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POL20010

Academic Year 2026/2027

Individuals and the State: The Idea of Freedom in the History of Political Thought (POL20010)

Subject:
Politics
College:
Social Sciences & Law
School:
Politics & Int Relations
Level:
2 (Intermediate)
Credits:
5
Module Coordinator:
Dr Alexa Zellentin
Trimester:
Autumn
Mode of Delivery:
On Campus
Internship Module:
No
How will I be graded?
Letter grades

Curricular information is subject to change.

The slogan of the French Revolution is still popular: Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity. Liberty is usually the most glorious and most popular ideal, but what does it mean to be free? Free from what? Free to do what? How is my freedom from interference compatible with your freedom to act? How is the authority of the state compatible with my individual liberty? Equality also is still a very popular ideal but the question of what kind of equality matters when is very controversial. Are equal rights enough? Should there be equal opportunities? What about equality of well-being? Fraternity, finally, has a lovely ring to it, but is quite complicated to. And not just because of the sexist undertones. When is the idea of community and belonging important enough to allow compromising some liberties and/or some aspects of equality?
The key question of this model is how freedom is compatible with the authority of the state. Over the course of this module we will look at some classical responses to this question as well as to the related questions of how to organise statehood in a way that balances concerns for liberty, equality, and community.
In exploring the theoretical foundations of today’s debates on these issues, we will initially focus on a selection of historical thinkers from the pre-Enlightenment period onwards, later bringing the debate more up to date with scholarship by more modern thinkers.

About this Module

Learning Outcomes:

On the completion of this module, you will be able to
• read and critically engage with historical as well as contemporary normative political theory texts
• analyse, criticise, evaluate, and justify moral demands relating to justice and legitimacy
• summarize and explain central positions on liberty, equality, and community
• analyse and evaluate different arguments about balancing the authority of the state with individual liberty
• develop and defend your own normative political theory arguments in the form of a clearly structured normative political theory essay
• collaborate with a diverse group of peers on exercises relating to political philosophy


Indicative Module Content:

Legitimacy
Social Contract Theory
Liberalism
Republicanism
Democratic Theory
Feminism

UNESCO highlights a set of key competencies that support individuals in their development and support society in achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). UCD has adapted these competencies and is combining them with others to form a general framework of learning competencies. This module will help you develop the competencies below to the levels specified. 
Learning Competency Additional Information Level

Collaboration

 The ability to learn from others; to understand and respect the needs, perspectives and actions of others (empathy); to understand, relate to and be sensitive to others (empathic leadership); to deal with conflicts in a group; and to facilitate collaborative and participatory problem solving. Competent

Critical Thinking

 The ability to question norms, practices and opinions; to reflect on one’s own values, perceptions and actions. Competent

Self-awareness

 The ability to reflect on one’s own role in the local community and (global) society; to continually evaluate and further motivate one’s actions; and to deal with one’s feelings and desires. Competent

Normative

 The ability to understand and reflect on the norms and values that underlie one’s actions; and to negotiate values, principles, goals, and targets, in a context of conflicts of interest and trade-offs, uncertain knowledge and contradictions. Competent

The United Nations identified seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as core to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and UCD contributes in general to SDG 4 Quality Education. Further SDGs explored within this module if relevant are listed below. A scale of 1 - 5 indicates the extent to which the SDG is covered.


Goal Name Description Coverage

Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all 1

Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls 1

Reduce inequality within and among countries 1

Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels 2
 

Student Effort Hours:
Student Effort Type Hours
Autonomous Student Learning

81
Lectures

22
Tutorial

8
Total

111

Approaches to Teaching and Learning:
• Reading
• Listening
• Contemplating
• Debating
• Writing

Requirements, Exclusions and Recommendations
Learning Recommendations:

Ideally, students would have taken INRL 10010 Introduction to Political Theory and International Relations, POL10180 Introduction to Political Theory or another module introducing the methods of normative political theory.


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
Quizzes/Short Exercises: Homework in preparation of the tutorial Week 2, Week 4, Week 6, Week 9, Week 11 Standard conversion grade scale 40% No
20
 No
Assignment(Including Essay): The main assignment for this module is a 2500 word essay on a question of normative political theory. Week 14 Graded No
51
 No
Participation in Learning Activities: Contribution to the in-class exercises and debates during the tutorial sessions. Week 2, Week 3, Week 4, Week 5, Week 6, Week 7, Week 8, Week 10, Week 11, Week 12 Standard conversion grade scale 40% No
10
 No
Quizzes/Short Exercises: Weekly quizzes on required readings via Brightspace Week 1, Week 2, Week 3, Week 4, Week 5, Week 6, Week 7, Week 8, Week 9, Week 10, Week 11, Week 12 Standard conversion grade scale 40% No
19
 No

Carry forward of passed components
No
 

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

Feedback Strategy/Strategies

• Feedback individually to students, post-assessment
• Group/class feedback, post-assessment
• Online automated feedback

How will my Feedback be Delivered?

