Undergraduate Course: Core Texts in Political Theory (PLIT10059)
Course Outline
| School | School of Social and Political Science |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 3 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | This course will examine the core texts from one political thinker for a full semester in order to provide a deep and detailed engagement with their thought. The thinker studied will vary from year-to-year. Thinkers selected will have made a profound contribution to political thinking and so students will have the opportunity to explore a significant body of thought through a sustained engagement with the primary texts from the selected thinker. The course will cover relevant historical and textual questions, but will focus on the arguments and concepts developed in the texts that have proved of enduring importance. This will help students develop skills of close textual reading, the ability to interrogate complex and extended arguments that are developed over the course multiple works, and provide the opportunity to reflect on the enduring legacies of major figures in political thought. In 2024-25 the thinker studied will be John Rawls. |
| Course description |
This course examines the core texts from one political thinker for a full semester in order to provide a deep and detailed engagement with their thought. In 2024-25 we will be studying John Rawls. Rawls is centrally concerned with the problem: can a liberal constitutional regime be just and legitimate? Through this course we will study the evolution of his theory of "justice as fairness" as he grappled with this problem. We begin with a close reading of key sections of his "A Theory of Justice" We will examine traditional issues such as the formulation of the two principles of justice, but also explore less familiar terrain concerning his conception of society and the development of moral motivation. We will consider Rawls's turn to "Political Liberalism" as a response to challenges of pluralism in a liberal society. The course will be conducted through seminars which will discuss key sections of primary texts by Rawls.
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Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | Visiting students should have at least 4 Politics/International Relations courses, one of which is security themed, at grade B or above (or be predicted to obtain this). We will only consider University/College level courses.
** as numbers are limited, visiting students should contact the Visiting Student Office directly for admission to this course ** |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2024/25, Available to all students (SV1)
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Quota: 37 |
| Course Start |
Semester 2 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 20,
Feedback/Feedforward Hours 3,
Revision Session Hours 1,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
172 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
Critical Evaluation Exercise: 30% (1,500 words)
Assessed Essay: 70% (3,000 words)
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| Feedback |
Students will be given unassessed feedback on facilitation skills.
Essay and critical evaluation feedback will be given within 15 working days of hand-in.
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| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Present written and verbal analysis of arguments from the primary texts in a clear, logical, and lucid form
- Identify accurately the main areas of dispute in debates on the selected thinker's writings
- Develop critical evaluations of arguments regarding the selected thinker's writings examined in the course
- Apply relevant theoretical positions from the primary and secondary texts studied to salient examples of politics and international relations
- Reflect critically and independently on the salience and relevance of the thinker's arguments for contemporary debates in politics and international relations.
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Reading List
Since this is a course in reading core texts, the indicative readings consist of those core texts.
Rawls, John, A Theory of Justice, rev. ed .(Harvard, 1999)
Rawls, John, Justice as Fairness: a restatement (Harvard, 2001)
Rawls, John, Political Liberalism, (Columbia University Press, 2005)
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Critical thinking and analysis
Team work
Effective written and verbal communication
Effective research and analytical skills
Facilitation skills
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| Keywords | core texts,politics,political thinkers |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Philip Cook
Tel: (0131 6)51 1577
Email: Philip.Cook@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Mr Ian McClory
Tel: (0131 6)50 3932
Email: Ian.McClory@ed.ac.uk |
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