Undergraduate Course: Contemporary Issues in Political Theory (PLIT10107)
Course Outline
| School | School of Social and Political Science |
College | College of Humanities and Social Science |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 3 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | Contemporary Issues in Political Theory takes a recent topic, one emerging in the news or in the academic literature, and provides students with the tools to identify the normative issues it raises and to analyse these using rigorous methods of political theory. |
| Course description |
The substantive content of the course will change each year depending on topical issues and will be taught by experts on the issue itself or on particular approaches/methods from amongst permanent and postdoctoral staff. For example, it might cover matters of public concern like the ethics of immigration policy, the political and constitutional issues in a debate on EU membership, the ethics of climate change policy, the normative analysis of particular military interventions or human rights crises that arise in other contexts. Whichever the topic, students will also, importantly, acquire the generic skills to analyse any normative issue: including how to place it within a larger context, where to look for relevant normative precedents, the types of assumption that may be at work, and the types of argument deployed in arriving at different normative positions in relation to the topic, and how to arrive at reasoned assessments of what considerations may tend to comment one position over another.
For 15/16, the theme will be the idea of toleration. Today, toleration is one of the most widely used banners in a pluralistic world. "Be more tolerant!" or, perhaps more poignantly, "Don't be so intolerant!" are calls we hear in a variety of contexts. Toleration is widely considered a crucial element of a democratic civic culture, but it is far from being an uncontroversial value. The course features three main ambitions. First, it introduces authors that have shaped our understanding of toleration: Augustine, Luther, Calvin, Locke, Mill, and Marx. The purpose of this excursus is to lay the historical groundwork for current practices of toleration. The module then focuses on contemporary appropriations of the concept. Here, we shall present both supporters and critics of toleration, from both western and non-western positions. Last but not least, we will delve into an analysis of public practices of toleration. Here, we will concentrate on religious and cultural differences: debates over multiculturalism, religion in the public sphere, freedom of speech and sexuality are just some of the issues covered.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | Visiting students should have at least 4 Politics/International Relations courses 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 Section for admission to this course **
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| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
| Not being delivered |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Students will be able to demonstrate empirically-informed understanding of contemporary debates on the chosen topic from a relevant range of normative perspectives
- Students will have specialist in-depth knowledge of specific areas and issues in relation to the chosen topic
- Students will be able to critically engage with key theories, concepts, and arguments in the study of the chosen normative issue.
- Students will acquire effective communications skills, both written and verbal, to provide clear and concise analysis of the topic and arguments at hand
- Students will be able to engage in critical thinking, reflection and debate for academic and non-academic consumption.
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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
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| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Mihaela Mihai
Tel: (0131 6)51 3060
Email: |
Course secretary | Mr Alexander Dysart
Tel: (0131 6)51 5197
Email: |
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