Overview

To introduce core ideas in social and political philosophy, providing the historical context of Western civilization and Australia to understand current problems and conflicts, with particular reference to the problem of sustaining a just, ecologically sustainable, egalitarian, and inclusive political order in the context of a multicultural, diversified, and pluralistic society in a globalized world.

Requisites

Prerequisites
PHI30010 Philosophy, Politics and Society

Rule

50 credit points

Teaching Periods
Location
Start and end dates
Last self-enrolment date
Census date
Last withdraw without fail date
Results released date
Semester 1
Location
Hawthorn
Start and end dates
26-February-2024
26-May-2024
Last self-enrolment date
10-March-2024
Census date
31-March-2024
Last withdraw without fail date
12-April-2024
Results released date
02-July-2024

Learning outcomes

Students who successfully complete this unit will be able to:

  • Extract the core doctrines of social and political thought and their history from the Ancient Greeks to the present – in particular the difference between republicanism, atomic individualism and communitarianism and the different ideas about democracy associated with these
  • Develop and systematically defend a position in writing on a range of topics in social and political philosophy
  • Articulate and orally defend a position on a selected topic in social and political philosophy to an audience
  • Demonstrate a specific knowledge of key themes in social and political philosophy

Teaching methods

Hawthorn

Type Hours per week Number of weeks Total (number of hours)
On-campus
Lecture
1.00 12 weeks 12
On-campus
Class
2.00 12 weeks 24
Specified Activities
Various
5.00 12 weeks 60
Unspecified Activities
Various
4.50 12 weeks 54
TOTAL150

Assessment

Type Task Weighting ULO's
EssayIndividual 30% 1,2,4 
EssayIndividual 60% 1,2,4 
PresentationIndividual 10% 1,3,4 

Content

  • Review of the problems we face with economic globalization, the movement of people, corrosion of democracy, corruption of public institutions, and ecological destruction
  • An introduction to the idea of democracy as it has developed through history from the Ancient Greeks to the formation of Australia as a federation inspired by the ideas of the British Idealists
  • An examination of the relationship between markets, bureaucracies, civil services and the institutions of democracy in this context
  • The development of a viable deliberative conception of democracy that promises greater levels of participation and accountability
  • The potential of computer-mediated communication to facilitate democracy

Study resources

Reading materials

A list of reading materials and/or required textbooks will be available in the Unit Outline on Canvas.