Lecture: 4 hrs. per week
In this course, students will engage in a variety of learning activities such as attending lectures, participation in class discussions, debates, individual and group presentations, reflections, in class reading assignments, group assignments and take-home assignments
1. Philosophy and Politics
2. The Ancient Greeks: Plato and Aristotle
3. The Medieval Era: Aquinas and Machiavelli
4. The Early Moderns: Hobbes and Locke
5. The Moderns: Rousseau, Marx, and J. S. Mill
6. Contemporaries: Rawls, Nozick, Taylor, Berlin, Nussbaum, Sandel, and Dworkin
Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to:
1. demonstrate how political thinking developed and evolved within the Western political tradition;
2. understand and analyze basic concepts and principles such as justice, equality, rights, obligation, power, authority, law, and freedom;
3. assess how these basic concepts and principles influenced the development of Western political thought, and consequently the evolution of political and social institutions, law, constitutions, and communities;
4. pursue advanced studies in political theory, political philosophy, and/or the history of political thought.
Course assessments will be in accordance with the Douglas College Evaluation Policy.
There will be at least three separate assessments, which may include a combination of exams, research projects, quizzes, in-class and online written assignments, seminar presentations, group and other creative projects, and class participation.
Students may conduct research as part of their coursework in this class. Instructors for the course are responsible for ensuring that student research projects comply with College policies on ethical conduct for research involving humans, which can require obtaining Informed Consent from participants and getting the approval of the Douglas College Research Ethics Board prior to conducting the research
The value of each assessment and evaluation, expressed as a percentage of the final grade, will be listed in the course outline distributed to students at the beginning of the term.
Example evaluation scheme:
Article Critique 15%
Participation 10%
Mid-term exam 20%
Term essay 30%
Final exam 25%
Total: 100%
A list of required textbooks and materials will be provided to students at the beginning of the semester. Textbooks and materials will be selected based on instructor expertise and preference, and in consultation with other members of the department. There are a range of textbooks and materials that can fulfill course objectives. Some examples include:
Bird, Colin. An Introduction to Political Philosophy. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, current edition.
Bourke, Richard and Raymond Geuss. Political Judgment: Essays for John Dunn. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, current edition.
Christman, John Phillip. Social and Political Philosophy: An Introduction. New York: Routledge, current edition.
Heywood, Andrew. Political Theory: An Introduction. London: Palgrave, current edition.
Larmore, Charles. What is Political Philosophy? Princeton: Princeton University Press, current edition.
Pangle, Thomas L. and Timothy W. Burns. The Key Texts of Political Philosophy: An Introduction. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, current edition.
Swift, Adam. Political Philosophy: A Beginners’ Guide for Students and Politicians. Cambridge: Polity Press, current edition.
Zwolinski, Matt. Arguing About Political Philosophy. New York: Routledge, current edition.
POLI 1101 or permission of instructor