Philosophy, Politics, and Society
Overview
To introduce core ideas in social and political philosophy, providing the historical context of Western civilization and Australia to understand current problems and conflicts, with particular reference to the problem of sustaining a just, ecologically sustainable, egalitarian, and inclusive political order in the context of a multicultural, diversified, and pluralistic society in a globalized world.
Requisites
Teaching periods
Location
Start and end dates
Last self-enrolment date
Census date
Last withdraw without fail date
Results released date
Learning outcomes
Students who successfully complete this unit will be able to:
- Understand the core doctrines of social and political thought and their history from the Ancient Greeks to the present – in particular the difference between republicanism, atomic individualism and communitarianism and the different ideas about democracy associated with these
- Develop and systematically defend a position in writing on a range of topics in social and political philosophy
- Articulate and orally defend a position on a selected topic in social and political philosophy to an audience
- Demonstrate a specific knowledge of key themes as specified in assigned readings
Teaching methods
Hawthorn
| Type | Hours per week | Number of weeks | Total (number of hours) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Face to Face Contact (Phasing out) Lecture | 1.00 | 12 weeks | 12 |
| Face to Face Contact (Phasing out) Tutorial | 2.00 | 12 weeks | 24 |
| Specified Learning Activities (Phasing out) Various | 5.00 | 12 weeks | 60 |
| Unspecified Learning Activities (Phasing out) Independent Learning | 4.50 | 12 weeks | 54 |
| TOTAL | 150 |
Assessment
| Type | Task | Weighting | ULO's |
|---|---|---|---|
| Essay | Individual | 30% | 1,2,4 |
| Essay | Individual | 60% | 1,2,4 |
| Presentation | Individual | 10% | 1,3,4 |
Content
- Review of the problems we face with economic globalization, the movement of people, corrosion of democracy, corruption of public institutions, and ecological destruction
- An introduction to the idea of democracy as it has developed through history from the Ancient Greeks to the formation of Australia as a federation inspired by the ideas of the British Idealists
- An examination of the relationship between markets, bureaucracies, civil services and the institutions of democracy in this context
- The development of a viable deliberative conception of democracy that promises greater levels of participation and accountability
- The potential of computer-mediated communication to facilitate democracy
Study resources
Reading materials
A list of reading materials and/or required textbooks will be available in the Unit Outline on Canvas.