Admission requirements
Admission to this course is restricted to MA students in Philosophy 60 EC: specialisation Philosophical Perspectives on Politics and the Economy.
(This course is a required component for students following the Philosophical Perspectives on Politics and the Economy MA)
Description
This course introduces key philosophical concepts for the study of politics and the economy.
Part 1 of the course focuses on the circumstances of politics, including such topics as the state, liberalism, democracy, and ideal theory.
Part 2 focuses on the economy, including such topics as markets, economic growth, the methodology of economics and cooperation.
Course objectives
Students who successfully complete the course will be able to:
critically evaluate key philosophical concepts relevant to politics and the economy, and also to some extent their relationships to each other and to wider intellectual, political and social developments;
apply these concepts in an original argumentative way to identify and address real world problems;
contribute successfully and constructively to class discussions that advance the group’s understanding of complex issues;
research an important problem in the area of the course, identify an appropriate philosophical approach to framing and addressing it, systematically develop and justify an answer of their own;
provide constructive peer feedback on writing to fellow student and successfully incorporate peer and instructor feedbck on intermediate writing stages.
Timetable
The timetables are available through MyTimetable.
Mode of instruction
- Seminars.
Note that class participation is mandatory and includes advanced reading and comments.
Assessment method
Assessment
Midterm essay (35%);
Intermediate writing assignment(s) (15%);
Final essay (50%).
Additional requirement:
- Class attendance: Students absent for more than 3 classes will not be allowed to take the final essay and will not be allowed to pass the course.
Weighing
The final mark for the course is determined by the weighted average of the grades for each assessment.
A passing grade requires that both:
- The weighted average of the partial grades must be 5.5 or higher
- Class attendance requirement is met
Resit
If a student's final grade is below 5.5, they are eligible for the resit. The resit is an extended essay assignment that replaces the grades for all the original assignments.
It is not possible to make up for the attendance requirement.
Inspection and feedback
Students will have an opportunity to discuss the grading of their essays with the instructor.
Reading list
Recommended advance reading for this course:
Runciman, David. Politics: Ideas in Profile. Main edition. London: Profile Books, 2014;
Heath, Joseph. Economics Without Illusions: Debunking the Myths of Modern Capitalism. New York: Currency, 2010 (or later edition).
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.