Undergraduate Course: Freedom In Political Theory (PLIT10074)
Course Outline
| School | School of Social and Political Science |
College | College of Humanities and Social Science |
| Course type | Standard |
Availability | Available to all students |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 3 Undergraduate) |
Credits | 20 |
| Home subject area | Politics |
Other subject area | None |
| Course website |
None |
Taught in Gaelic? | No |
| Course description | 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 (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
| Additional Costs | None |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | Visiting students should have at least 3 Politics/International Relations courses at grade B or above (or be predicted to obtain this). We will only consider University/College level courses.
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| Displayed in Visiting Students Prospectus? | Yes |
Course Delivery Information
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| Delivery period: 2012/13 Semester 2, Available to all students (SV1)
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WebCT enabled: Yes |
Quota: 45 |
| Location |
Activity |
Description |
Weeks |
Monday |
Tuesday |
Wednesday |
Thursday |
Friday |
| Central | Tutorial | | 1-11 | | 11:10 - 13:00 | | | |
| First Class |
First class information not currently available |
| Additional information |
Requirement is participation in 1 x weekly 2 hr seminar only. |
| No Exam Information |
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. |
Assessment Information
| Coursework 100% |
Special Arrangements
Special Arrangements for Entry: A quota of 45 students, with preference given in the following order:
(1) Politics Single Honours 4th year;
(2) International Relations Single Honours 4th year;
(3) Politics Joint Honours 4th year;
(4) Politics Single Honours 3rd year;
(5) International Relations Single Honours 3rd year;
(6) Politics Joint Honours 3rd year;
(7) Other SSPS students;
(8) Non-SSPS students
Please note: because of the high numbers of students enrolled, this course will almost certainly not be able to admit students from outside the College of Humanities and Social Science.
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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 |
| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Lynn Dobson
Tel: (0131 6)51 1285
Email: |
Course secretary | Miss Susan Orr
Tel: (0131 6)50 4253
Email: |
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