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PHIL41930

Academic Year 2025/2026

Political Philosophy (PHIL41930)

Subject:
Philosophy
College:
Social Sciences & Law
School:
Philosophy
Level:
4 (Masters)
Credits:
10
Module Coordinator:
Dr Quan Nguyen
Trimester:
Spring
Mode of Delivery:
On Campus
Internship Module:
No
How will I be graded?
Letter grades

Curricular information is subject to change.

Political Philosophy is classically an inquiry about justice and liberty, and how the state can or should act within and around them. However, there have been important critiques of the ‘liberal’ approach that has been shaped by philosophers like Rawls, criticising the methods, scope and content of political philosophy in recent decades. This course provides an overview over topics beyond classical liberal political philosophy, departing from Rawls to examine questions of nationalism and political legitimacy.
In the first half, the course will examine nations and nationalisms, communities and identities, violence and borders, fascism and the far right, as well as considerations about repairing past wrongs. In the second half, the course will cover questions of political legitimacy, including deep political disagreement, deliberative democracy, public reason, epistemic democracy, as well as the right to revolution and anarchism. The course will provide students with the ability to engage with contemporary political philosophy and to trace political discourse to its philosophical roots.

About this Module

Learning Outcomes:

By the end of this course, you will be able to:
Explain key ideas and concepts in contemporary political philosophy, especially on nationalism, racial justice, deliberative democracy, and theories of revolution.
Critically understand, analyse and engage with concepts and positions within contemporary political philosophy.
Justify and explain your own views and ideas on political philosophy.

Indicative Module Content:

Communitarianism
Civic and Constitutional Nationalism
Liberal Colonialism & Anti-Colonial Nationalism
Black Nationalism & Reparations
Borders & Immigration
Fascism & Far Right Nationalism
Disagreement and the Problem of Democratic Legitimacy 

Public Reason
Deliberative Democracy 

Epistemic Democracy 

Legitimacy and Anarchism
The Right to Revolution

Student Effort Hours:
Student Effort Type Hours
Seminar (or Webinar)

24
Project Supervision

2
Specified Learning Activities

36
Autonomous Student Learning

140
Total

202

Approaches to Teaching and Learning:
The module will be peer-discussion based, with short presentations and summaries by students, as well as creative tasks linking topics. Short lectures by course organisers will be provided in the beginning.

Requirements, Exclusions and Recommendations

Not applicable to this module.


Module Requisites and Incompatibles
Not applicable to this module.
 

Assessment Strategy
Description Timing Component Scale Must Pass Component % of Final Grade In Module Component Repeat Offered
Participation in Learning Activities: Weekly summary posts on the main reading (300 words or less), outlining main claim, question, hot takes. Marked on the basis of completion. Submitted before class.



 Week 1, Week 2, Week 3, Week 4, Week 5, Week 6, Week 7, Week 8, Week 9, Week 10, Week 11, Week 12 Pass/Fail Grade Scale No
10
 No
Individual Project: Students can choose between an in-class presentation (20 min), a social media video (5 min), a long abstract (1000 words) or a different creative project.

Week 1, Week 2, Week 3, Week 4, Week 5, Week 6, Week 7, Week 8, Week 9, Week 10, Week 11, Week 12 Graded Yes
25
 Yes
Assignment(Including Essay): 4000 word essay on a chosen topic

 Week 15 Graded Yes
65
 Yes

Carry forward of passed components
Yes
 

Resit In Terminal Exam
Summer No
Please see Student Jargon Buster for more information about remediation types and timing. 

Feedback Strategy/Strategies

• Feedback individually to students, on an activity or draft prior to summative assessment
• Feedback individually to students, post-assessment
• Group/class feedback, post-assessment

How will my Feedback be Delivered?

Not yet recorded.

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