Homework exercises: Group/class feedback during tutorials, post-assessment In-class engagement: Group/class feedback during tutorials, pre-assessment Quizzes: Automated feedback, post-assessment Final essay: Group/class Feedback, pre-assessment in terms of detailed rubric & Feedback individually to students, post-assessment, with reference to rubric

We will discuss parts of the following textbooks:
Floyd, Jonathan (2019). What’s the Point of Political Philosophy? Polity Press.
Driver, Julia (2007). Ethics: the Fundamentals. Blackwell.
McKinnon, Catriona, Jubb, Robert and Tomlin, Patrick (Eds.). (2019). Issues in Political Theory. 4th ed. Oxford University Press.
Goodin, Robert E, Pettit, Philipp and Pogge, Thomas (Eds.). (2007). A Companion to Contemporary Political Philosophy. 2nd. ed. Wiley-Blackwell.
Martinich, A. P. (various editions). Philosophical Writing: An Introduction. Blackwell.

We will read and discuss the following books:
Hobbes, Thomas (1651). Leviathan. various editions.
Locke, John (1689). Second Treatise of Government. various editions.
Rousseau, Jean-Jacques (1754). Discourse on the Origin and Foundations of Inequality Among Men. various editions.
Rousseau, Jean-Jacques (1762). The Social Contract. various editions.
Kant, Immanuel (1784). An Answer to the Question: What is Enlightenment? various editions.
Rawls, John (2001). Justice as Fairness - A Restatement. Edited by Kelly, Erin, Harvard University Press.

Later in the term, we will also read and discuss several articles from academic journals.



Timetabling information is displayed only for guidance purposes, relates to the current Academic Year only and is subject to change.
Autumn Group Work Offering 1 Week(s) - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12 Fri 14:00 - 15:50
Autumn Lecture Offering 1 Week(s) - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12 Mon 13:00 - 13:50
Autumn Lecture Offering 1 Week(s) - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12 Wed 13:00 - 13:50
Autumn Tutorial Offering 1 Week(s) - 2, 4, 6, 9, 11 Mon 14:00 - 14:50
Autumn Tutorial Offering 2 Week(s) - 3, 5, 7, 10, 12 Mon 14:00 - 14:50
Autumn Tutorial Offering 3 Week(s) - 2, 4, 6, 9, 11 Tues 09:00 - 09:50
Autumn Tutorial Offering 4 Week(s) - 2, 4, 6, 9, 11 Mon 12:00 - 12:50
Autumn Tutorial Offering 5 Week(s) - 3, 5, 7, 10, 12 Tues 09:00 - 09:50
Autumn Tutorial Offering 6 Week(s) - 2, 4, 6, 9, 11 Tues 10:00 - 10:50
Autumn Tutorial Offering 7 Week(s) - 3, 5, 7, 10, 12 Tues 10:00 - 10:50
Autumn Tutorial Offering 9 Week(s) - 3, 5, 7, 10, 12 Mon 12:00 - 12:50
Autumn Tutorial Offering 10 Week(s) - 2, 4, 6, 9, 11 Wed 12:00 - 12:50
Autumn Tutorial Offering 11 Week(s) - 3, 5, 7, 10, 12 Wed 12:00 - 12:50
Autumn Tutorial Offering 12 Week(s) - 2, 4, 6, 9, 11 Wed 15:00 - 15:50
Autumn Tutorial Offering 13 Week(s) - 2, 4, 6, 9, 11 Wed 09:00 - 09:50
Autumn Tutorial Offering 15 Week(s) - 3, 5, 7, 10, 12 Wed 09:00 - 09:50
Autumn Tutorial Offering 16 Week(s) - 3, 5, 7, 10, 12 Wed 15:00 - 15:50
Autumn Tutorial Offering 17 Week(s) - 2, 4, 6, 9, 11 Thurs 11:00 - 11:50
Autumn Tutorial Offering 18 Week(s) - 3, 5, 7, 10, 12 Thurs 11:00 - 11:50
Autumn Tutorial Offering 20 Week(s) - 2, 4, 6, 9, 11 Thurs 13:00 - 13:50
Autumn Tutorial Offering 21 Week(s) - 3, 5, 7, 10, 12 Thurs 13:00 - 13:50
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