Module description
In this module, students will engage in detail with a small number of texts in political theory. Whereas other modules will typically deal with a text or part of a text in just one week, on this module students will analyse the text at greater length, e.g. one text over the whole term or two texts in half a term each. This will give us the chance to scrutinise such things as how an author’s ideas link together, how well the arguments work, how different people have read the text, and so on.
Assessment details
'An appropriate assessment pattern will be set which may include but not limited to one or several of the following; Written coursework, group work, unseen timed examinations, participation etc'
Educational aims & objectives
This course is designed to help students:
- develop an in-depth grasp of a small number of texts in political theory;
- uncover implicit assumptions underpinning the text(s);
- assess the strengths and weaknesses of the text(s) under consideration;
- recommend improvements to the text(s).
Learning outcomes
By the end of this module, students will be able to:
- establish what the author(s) meant and how a text’s ideas and arguments connect together;
- identify and evaluate key assumptions (e.g. conceptual and empirical) in the text(s);
- critically assess the strengths and weaknesses of the ideas and arguments under consideration;
- explain how the ideas and arguments could be improved.