BHUM 13A04 - Political Theory – Texts and Ideas in Politics

What is politics? What does it mean to live freely? What is a just society? Under what conditions can power be legitimate? This First-year course in political theory and philosophy proposes to examine classical theories - from Aristotle to Arendt - and to show how they can shed light on our present.

This course is thus conceived as a plural history of political thought based on the study of a number of fundamental texts. A workshop for reading and collective reflection in small groups, it aims to provide all students with a solid theoretical grounding in the fundamental concepts of political thought (rights, state, power, justice, freedom, etc.), explored through so-called ‘classical’ texts.

Assessment of weekly readings 25%

To encourage regular and active reading of the texts, students will be required to submit homework on a regular basis (reading notes, summaries, detailed outlines, text analysis, etc.). Two or three submissions may be graded during the semester.

In-class presentation 25%

This assessment focuses either on a text listed in the syllabus bibliography, which serves to ‘bring up to date’ the work studied in class, or on a topical issue, demonstrating how a concept or theory studied in class can deepen one’s understanding of contemporary events.

Written exam: text analysis 50%

A two-hour written examination, to be held outside of class during the last period of the course (in session 8, 9 or 10), will focus on one of the texts on the syllabus. It will assess the knowledge acquired, as well as students’ ability to analyse a philosophical text.