Advanced Topics in Political Philosophy - PHI00083M
Module summary
This module will examine a range of texts in political philosophy, giving you the opportunity to think and write about fundamental conceptual and normative problems relating to issues in politics and policy. Themes covered include: how to think about the value (if any) of equality; what the ideas of fairness and equality of opportunity require of institutions in their selection practices; the extent to which democracy gives people equal political power; how to theorise and address racial and gender injustice; the place of anger in political deliberation; the values of cooperation and solidarity; public funding of the arts; and questions around immigration and border controls. We’ll be reading some fascinating and challenging pieces of philosophy, including some very recent work from the cutting edge of the discipline.
Module will run
| Occurrence | Teaching period |
|---|---|
| A | Semester 1 2025-26 |
Module aims
This module will examine a range of core conceptual, normative, and methodological issues relating to philosophical approaches to thinking about politics. The module aims to develop academic skills in the reading of texts in political philosophy and the relating of those texts to real world political problems. As a result, the module aims to develop in students analytical skills of identifying and solving abstract problems, and relating theory and reality.
Module learning outcomes
By the end of this module students should be able to:
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Engage with and interpret complex texts in political philosophy;
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Apply philosophical thinking to real-world problems of politics;
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Understand methodological debates about the nature of political philosophy and its relation to the world of politics;
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be able to read and critically engage with a wide variety of complex and difficult material in recent political philosophy;
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develop and defend a considered view on important questions of social justice.
Module content
We will start by investigating the value of equality in political theorising. Does equality itself make sense as a political value? Or are egalitarian views better motivated by the thought that everybody should have enough to live a fulfilling life? What does fair equality of opportunity mean, and how does it constrain the selection processes of institutions such as universities? How is power distributed in a democracy, and what kind of concern is raised by the existence of persistent minorities? Following on from these broad questions about equality, we will turn our attention to the topic of oppression, and how to understand and theorise structural injustices. For example, what kind of political theory is required to understand and address racial injustice or gender injustice? How are the political obligations of marginalised groups affected under conditions of structural injustice? How does society’s institutional structure foster or suppress co-operation and solidarity? We’ll also turn our attention to some specific policy concerns, for example, can public funding of the arts be justified, and if so, how? And what kind of border and immigration controls are justifiable?
Indicative assessment
| Task | % of module mark |
|---|---|
| Essay/coursework | 100 |
Special assessment rules
None
Indicative reassessment
| Task | % of module mark |
|---|---|
| Essay/coursework | 100 |
Module feedback
All formative and summative feedback will be returned in accordance with University and Departmental policy.
Indicative reading
- Frankfurt, Harry. “Equality as a Moral Ideal." Ethics 98, no. 1 (1987): 21–43.
- T. M. Scanlon, Why Does Inequality Matter? (Oxford University Press, 2018.
- Niko Kolodny, https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/papa.12035 Philosophy & Public Affairs, 42 (3), 2014, 195-229.
- Iris Marion Young, “Five Faces of Oppression,” chapter 2 of her Justice and the Politics of Difference (Princeton University Press 1990 / 2011).
- Nancy Fraser, “Contradictions of Capital and Care,” New Left Review, 100, July-Aug 2016, 99-117
- Charles W. Mills, “Racial Liberalism,” Proceedings of the Modern Language Association (PMLA), 123 (5), 2008, 1380-97
- Amia Srinivasan, “The Aptness of Anger,” Journal of Political Philosophy, 26 (2), 2018, 123-44
- Waheed Hussain, “Pitting People Against Each Other,” Philosophy & Public Affairs, 48 (1), 2020, 79-113
- Munoz-Dardé, Véronique. 2013. "In the face of austerity: the puzzle of museums and universities." Journal of Political Philosophy, 21(2), pp.221-242.
- Hosein, A., 2013. Immigration and freedom of movement. Ethics & Global Politics, 6(1), pp.25-37.