Philosophy + Politics Now module (PI32024)

This module explores a number of case studies in which prominent recent and contemporary (20th and 21st century) philosophers in the continental European tradition have intervened in political debates and issues.

These philosophers may include figures such as Martin Heidegger, Jean-Paul Sartre, Michel Foucault, Theodore W. Adorno, Hannah Arendt, Jürgen Habermas, Jean-François Lyotard, Jean Baudrillard, Gilles Deleuze, Gianni Vattimo, Slavoj Zizek, Jacques Rancière, Bernard Stiegler, Giorgio Agamben, Alain Badiou, and so on.

Topics discussed in this module may include:

• major world-historical events e.g. the Shoah (Holocaust), September 11
• general political ideologies e.g. liberalism, communism
• the politics of identity and the politics of difference, including issues of race, sexuality, and culture
• current events
• specific pieces of proposed legislation

With each case study, we will begin with the relevant text(s) of the philosopher in question, work back to contextualise it in the philosophers’ wider ideas, and use it to reflect on the relations between politics and philosophy implied in the philosopher’s intervention.

What you will learn

In this module, you will:

• learn some of the ways in which philosophers have intervened in public political debates
• reflect on the relationship between politics and philosophy
• understand one way in which philosophy has 'real world' relevance
• applying critical reasoning to current political issues

By the end of this module, you will be able to:

• understand complex issues involved in the politics-philosophy relationship
• formulate your own response to political issues in ways informed by philosophical ideas
• form your own views concerning some key ideas in contemporary political philosophy
• better understand your power and responsibility as a citizen

Assignments / assessment

• assignment 1
  • oral presentation (15%)
  • written presentation 750 words (15%)
• assignment 2 (70%)
  • essay 3,000 words

Teaching methods / timetable

• lectures
• seminar discussions
  • a schedule of set readings will follow the lectures and form the basis for seminar discussions
  • provides a safe and nurturing environment for informed discussion of political and philosophical issues

You will be required to follow a range of primary texts in detail and to refer to a set of secondary readings, as well as excerpts from other texts which will form the basis for seminar discussions, the textual commentary, and the final essay.