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Prof Paul Kelly

This course is compulsory on the BSc in International Social and Public Policy with Politics, BSc in Philosophy, Politics and Economics, BSc in Politics, BSc in Politics and Economics, BSc in Politics and History, BSc in Politics and International Relations, BSc in Politics and Philosophy and BSc in Social Policy with Government. This course is available on the BA in Social Anthropology, BSc in Environment and Development, BSc in Social Anthropology and BSc in Social Policy. This course is available as an outside option to students on other programmes where regulations permit and to General Course students.

An introduction to political theory through the thought and texts of some of the most important political theorists. A study of the ideas of some of the major political theorists from the ancient Greeks to the 20th Century. Topics will include theories of human nature, the origin of government and law, man's relation to society and the state, the basis of political obligation, the idea of social contract, the idea of social progress, the critique of capitalism, and questions about race and gender. The thinkers discussed this year will include Plato, Aristotle, Machiavelli, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Kant, The Federalist, J S Mill, Marx, Nietzsche, Arendt, Fanon.

This course provides a combination of classes and lectures totalling no less than 29 hours in the Michaelmas term, and no less than 30 hours in the Lent term. This year, some or all of this teaching will be delivered through a combination of online and on-campus lectures and classes. There will be a reading week in Week 6 of both Michaelmas and Lent terms.

Students will be expected to produce 1 essay in the MT.

D. Boucher and P. Kelly, Political Thinkers: From Socrates to the Present (Oxford 2017); Plato, Republic; Aristotle, Politics; Machiavelli, The Prince; Hobbes, Leviathan; Locke, 2nd Treatise of Government; Rousseau, Discourse on the Origins of Inequality and The Social Contract; Kant, Perpetual Peace; The Federalist Papers; J S Mill, Utilitarianism, The Subjection of Women, and On Liberty; Marx, Selected Writings (Ed D McLellan); Nietzsche, The Genealogy of Morality: Arendt, The Origins of Totalitarianism; Fanon, Black Skins, White Masks.

Essay (33%, 2000 words) in the MT.
Essay (33%, 2000 words) and essay (34%, 2000 words) in the LT.

The summative assessment will be 3 essays for whole course. Effectively this means 1 summative assessment in MT and 2 for LT. However, in the event of the first, formative MT essay being 'best', students will be allowed to count that as one of their summative essays (so the best 3 out of 4 essays will form the summative assessment for this course).

GENERAL COURSE STUDENTS ONLY:

The Class Summary Grade for General Course students will be calculated as follows: 80% class participation and 20% attendance.

Some departments have produced short videos to introduce their courses. Please refer to the course selection videos index page for further information.