POL242 Traditions of modern political thinking

Faculty of Social Studies
Autumn 2008
Extent and Intensity
0/2/0. 6 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
Teacher(s)
prof. PhDr. Ing. Ondřej Císař, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Mgr. David Vávra (seminar tutor)
Mgr. et Mgr. Jiří Baroš, Ph.D. (assistant)
Guaranteed by
prof. PhDr. Ing. Ondřej Císař, Ph.D.
Division of Politology – Department of Political Science – Faculty of Social Studies
Contact Person: Mgr. Lucie Pospíšilová
Timetable
Wed 16:00–17:40 U33
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is only offered to the students of the study fields the course is directly associated with.

The capacity limit for the course is 50 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/50, only registered: 0/50
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
The goal of the course is to get students acquainted with the six major traditions of modern political thought. Each tradition is debated in two seminars. The first one is devoted to a founding father of the respective tradition; the second one focuses on a contemporary philosopher working within the tradition. The course provides students with a basic conceptual map of modern political philosophy, and enables them to better grasp the philosophical grounding of their discipline.
Syllabus
  • 1. Introduction
  • I. Realist tradition
  • 2. Thomas Hobbes
  • 3. Carl Schmitt
  • II. Libertarian tradition
  • 4. John Locke
  • 5. Robert Nozick
  • III. Democratic tradition
  • 6. Jean Jacques Rousseau
  • 7. Jürgen Habermas
  • IV. Liberal tradition
  • 8. Immanuel Kant
  • 9. John Rawls
  • V. Marxist tradition
  • 10. Karel Marx
  • 11. Postmarxism
  • VI. Tradition of the "ancients"
  • 12. Tomáš Akvinský
  • 13. Alasdair MacIntyre, Leo Strauss
Literature
  • SCHMITT, Carl. Pojem politična : text z r. 1932 s předmluvou a se třemi korolárii. Translated by Otakar Vochoč. Vyd. 1. Praha: OIKOYMENH, 2007, 124 s. ISBN 9788072981274. info
  • BARŠA, Pavel and Ondřej CÍSAŘ. Levice v postrevoluční době: Občanská společnost a nová sociální hnutí v radikální politické teorii 20. století (The Left in a Post-revolutionary Age: Civil Society and New Social Movements in the Radical Political Theory of the 20th Century). Brno: Centrum pro studium demokracie a kultury, 2004, 210 pp. Edice politika a společnost; sv. č. 5. ISBN 8073250330. info
  • BLACKWELL, Basil. Blackwellova encyklopedie politického myšlení. Edited by Janet Colemanová - William Connolly - Alan Ryan - David Miller, Trans. Vyd. 2., dotisk. Brno: Barrister & Principal, 2003, xiii, 560. ISBN 80-85947-56-0. info
  • SHAPIRO, Ian. Morální základy politiky. Translated by Milan Znoj. Vyd. 1. V Praze: Univerzita Karlova, 2003, 239 s. ISBN 8024607166. info
  • RAWLS, John. Teorie spravedlnosti. Translated by Karel Berka. Praha: Victoria Publishing, 1995, 361 s. ISBN 80-85605-89-9. info
Assessment methods
1. Students are expected to write seven short position papers (300-400 words each) on seven different seminar topics. The papers should include a summary of the main points of the required reading(s), a critique of these readings, questions of clarification, and possible questions for discussion. To enable the organization of the in-class discussion, papers must have two clearly identified sections: 1) A summary section entitled "Summary"; 2) a critique section entitled "Critique". The position papers should be uploaded to the information system no later than 12 p. m. of the day before the seminar for which the paper is written.
2. At the end of the semester students should submit a 10-page long final paper on a topic relevant to the course.
3. In general, students are encouraged to actively participate in the seminars by posing questions of clarification or bringing up problems for discussion.
Language of instruction
Czech
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
Study Materials
The course is taught annually.
The course is also listed under the following terms Autumn 2004, Autumn 2005, Autumn 2007, Autumn 2009, Autumn 2010, Autumn 2011.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Autumn 2008, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/fss/autumn2008/POL242