• The summative essay will test understanding and the skill of compression in requiring succinct analysis of a political concept in relation to two thinkers. Like the formative essay, it will help to prepare students for the exam.
• The written examination will test the subject-specific knowledge, subject specific skills and key skills acquired during the module in accordance with departmental assessment criteria.

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