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DEGREE REGULATIONS & PROGRAMMES OF STUDY 2013/2014
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DRPS : Course Catalogue : School of Social and Political Science : Postgrad (School of Social and Political Studies)

Postgraduate Course: Methods in Political Theory (PGSP11135)

Course Outline
SchoolSchool of Social and Political Science CollegeCollege of Humanities and Social Science
Course typeStandard AvailabilityAvailable to all students
Credit level (Normal year taken)SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) Credits10
Home subject areaPostgrad (School of Social and Political Studies) Other subject areaNone
Course website None Taught in Gaelic?No
Course descriptionThe course would cover specialised methods in political theory, such as the following (amongst others):


The Cambridge School and the History of Political Thought
The use of historical thought in contemporary political theory
Textual analysis in political theory
The political theory of political institutions
The theory and practive of contemporary analytical theory
Analytical political theory v. continental political theory
Relativism, Subjectivism, ethical Realism: metha-ethics and normative moral judgment

Which topics are taught will depend on teaching availability, but also, and more importantly, on students? own research topics in any given year, other themes and topics would be added to the list. The focus of the course is very much on linking methodological issues with identifiable research projects. For example, a student trying to reconstruct a Lockean theory of political obligation would learn how to distinguish between a claim made by Locke, and a Lockean claim. These are not arcane questions: failing to address them can, more often than not, make the difference between a successful argument and a failed attempt.


Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites Co-requisites
Prohibited Combinations Other requirements None
Additional Costs None
Information for Visiting Students
Pre-requisitesNone
Displayed in Visiting Students Prospectus?Yes
Course Delivery Information
Not being delivered
Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes
AIMS AND OBJECTIVES
To expose students to a wide range of methodological issues in political theory and the history of political thought, and to complement the grounding provided by Explanation and Understanding.


LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of the course, the students will have read major methodological work in political theory; they will have learnt to identify the methodological problems raised by their own, specific, research project, and to locate the resources which will help them solve those problems. They will also have learnt to see the different sub-fields within political theory as linked by common themes and methodological concerns, rather than as discrete fields of inquiry.

Assessment Information
One essay of 3,000 words (+/- 10%)
Special Arrangements
None
Additional Information
Academic description Not entered
Syllabus Not entered
Transferable skills Not entered
Reading list Not entered
Study Abroad Not entered
Study Pattern Not entered
KeywordsNot entered
Contacts
Course organiserDr Tim Hayward
Tel: (0131 6)50 4238
Email: Tim.Hayward@ed.ac.uk
Course secretaryMrs Gillian Macdonald
Tel: (0131 6)51 3244
Email: gillian.macdonald@ed.ac.uk
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