Admission requirements
Admission to one of the following programmes is required:
MA Philosophy 60 EC: specialisation Moral Political Philosophy.
MA Philosophy 120 EC: specialisation Philosophy of Law, Government, and Politics.
Description
This year’s edition of "Core Concepts in Political Philosophy" focuses on the concept of ‘representation’. The concept of representation plays a central role in various debates in political philosophy, including (among others) democratic theory, theories of revolution and political change, and theories of race and gender.
What is it to ‘represent’ someone or something? How to assess claims to the effect that “they do not represent us”? How does one become a representative? Is ‘representative democracy’ a contradiction in terms, or a tautology (or neither)? How does political representation relate to other forms of representation?
In grappling with these questions we will attend to the multiple meanings of this term and its various deployments in some of these debates. To do so, we will engage with some of the classical texts on the topic (by authors such as Thomas Hobbes, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and Hanna Pitkin), and some recent debates in contemporary political theory.
Course objectives
Students who successfully complete the course will have a good understanding of:
several key historical and contemporary philosophical debates around the notion of ‘representation’ in politics;
the relevance of such philosophical debates for contemporary politics.
Students who successfully complete the course will be able to:
interpret and critically discuss philosophical literature about representation;
write research papers that make a critical or interpretative contribution to those debates.
Timetable
The timetables are available through MyTimetable.
Mode of instruction
- Seminars.
Class attendance is required.
Assessment method
Assessment
Participation and weekly discussion notes (graded pass/not pass; a pass is required to complete the course);
Midterm paper (40%);
Final paper (60%).
Weighing
The final mark for the course is established by determination of the weighted average of several subtests (see above).
Resit
The resit consists of one examination for all parts at once, consisting of a paper. The grade will replace previously earned grades for subtests.
Students who have obtained a satisfactory grade for the first examination cannot take the resit.
Inspection and feedback
How and when an exam review will take place will be disclosed together with the publication of the exam results at the latest. If a student requests a review within 30 days after publication of the exam results, an exam review will have to be organized.
Reading list
This year’s reading list will be made available throught Brightspace at the beginning of the course.
Registration
Enrolment through MyStudyMap is mandatory.
General information about course and exam enrolment is available on the website
Contact
For substantive questions, contact the lecturer listed in the right information bar.
For questions about enrolment, admission, etc, contact the Education Administration Office: Huizinga.
Remarks
Not applicable.