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Liberty, Reason, and The State: British moral and political thought in early-modernity

Key information

  • Module code:

    7AAH2035

  • Level:

    7

  • Semester:

      Autumn

  • Credit value:

    15

Module description

The English Revolution seemed to turn the world upside down. The king, whom many contemporaries thought had been appointed by God, was tried and executed for being a tyrant, and an enemy of freeborn Englishmen. This was an extraordinary moment, and fed into and emerged out of a stream of radical ideas – in relation to liberty, equality, gender, race, and resistance. This module will examine some of the great texts in this stream, as well as the river of which it was a part, reading authors such as Thomas Hobbes, John Lilburne, John Milton, James Harrington, John Locke, Mary Astell, Mary Wollstonecraft, and Frederick Douglass. We will explore republicanism; morality and natural law; social contract; empire; toleration; slavery; rights and obligations; critiques of history and civilisation – and running throughout an abiding interest in freedom and reason, and visions for a better world in relation to and within the state.

Assessment details

1 x 4,000 word essay (100%)

Teaching pattern

10 x 2 hour seminars (weekly)

Subject areas

Department

Module description disclaimer

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Please note that the module descriptions above are related to the current academic year and are subject to change.