POL20010 Individuals and the State: The Idea of Freedom in the History of Political Thought

Academic Year 2020/2021

What do we mean when we talk about “being free”? What kind of freedom is possible in the modern state, where there are laws that tell us what we can and cannot do? What is this freedom worth? Does freedom ever conflict with other values, like equality or security or justice? If so, should we ever trade-off our freedom in favour of realising some of these values to one degree or another? Do some forms of government allow for more freedom than others? Herein lie some of the basic questions of political theory. Over the centuries, they have been answered in sophisticated and surprisingly different ways. This course will explore some of the most influential statements on the nature of freedom in political thought. We will initially focus on a selection of historical thinkers from the pre-Enlightenment period onwards, later bringing the debate more up to date with scholarship by more modern thinkers.

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Curricular information is subject to change

Learning Outcomes:

On completion of this module you will:
- have a good grasp of contrasting arguments on the nature of freedom in the modern state
- become familiar with some of the key ideas of influential historical and contemporary figures in political thought;
- have developed your ability to read and analyse philosophical texts;
- have developed your skills in written and oral argument; and
- be able to write a well-structured essay in political theory

Indicative Module Content:

Social Contract Theory
Historical Idealism and Materialism
Liberalism
Republicanism
Existentialism
Feminism

Student Effort Hours: 
Student Effort Type Hours
Lectures

22
Tutorial

6
Autonomous Student Learning

82
Total

110
Approaches to Teaching and Learning:
Lectures
Tutorials
Response papers
Group Work
Critical writing
Debate 
Requirements, Exclusions and Recommendations
Learning Recommendations:

Ideally, students would have taken INRL 10010 Introduction to Political Theory and International Relations or another module introducing the methods of normative political theory.


Module Requisites and Incompatibles
Not applicable to this module.
 
Assessment Strategy  
Description Timing Open Book Exam Component Scale Must Pass Component % of Final Grade
Essay: 1,700-2,000 word essay Unspecified n/a Graded No

45
Essay: Tutorial Essay of 1,700-2,000 words Unspecified n/a Graded No

45
Continuous Assessment: 2 x 400 word submissions of answers to an assigned study question Throughout the Trimester n/a Graded No

10

Carry forward of passed components
Yes
 
Resit In Terminal Exam
Spring Yes - 1 Hour
Please see Student Jargon Buster for more information about remediation types and timing. 
Feedback Strategy/Strategies

• Group/class feedback, post-assessment
• Online automated feedback

How will my Feedback be Delivered?

Each person will be required to submit a response paper for tutorials during term. These response papers will be discussed in tutorials. Further feedback can be attained by directly approaching the tutor after class. For the tutorial essay component, feedback will be provided online. Feedback will contain pointers on how to improve essay writing and critical thinking, as well as indications of any substantive errors of understanding. Feedback on the second essay can be attained by approaching the module coordinator after results have been released on Gradebook.

Hobbes, Thomas. 1996 [1651]. Leviathan, edited by Richard Tuck. Cambridge University Press.

Locke, John. 1960 ]1689]. Two Treatises of Government, edited by Peter Laslett. Cambridge University Press.

Rousseau, Jean-Jacques. 1994 [1762]. The Social Contract, translated by Christopher Betts. Oxford University Press.

Karl Marx: Selected Writings Second Edition (2000), edited by David McLellan. Oxford University Press.

Berlin, Isiah. 1969. Four Essays on Liberty. Oxford University Press.

Arendt, Hannah. 1998 [1958]. The Human Condition, Second Edition. Chicago University Press.

Rawls, John. 1999 [1971]. A Theory of Justice, Revised Edition. Harvard University Press.

Rawls, John. 2005 [1993]. Political Liberalism Expanded Edition. Columbia University Press.

Hirschmann, Nancy J. 2003. The Subject of Liberty: Towards a Feminist Theory of Freedom. Princeton University Press.

Pettit, Philip. 1997. Republicanism: A Theory of Freedom and Government. Oxford University Press.

Boucher, David and Paul Kelly (eds). 1994. The Social Contract from Hobbes to Rawls. Routledge.

Hampsher-Monk, Ian. 1992 A History of Modern Political Thought. Blackwell Publishers.

Pateman, Carole. 1989. The Problem of Political Obligation: A Critique of Liberal Theory. Polity Press.

Rawls, John. 2007. Lectures on the History of Political Philosophy, edited by Samuel Freeman. Harvard University Press.

Morris, Christopher W. (ed.). 1999. The Social Contract Theorists: Critical Essays on Hobbes, Locke and Rousseau. Ch’s 1, 3 and 4. Rowman and Littlefield.