University of St Andrews

Key information

SCOTCAT credits : 20

ECTS credits : 10

Level : SCQF level 11

Semester: 2

Planned timetable: 3.00 pm - 5.00 pm Thu

In this module a classic text from the history of philosophy will be studied in detail. The goal will be to situate the text in its historical context, to understand it in its relation to other important works by the same author, and to consider the significance of objections to the text made by the author's contemporaries and by more recent political philosophers. Examples of texts that might be studied include, but are not limited to: Plato's Republic; Aristotle's Politics; Augustine's City of God; Hobbes's Leviathan; Locke's Two Treatises of Government; Rousseau's Social Contract; The Federalist Papers; Burke's Reflections on the Revolution in France; Kant's Doctrine of Right; Hegel's Philosophy of Right; Mill's On Liberty. The module will concentrate on identifying the author's intentions in the text in question, but not to the exclusion of the determining what resources the text offers to political philosophy today.

Learning and teaching methods and delivery

Weekly contact: 2-hour seminar (x 11 weeks)

Scheduled learning hours: 22

Guided independent study hours: 182

Assessment pattern

As used by St Andrews: Coursework = 100%

As defined by QAA
Written examinations : 0%
Practical examinations : 0%
Coursework: 100%

Re-assessment: New Coursework (5,000-word essay) = 100%

Personnel

Module coordinator: Professor J A Harris
Module teaching staff: Prof J Harris and Dr A Douglas