This course will introduce you to the fundamental ideas and debates of modern and contemporary political theory, show you how they can be used to understand and engage with contemporary political issues, and help you to develop your own views and arguments about them. Our focus will be on the different ways that crucial political ideas – like ‘freedom’, ‘rights’, ‘authority’, ‘equality’, ‘feminism’, ‘democracy’, and ‘nationalism’ – can be conceived of and argued over, and how these debates illuminate, and are illuminated by, contemporary issues – like healthcare, surveillance, climate change, and terrorism. By reading extracts from theorists’ writings, supported by secondary materials, and by discussing them extensively in class, on an online forum, and in written assignments, you will develop your understanding of the ideas and arguments involved as well as your ability to discuss, reflect on, and defend your own views.

The course is divided into two parts. In the first part, we will study the opposing ways in which Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau conceive of and argue for a ‘social contract’ over government responsibilities, and the ways in which Marx and Nietzsche challenge liberal democratic ideals of individual freedom, social equality, and representative government. These modern theorists will introduce us to different ideas of things like freedom, human nature, equality, property, and community, which we will consider in relation to concrete issues like security, economic inequality, and populism. Then, in the second part of the course and in light of these modern views, we will explore five crucial topics in contemporary political theory: freedom, equality, democracy, international responsibilities, and war. For each of these topics, we will spend one class studying the arguments of one or two major theorists and another considering two concrete issues in light of them. For instance, regarding equality we will study John Rawls’s theory of ‘fairness’ in society and the arguments over affirmative action and healthcare reform in the U.S. You will prepare a written assignment after each part of the course, and there will also be a final exam at the end.

By the end of the course, you will be able to:

• glean meaning from important texts in modern and contemporary political theory;
• explain and discuss the theoretical positions and arguments involved;
• analyze relevant political issues in the light of these positions and arguments;
• develop your own reasoned views of the theoretical and political issues raised;
• make appropriate use of secondary academic resources;
• do all this in appropriately academic oral and written forms and in individual and group contexts.

A maximum of two unexcused absences from class will be accepted. Beyond this, a zero grade will be given for each unexcused absence, bringing your average grade down. It is your responsibility to inform me if you miss or cannot participate fully in a class for a good reason. Good reasons include sickness, unavoidable appointments, religious holidays, and transport strikes, but not trips, guests, or malfunctioning alarm clocks. Note that arriving late to class, leaving for lengthy ‘toilet breaks’, and using a laptop or mobile phone in class also count as ‘unexcused absences’.

Week 1:           Thursday: Shipwrecked                                          

Week 2:           Hobbes on authority                                                           

                        Tuesday: ‘Solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short’: Life in a state of nature

                        Thursday: Absolute authority? Hobbes on government     

Week 3:           Locke and liberalism                                                       

                        Tuesday: Individual freedom and the common good

                        Thursday: Property and toleration

Week 4:           Rousseau’s democratic contract

                        Tuesday: How society corrupts human nature            

                        Thursday: The ‘general will’: Democratic or totalitarian?

Week 5:           Marx against liberal democracy and capitalism

                        Tuesday: Marx’s critique of liberal democracy         

Week 7:           Preparation of first written assignment

Part II. Contemporary topics

Week 8: Equality                                                                                            

                        Tuesday: The harm principle 

                        Thursday: Hate speech and prostitution 

                        Tuesday: Equality of what? Opportunities and wealth

                        Thursday: Affirmative action and healthcare reform

Week 10:         Democracy

                        Tuesday: Consensus or competition?

Thursday: Multiculturalism and religion

Week 11:         Global politics

                        Tuesday: Nationalism vs. cosmopolitanism

                        Thursday: Immigration and climate change                                                        

Week 12:         War and terrorism                                                              

                        Tuesday: Preventive and protective wars

                        Thursday: What is the right response to terrorism?

Weeks 13-14:  Preparation of second written assignment and for final exam         

Basic bibliography 

Below are the primary texts and extracts that we will study, arranged by week. These and supporting materials will be provided on the class Moodle site.

2. Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan (1651/1668), ed. Bennett, pt. 1, ch. 13, and pt. 2, chs. 17, 18, and 21

3. John Locke, Second Treatise of Government (1689), ed. Bennett, §§ 4, 6, 19, 20, 25-32, 40 and 45-51, 95-97, 123-133, 142, and 243

    _, Letter Concerning Toleration (1689), ed. Bennett, §§ 2, 4 and 10

4. Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Discourse on the Origin of Inequality (1754), trans. Johnston (extracts)  

    _, The Social Contract (1762), trans. Bennett, bk. 1, chs. 1-8, and bk. 2, chs. 3 and 7

5. Karl Marx, On the Jewish Question (1843), pt. 1, trans. McLlellan (extracts)

    _ and Friedrich Engels, The German Ideology (1846), pt. I, trans. McLlellan (extracts)

6. Friedrich Nietzsche, Twilight of the Idols (1888), trans. Norman, ‘Skirmishes’, §§ 38, 39, and 48

    _, On the Genealogy of Morality (1887), trans. Clark and Swensen, First essay, §§ 10-13, and Second essay,     §§ 8-14 and 16

    _, ‘Homer’s Contest’ (1872), trans. Diethe 

8. Joel Feinberg, Harm to Others (1984), ‘General introduction’, §§ 2-4, and ch. 3, §§ 2 and 4-5,

   _, Harm to Self (1986), ch. 17, § 6, and ch. 20, §§ 1-2

   Ole Martin Moen, ‘Is Prostitution Harmful?’ (2014)

   John Arthur, ‘Sticks and Stones’ (2007)

9. John Rawls, Justice as Fairness (2001), §§ 13.1-4, 14.3, 18.1-2, 36, and 41.4-42.3

    James P. Sterba, ‘Defending Affirmative Action, Defending Preferences’ (2003)

    Jonathan Oberlander, ‘Obamacare’s Precarious Balancing Act’ (2014)

10. Seyla Benhabib, ‘Toward a Deliberative Model of Democratic Legitimacy’ (1996), pp. 69-74 and 77-79

      Chantal Mouffe, The Democratic Paradox (2000), pp. 94-105

      Charles Taylor, ‘The Politics of Recognition’ (1994)

      Andrew March, ‘Rethinking Religious Reasons in Public Justification’ (2013)

11. David Held, ‘Reframing Global Governance: Apocalypse Soon or Reform!’ (2006)

     David Miller, On Nationality (1995), pp. 65-73

     Joseph H. Carens, ‘Aliens and Citizens: The Case for Open Borders’ (1987)

     Stephen M. Gardiner, ‘A Perfect Moral Storm’ (2006)

12. Douglas Lackey, ‘Nipping Evil in the Bud: The Questionable Ethics of Preventive Force’ (2007)

     Charles R. Beitz, ‘The Justifiability of Humanitarian Intervention’ (2007)

     Virginia Held, ‘Terrorism and War’ (2008)

     Michael Walzer, ‘Terrorism: A Critique of Excuses’ (2004) (extract)