Introduction to Political Thought

The main aim of the module is to provide an introduction to political philosophy. This will be done in two principal ways. First, the module will seek to familiarize you with a number of key ideas that play a fundamental role in the study of politics and international relations and, secondly, the module will allow you to begin the study of certain key thinkers in the field. Our discussions will consider why should we even care about political philosophy, explore the thoughts of Aristotle and Plato, immerse ourselves into how Hobbes, Locke and Rousseau thought about the state and people, and read the thoughts of Marx on history and progress. We will try to figure out how far our liberty should stretch in society, tackle difficult questions of democracy, social justice, and the ‘clash of civilisations’. The module is for you if you are interested in politics, international politics, or philosophy.