Politics

Foundations of Politics

Module code: M1036
Level 4
15 credits in spring semester
Teaching method: Lecture, Seminar
Assessment modes: Coursework

You are introduced to some of the central concepts and issues in political theory.

The module offers you an opportunity to think not just about the way politics is, but also about the way it ought to be.

We will ask questions such as 'why should we obey the state?', 'is democracy the best form of government?', and 'what makes a just society?'

We begin with some of the most fundamental and enduring questions in political theory, and we finish with some more recent debates.

The module is designed to be cumulative, so that the analysis developed in one week is built on in the weeks that follow.

By the end of the term you should have acquired a basic understanding of the central questions in political theory, and you should have begun to develop some of your own answers to these questions.

Module learning outcomes

• Identify the key normative concepts used in politics
• Contribute to discussion using normative concepts
• Read and comment in writing on original texts and authoritative commentaries in normative political theory