Unit convenor and teaching staff |
Unit convenor and teaching staff
Unit Convenor
Ian Tregenza
Contact via ian.tregenza@mq.edu.au
W6A 429
TBA
Lecturer
Aleksandar Pavkovic
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Credit points |
Credit points
3
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Prerequisites |
Prerequisites
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Corequisites |
Corequisites
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Co-badged status |
Co-badged status
POIR617
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Unit description |
Unit description
We often think politically without being aware of it. When we say that some people in our society have not been treated justly or when we condemn violence and injustice in other societies, we are making political judgments and using political concepts. How does our sense of fairness or our compassion in cases such as these relate to our political judgments? This unit explores key political concepts such as justice, equality, democracy and the rule of the law as well as the role of morality in political judgment. We also consider the concept of ideology and examine particular ideologies including: liberalism, nationalism, conservatism and fundamentalism. Among the selected readings for this unit are the classics of political thought such as Plato, Aristotle, Machiavelli and Hobbes.
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Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
Name | Weighting | Due |
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Student run class. | 10% | Continuous |
Major Essay. | 40% | Friday 14 Oct |
Exam | 40% | examination period |
Participation | 10% | ongoing |
Due: Continuous
Weighting: 10%
Student run class. For internal students only.
Each student will, along with some classmates, run a tutorial. The people running the class should plan the session together, sharing responsibilities and coordinating their activities. This is not a class presentation. Your assignment is to stimulate class discussion, and to manage that discussion, not to summarise the readings.
Further instructions to follow.
Imaginary dialogue. For external students only (weighting 15%). Due Friday 9 September.
Instructions: Construct a three way dialogue (modelled on Plato’s writings) between Plato, Gordon Graham, and a modern voter. The dialogue should focus on the key issues that are raised in Graham’s essay ‘Reason and Politics’, (from The Case Against the Democratic State) in week 3 of the unit. The dialogues of Plato and Graham should reflect their central ideas and you are to imagine how they might respond to each other. The ‘modern voter’ can play a role akin to one of the minor characters in Plato’s dialogues (such as Glaucon or Adeimantus in the Republic) who could be convinced either way.
The mark you receive will be based on the following criteria: demonstrated understanding of the central ideas; critical analysis; creativity; style and presentation.
Submit the assessment through turnitin.
Length: 900-1100 words.
Due: Friday 14 Oct
Weighting: 40%
Essay 2000-2500 words for internal students and 1500-2000 words for external students. Weighting for external students, 35%.
Questions and instructions to be distributed in week 5 of unit.
Due: examination period
Weighting: 40%
2 hour examination.
The exam is compulsory for all students. It will take place within the official exam period between 14 November and 2 December. The final date will be set by the University approximately 4 weeks before the exam period. Do not make travel arrangements for this time until you know the date of the final exam. If you cannot guarantee that you will be available to complete the exam then do not enroll in the unit.
Due: ongoing
Weighting: 10%
Tutorial participation for internal students. Online participation for external students
Delivery:
Day and External
This unit will use:
ilearn and echo recordings for lectures. You will need access to a computer and internet.
Times and Locations for Lectures and Tutorials:
Lectures: Monday 1-2pm and 4-5pm.
Y3A T1
Tutorials: consult the MQ timetables website: http://www.timetables.mq.edu.au
There are no tutorials in week 1.
Required and Recommended resources:
Most of the unit readings can be found on e-reserve in the library. Type the unit code or name into the multi-search facility. Many of the classic texts that we read in this unit can be accessed electronically. These texts are listed in the unit schedule on the ilearn site. However you might like to purchase hard copies of some of these texts and they are available relatively cheaply in the Penguin series. These texts include: Plato, The Republic, Aristotle, The Politics, Machiavelli, The Prince, Thomas More, Utopia, Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan, J.S. Mill, On Liberty.
A recommended textbook for this unit is Bruce Haddock, A History of Political Thought (Polity, 2008). There are copies of this available in the reserve section of the library and the co-op has some copies for purchase.
Feedback:
Feedback and unit evaluation
The Faculty of Arts values student feedback and seeks to continually improve its teaching. At present, the Faculty collects student feedback in two ways:
1. Anonymous evaluation surveys which are disseminated at the completion of each unit.
2. Student feedback meetings which are held twice a year in the Faculty of Arts. These meetings are advertised on campus and all students are encouraged to attend.
Based on feedback obtained from past students, this unit has been adapted in the following ways:
Some alteration of unit content and assessment tasks.
Week 1. Theory and politics
Week 2. The Greek Polis; The Sophists and Socrates; Philosophy, Rhetoric and Politics.
Week 3. Plato on Politics as an Art.
Week 4. Aristotle on Politics, Rhetoric, and the Human Good.
Week 5. Thomas More - Utopia
Week 6. Machiavelli on Power, Virtue and Politics
Week 7. Thomas Hobbes, the English Civil War, and the New Civil Science
Week 8. Reading Week.
Week 9 The Concept of Ideology and Nationalism
Week 10. Liberalism
Week 11. Against Ideology? Conservatism
Week 12. Fundamentalism
Week 13. Politics in Crisis: The Contemporary Scene. Unit summary and revision.
Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central. Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:
Academic Honesty Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/academic_honesty/policy.html
New Assessment Policy in effect from Session 2 2016 http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/assessment/policy_2016.html. For more information visit http://students.mq.edu.au/events/2016/07/19/new_assessment_policy_in_place_from_session_2/
Assessment Policy prior to Session 2 2016 http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/assessment/policy.html
Grading Policy prior to Session 2 2016 http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/grading/policy.html
Grade Appeal Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/gradeappeal/policy.html
Complaint Management Procedure for Students and Members of the Public http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/complaint_management/procedure.html
Disruption to Studies Policy http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/disruption_studies/policy.html The Disruption to Studies Policy is effective from March 3 2014 and replaces the Special Consideration Policy.
In addition, a number of other policies can be found in the Learning and Teaching Category of Policy Central.
Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/support/student_conduct/
Results shown in iLearn, or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed as they are subject to final approval by the University. Once approved, final results will be sent to your student email address and will be made available in eStudent. For more information visit ask.mq.edu.au.
Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/
Learning Skills (mq.edu.au/learningskills) provides academic writing resources and study strategies to improve your marks and take control of your study.
Students with a disability are encouraged to contact the Disability Service who can provide appropriate help with any issues that arise during their studies.
For all student enquiries, visit Student Connect at ask.mq.edu.au
For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://www.mq.edu.au/about_us/offices_and_units/information_technology/help/.
When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use of IT Resources Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.
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