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Course Name: Political Theory-Concepts and Debates
Course Name: Political Theory-Concepts and Debates
About the Course:
About the Course:
Course Objective:
Course Objective:
This course is divided into two sections. Section A helps the student familiarize with the basic normative concepts of political theory. Each concept is related to a crucial political issue that requires analysis with the aid of our conceptual understanding. This exercise is designed to encourage critical and reflective analysis and interpretation of social practices through the relevant conceptual toolkit. Section B introduces the students to the important debates in the subject. These debates prompt us to consider that there is no settled way of understanding concepts and that in the light of new insights and challenges, besides newer ways of perceiving and interpreting the world around us, we inaugurate new modes of political debates.
Course outcomes:
Course outcomes:
After reading the course, the students would
Understand the various concepts in political theory and appreciate how they can be helpful to analyse crucial political issues
Understand the significance of debates in political theory in exploring multiple perspectives to concepts, ideas and issues.
Appreciate how these concepts and debates enrich political life and issues surrounding it.
Course Plan: Political Theory-Concepts and Debates
Course Plan: Political Theory-Concepts and Debates
Unit: I. Importance of Freedom
Unit: I. Importance of Freedom
I. Importance of Freedom
a) Negative Freedom: Liberty
b) Positive Freedom: Freedom as Emancipation and Development
Important Issue: Freedom of belief, expression and dissent
Unit: II. Significance of Equality
Unit: II. Significance of Equality
a) Formal Equality: Equality of opportunity
b) Political equality
c) Egalitarianism: Background inequalities and differential treatment
Important Issue: Affirmative action
Unit: III. Indispensability of Justice
Unit: III. Indispensability of Justice
a) Procedural Justice
b) Distributive Justice
c) Global Justice
Important Issue: Capital punishment
Unit: IV. The Universality of Rights
Unit: IV. The Universality of Rights
a) Natural Rights
b) Moral and Legal Rights
c) Three Generations of Rights
d) Rights and Obligations
Important Issue: Rights of the girl child
Section B:
Section B:
Major Debates
Major Debates
Why should we obey the state? Issues of political obligation and civil disobedience.
II. Are human rights universal? Issue of cultural relativism.
III. How do we accommodate diversity in plural society? Issues of multiculturalism and toleration.
Essential Readings Section
Essential Readings Section
A: Core Concepts I.
A: Core Concepts I.
Importance of Freedom Riley, Jonathan. (2008) ‘Liberty’ in Mckinnon, Catriona (ed.) Issues in Political Theory, New York: Oxford University Press, pp. 103-119.
Knowles, Dudley. (2001) Political Philosophy. London: Routledge, pp. 69- 132.
Swift, Adam. (2001) Political Philosophy: A Beginners Guide for Student’s and Politicians. Cambridge: Polity Press, pp. 51-88.
Carter, Ian. (2003) ‘Liberty’, in Bellamy, Richard and Mason, Andrew (eds.). Political Concepts. Manchester: Manchester University Press, pp. 4-15.
Sethi, Aarti. (2008) ‘Freedom of Speech and the Question of Censorship’, in Bhargava, Rajeev and Acharya, Ashok. (eds.) Political Theory: An Introduction. New Delhi: Pearson Longman, pp. 308-319.
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