Course Details in 2026/27 Session

Module Title	LH Political Theory and Social Criticism
School	Government
Department	Political Sci & Intern'tl Stud
Module Code	08 37479
Module Lead	Mark Wenman/Richard Shorten
Level	Honours Level
Credits	20
Semester	Semester 1
Pre-requisites
Co-requisites
Restrictions	None
Contact Hours	Lecture-10 hours Seminar-20 hours Guided independent study-170 hours Total: 200 hours
Exclusions
Description	This module examines the ideas of a series of key thinkers who have each made an original contribution to social and political theory, from the early 20th Century to today. The thinkers are unique in their respective styles and intellectual approaches, but through studying them we can also better understand a number of characteristic concepts in modern political thought, such as power, totalitarianism, freedom, agency, diversity, equality and justice. The module situates the thinkers in their respective contexts, as well as exploring their relationship to various movements in social thought, such as conservatism, fascism, Marxism, existentialism, postmodernism and post-colonialism. We evaluate the contribution of the various thinkers as examples of social criticism, examining how their thought intervened in the politics of their day, and students are also encouraged to scrutinise the contemporary relevance of the various thinkers (i.e. is their work still relevant today?), and to critically reflect upon their own wider intellectual interests, in light of the contributions of these influential figures (i.e. how can the work of these thinkers inform my dissertation or the issues covered in my other final year modules?).
Learning Outcomes	By the end of the module students should be able to: Use a social lens to critically analyse key moments in European political thought since the twentieth century Understand the relationship of specific political thinkers to wider movements in political thought Use this understanding to analyse both the movements and the thinkers in new ways
Assessment	37479-01 : 1000 word assessment : Coursework (25%) 37479-02 : 3000 word assessment : Coursework (75%)
Assessment Methods & Exceptions	Assessment: 1 x 1000 word essay (25%) 1 x 2500 word essay (75%). Reassessment by failed component
Other
Reading List