units

ATS2692

Faculty of Arts

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Monash University

Monash University Handbook 2011 Undergraduate - Unit

6 points, SCA Band 1, 0.125 EFTSL

Refer to the specific census and withdrawal dates for the semester(s) in which this unit is offered.

LevelUndergraduate
FacultyFaculty of Arts
OfferedClayton First semester 2011 (Day)
Coordinator(s)Michael Janover

Notes

Previously coded PLT2140

Synopsis

This unit explores some crucial currents of thought on the nature of modernity, community, and liberty from the French Enlightenment until the present. The principal 'isms' of modern politics - liberalism, socialism, conservatism - are studied as both ideologies of progress and expressions of despair in the face of the massive changes in political, economic, intellectual and moral life of the last two centuries. Thinkers discussed will include Rousseau, Marx, Nietzsche, Habermas and Foucault. Our key focus will be how these thinkers have characterised and imagined modernity in forms of utopian ideal and dystopian counter-ideal.

Assessment

Tutorial presentation (500 words): 10%
Tutorial participation: 10%
Essay (2500 words): 50%
Examination (1.5 hours): 30%

Chief examiner(s)

Dr Michael Janover

Contact hours

2 hours (1 x 1 hour lecture and 1 x 1 hour tutorial) per week

This unit applies to the following area(s) of study

Sociology
Politics
Philosophy
European and European Union studies

Prerequisites

A first-year sequence in Politics or permission.

Prohibitions

COS2140, COS3140, ATS3692