Students

POIR2060 – Modern Political Thought

2024 – Session 2, In person-scheduled-weekday, North Ryde

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff
Ian Tregenza
ian.tregenza@mq.edu.au
Credit points Credit points
10
Prerequisites Prerequisites
40cp at 1000 level or above OR (10cp in POL or POIR or POIX units)
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description
What are the limits of the legitimate use of force by political authorities? How should the power of government be limited? When is a government or political regime legitimate? These and related questions have been the subject of a continuous debate in political theory since the sixteenth century. This unit examines the various theories of human rights and of social contract as well as theories which reject the liberal/democratic approach to the question of legitimacy. Among the authors to be read are Machiavelli, Hobbes, Rousseau, Burke, Marx, Rawls, Schmitt, and Foucault.

Important Academic Dates

Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  • ULO1: Identify arguments for and against the need to consent to the exercise of political power.
  • ULO2: Understand key concepts which are deployed in the debate on political legitimacy
  • ULO3: Apply concepts to the analysis of political phenomena
  • ULO4: Read and critically interpret some classic and contemporary political texts

General Assessment Information

Late Assessment Submission Penalty  

Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, a 5% penalty (of the total possible mark) will be applied each day a written assessment is not submitted, up until the 7th day (including weekends). After the 7th day, a mark of ‘0’ (zero) will be awarded even if the assessment is submitted. Submission time for all written assessments is set at 11.55pm. A 1-hour grace period is provided to students who experience a technical issue.    

This late penalty will apply to non-timed sensitive assessment (incl essays, reports, posters, portfolios, journals, recordings etc). Late submission of time sensitive tasks (such as tests/exams, performance assessments/presentations, scheduled practical assessments/labs etc) will only be addressed by the unit convenor in a Special consideration application. Special Consideration outcome may result in a new question or topic. 

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due
Literature review 20% No Friday 23 August
Essay 40% No Monday 14 October
Final test online 40% No Monday October 28.

Literature review

Assessment Type 1: Literature review
Indicative Time on Task 2: 10 hours
Due: Friday 23 August
Weighting: 20%

 

Short paper based on one or more of the unit readings

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Identify arguments for and against the need to consent to the exercise of political power.
  • Understand key concepts which are deployed in the debate on political legitimacy
  • Read and critically interpret some classic and contemporary political texts

Essay

Assessment Type 1: Essay
Indicative Time on Task 2: 30 hours
Due: Monday 14 October
Weighting: 40%

 

2500 word essay based on set questions

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Identify arguments for and against the need to consent to the exercise of political power.
  • Understand key concepts which are deployed in the debate on political legitimacy
  • Apply concepts to the analysis of political phenomena
  • Read and critically interpret some classic and contemporary political texts

Final test online

Assessment Type 1: Quiz/Test
Indicative Time on Task 2: 30 hours
Due: Monday October 28.
Weighting: 40%

 

Two hour online test in final week of semester

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Identify arguments for and against the need to consent to the exercise of political power.
  • Understand key concepts which are deployed in the debate on political legitimacy
  • Apply concepts to the analysis of political phenomena
  • Read and critically interpret some classic and contemporary political texts

1 If you need help with your assignment, please contact:

  • the academic teaching staff in your unit for guidance in understanding or completing this type of assessment
  • the Writing Centre for academic skills support.

2 Indicative time-on-task is an estimate of the time required for completion of the assessment task and is subject to individual variation

Delivery and Resources

Lectures: Mondays 1pm-3pm, 17WW G02 Lecture Theatre.

Lectures will be recorded and available on ilearn.

Tutorial: Mondays 4pm-5pm, 01CC 217 Groupwork Learning Space

Discussion Forum available for external students and OUA students.

Weekly readings available through ilearn.

Unit Schedule

Unit Schedule

Weekly Topics:

Week 1. Introduction. Power, Legitimacy and the Modern State

Week 2. Constructing Leviathan: Thomas Hobbes

Week 3. Constraining Leviathan: John Locke

Week 4. Ancient versus Modern Liberty: Rousseau and Constant

Week 5. Liberty and Representative Government: J.S. Mill

Week 6. Fairness and an Overlapping Consensus: John Rawls

Week 7. Has Liberalism Failed? Patrick Deneen and Critics

Week 8. Reading Week

Week 9. Against the Liberal State 1: Karl Marx

Week 10. Against the Liberal State 2: Carl Schmitt

Week 11. Defending Politics in the Age of Totalitarianism: Hannah Arendt

Week 12. Overturning Sovereign Power: Michel Foucault

Week 13. Class Test

Policies and Procedures

Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au). Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:

Students seeking more policy resources can visit Student Policies (https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/policies). It is your one-stop-shop for the key policies you need to know about throughout your undergraduate student journey.

To find other policies relating to Teaching and Learning, visit Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au) and use the search tool.

Student Code of Conduct

Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/admin/other-resources/student-conduct

Results

Results published on platform other than eStudent, (eg. iLearn, Coursera etc.) 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 connect.mq.edu.au or if you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au

Academic Integrity

At Macquarie, we believe academic integrity – honesty, respect, trust, responsibility, fairness and courage – is at the core of learning, teaching and research. We recognise that meeting the expectations required to complete your assessments can be challenging. So, we offer you a range of resources and services to help you reach your potential, including free online writing and maths support, academic skills development and wellbeing consultations.

Student Support

Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/

The Writing Centre

The Writing Centre provides resources to develop your English language proficiency, academic writing, and communication skills.

The Library provides online and face to face support to help you find and use relevant information resources. 

Student Services and Support

Macquarie University offers a range of Student Support Services including:

Student Enquiries

Got a question? Ask us via the Service Connect Portal, or contact Service Connect.

IT Help

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.

Unit information based on version 2024.01 of the Handbook