Modern Political Thought - ARTS3843
Faculty: Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
School: School of Social Sciences
Course Outline: School of Social Sciences
Campus: Kensington Campus
Career: Undergraduate
Units of Credit: 6
EFTSL: 0.12500 (more info)
Indicative Contact Hours per Week: 3
Enrolment Requirements:
Prerequisite: 24 units of credit in the Politics or International Relations stream
Equivalent: POLS3027
Excluded: POLS3927
CSS Contribution Charge: 1 (more info)
Tuition Fee: See Tuition Fee Schedule
Further Information: See Class Timetable
View course information for previous years.
Description
Subject Area: Politics
This course can also be studied in the following specialisations: International Relations; Philosophy
The course examines problems in modern political thought, focussing on the use of the device of the “social contract” to make sense of justice and political obligation. Writers dealt with include Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Kant and Rawls, with reference to older classical understandings of the purpose and role of society and politics. The course examines how notions of contract illuminate the boundaries between individuals and society, and between individual and collective interests. Problems covered include the role of the state in the protection of the person and property of individuals, the justification of the state's use of force and violence, and the obligation of citizens to obey the state’s commands. A central aim of the course is to develop students' ability to read, think and write in an analytical and critical way about important thinkers and problems in modern political theory, and about political and moral problems more broadly.
This course can also be studied in the following specialisations: International Relations; Philosophy
The course examines problems in modern political thought, focussing on the use of the device of the “social contract” to make sense of justice and political obligation. Writers dealt with include Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Kant and Rawls, with reference to older classical understandings of the purpose and role of society and politics. The course examines how notions of contract illuminate the boundaries between individuals and society, and between individual and collective interests. Problems covered include the role of the state in the protection of the person and property of individuals, the justification of the state's use of force and violence, and the obligation of citizens to obey the state’s commands. A central aim of the course is to develop students' ability to read, think and write in an analytical and critical way about important thinkers and problems in modern political theory, and about political and moral problems more broadly.
Study Levels
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