Module Code - Title:
PO4142
-
MODERN EUROPEAN POLITICAL THOUGHT (ONLINE)
Year Last Offered:
2025/6
Hours Per Week:
Grading Type:
N
Prerequisite Modules:
Rationale and Purpose of the Module:
This module will introduce you to some of the main arguments in the western tradition of political thought. It will look at ten key political thinkers from Plato to Martin Luther King and ask fundamental questions such as, Why do some people have the right to rule over others? Why should citizens obey the law? How far is government compatible with individual freedom? What makes for a just law? Is democracy valuable? What rights do individuals have against their governments? When is it acceptable for people to rebel against their rulers? How should political communities address inequalities of power, wealth, race and gender?
Syllabus:
Content Plato's Crito and The Problem of Political Obligation; Thomas Hobbes on Absolute Sovereignty; John Locke on Limited Government, Property & Distributive Justice; Classical Critics of Social Contract Theory: David Hume; Mill on Free Speech; Martin Luther King and The theory and practice of civil disobedience; Rousseau's Social Contract; Wollstonecraft on Reason, Gender and Society; Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels on Class, Ideology and the State; The Life and Work of W. E. B. Du Bois; Emma Goldman's 'Anarchism: What it Really Stands For'
Learning Outcomes:
Cognitive (Knowledge, Understanding, Application, Analysis, Evaluation, Synthesis)
On successful completion of this module, students will be able to: • Identify the main schools of western political thought
• Contrast different political theories
• Apply classic political theories to contemporary political issues
• Analyse core political concepts, including justice, freedom, equality, rights, obligations, and authority.
• Engage with a pedagogical case-study relevant to the key content
Affective (Attitudes and Values)
On successful completion of this module, students will be able to: • Assess the relevance of political theory to questions of political practice and to the discipline of political science.
• Present logical arguments about abstract ideas in both verbal and written forms.
• Judge the strengths and weaknesses of different political theories
Psychomotor (Physical Skills)
On successful completion of this module, students will be able to:
How the Module will be Taught and what will be the Learning Experiences of the Students:
Taught as a mixture of online lectures, online discussions and tutorials
Research Findings Incorporated in to the Syllabus (If Relevant):
Prime Texts:
David Boucher (2009)
Modern Political Thinkers
, Oxford University Press
Other Relevant Texts:
Programme(s) in which this Module is Offered:
PDPOSTUPA - POLITICS AND SOCIETY FOR TEACHERS
Semester(s) Module is Offered:
Spring
Module Leader:
andrew.shorten@ul.ie