Freedom In Political Theory (U04472)

? Credit Points : 20 ? SCQF Level : 10 ? Acronym : SPS-3-FPT

Liberty, or freedom, is one of the most fundamental concepts in political theory. (Indeed it could be argued that all political theory is, at root, about freedom.) All political theories say something about its proper weight and limits, its relationship with other political values and concepts such as autonomy, justice, authority, legitimacy, coercion, equality, power, citizenship, and obligation, and its implications for institutional organisation, interpersonal relationships, and person-institution relationship such as that between the individual and the state. Freedom and autonomy underlie, or at least feature significantly in, classical social contract theory and modern contractarianism, theories of democracy and self-determination, and theories of sovereignty; and structure both left/right and traditional/progressive ideological divides. A detailed understanding of the concept of freedom and its associated (modern) theory will help students towards a deeper understanding not only of political theory but also of current developments in both domestic and international politics. The course draws on the convenor?s developing research interest in this field. It will add a new area of study to the existing suite of offerings in political theory in the Department, thus complementing both the existing course on the classical texts in political thought and the courses in modern political theory, currently focused around justice, human rights, and the ethics of war. The course will also supplement and extend some of the work in political theory undertaken by students in 2nd year SPT.

Entry Requirements

none

Subject Areas

Home subject area

Politics and International Relations, (School of Social and Political Science, Schedule J)

Delivery Information

? Normal year taken : 3rd year

? Delivery Period : Not being delivered

? Contact Teaching Time : 2 hour(s) per week for 10 weeks

Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes

By the end of the course, students should have knowledge of key theories and texts that are central to the concept?s development and its deployments across a variety of political theories. They should be able to follow and interrogate complex theoretical arguments as well as enhancing their abilities to structure their own. Students should have improved their textual and analytical and evaluative skills, and been helped to take responsibility for their own study and learning. They should also have acquired a grounding in debates that have historical depth and continue to be fundamental to the understanding of politics ? domestic, international, and global ? today.