Introduction to Political Theory

Course Type	Course Code	No. Of Credits
Foundation Core	NSLG1LP101	4

Semester and Year Offered: 1st semester (Monsoon semester 2019)

Course Coordinator and Team: Dr. Ngoru Nixon

Email of course coordinator: ngoru[at]aud[dot]ac[dot]in

Pre-requisites: None

Does the course connect to, build on or overlap with any other courses offered in AUD?

This course is offered as a discipline-specific core to the students of the first semester, BA Law and Politics (BALP). Though it overlaps with the existing School of Undergraduate Studies (SUS) course on Introduction to Politics, a distinctive multidisciplinary approach informs the orientation of the BALP course on Introduction to Political Theory: It aims to establish the groundwork for the other conceptually based courses of the politics stream of BALP and to also complement the set of law courses by way of delineating the basic theoretical premises/assumptions that are intrinsic to the discipline of law.

Specific requirements on the part of students who can be admitted to this course:

(Pre requisites; prior knowledge level; any others – please specify):

No requirement.

No. of students to be admitted (with justification if lower than usual cohort size is proposed): As per AUD rules
Course scheduling: (summer/winter course; semester-long course; half-semester course; workshop mode; seminar mode; any other – please specify): Semester-long course
Proposed date of launch: Monsoon semester 2022.
How does the course link with the vision of AUD and the specific programme(s) where it is being offered?

The course seeks to introduce the students to themes and concepts indispensable to studying politics. The themes and concepts in this course are structured to inculcate a thrust towards conceiving an inclusive vision of politics through critical reflection of the various entrenched/stabilized assumptions. This cannot but resonates with the larger vision envisaged by the AUD.

Course Details:

Summary

The orientation of the course is such that it aims to escape a certain conundrum where strict adherence to either variant of political theory -normative and critical kinds- invariably leads to a disabling engagement with the other. The course, therefore, plans to undertake a study of politics through a creative blend of both the normative and the critical aspects. The course consists of 4 modules. It starts with describing the connection between politics and political theory, followed by the engagement with wide-ranging themes broadly schematized under the rubrics of normative political ideologies, critical political ideologies, and the paradox of democracy.

Objectives:

To introduce the students to the complexity and nuances of the conceptual field of politics and the various contestations marking it.
To engage the students on the constitutive relation between the normative and empirical determining the understanding of political theory.
To assist the students in grasping the approaches and core concepts/themes of the major political ideologies.
To facilitate the students to adopt a critical attitude and perspective vis-à-vis the given reality of the human life world.

Expected Learning Outcomes:

After the completion of the course, the student-learners would be able to:
Explain the concept of the political and the conflicting ways of conceiving/thinking about it.
Elaborate on what political theory is- including its nature and subject matter.
Describe and distinguish the central tenets of the various political ideologies discussed in the course and further illustrate their contention and intersection.
Elucidate how the conflictual nature of the political has a bearing on the idea and the life of democracy.

Overall structure:

Module 1: Politics and Political Theory (2 weeks)

The opening module discusses the concept of the political and how it informs the subject matter of political theory. While the dominant orientation of political theory has been the liberal paradigm which is generally projected as the hallmark of universal normativity, this module goes on to refer to the discussion on the ideological aspect, which questions the very foundations on which the normative assumptions are based. This cannot but lends to a more meaningful grasp of the conflicting views of politics and, thereby, political theory. The coalescing of the normative and the critical aspects in the understanding of politics will set the tone for the subsequent modules.

Essential Readings:

Bhargava, Rajeev, and Ashok Acharya, eds. Political Theory: An Introduction. Pearson, 2008.(Chapters 1 and 2).
Freeden, Michael. "Ideology, Political Theory and Political Philosophy," In Handbook of Political Theory, edited by Gerald F. Gaus and Chandran Kukathas. New Delhi: Sage Publications, 2004. Pp. 3-17.
McKinnon, Catriona. "Introduction," In Issues in Political Theory, edited by Catriona McKinnon.Oxford University Press, 2012. Pp.1-8.

Supplementary Readings:

Klosko, George. History of Political Theory: An Introduction- volume II: Modern. 2^nd edition. Oxford University Press, 2013.
Rengger, N.J. Political Theory, Modernity, Postmodernity: Beyond Enlightenment and Critique. Blackwell, 1995.

Module 2: Normative Political Ideologies (3.5 weeks)

If the conceptualization of the political is determined by the specific ideological grounding, the exposition of the former calls for an engagement with the various ideologies. Therefore, the second module deals with the following political ideologies: Liberalism, Conservatism, and Communitarianism. An engagement with this set of ideologies cannot but engenders a discussion on the trinity- individual, society, and state. How is an individual conceived? Is the individual prior to society, or is it the case of society determining the individual? How important are the societal and community values to justify the infringement of the domain of the individual? To what extent can these values be said to be significant for the political life of the individual? A crucial component in this larger scheme of things is the entity called 'state': What is the state? How is the state envisaged? How is the relevance of the state conceived? What are the roles and functions expected of or attributed to the state? The module will introduce to the students these interrelated facets concerning the specific ideology in question and underscore the points of contention and intersection (if any) between them.

Essential Readings:

Heywood, Andrew. Political Ideologies: An Introduction. Palgrave macmillan, 2013. (Chapter 2, 3 & 10).
Sandel, Micheal. Justice: What's the Right Thing to do? Penguin, 2010. (Selections)

Supplementary Readings:

Goodin, Robert E., Philip Pettit, and Thomas Pogge, eds. A Companion to Contemporary Political Philosophy, volume I. Blackwell Publishing, 2007.
Held, David. Political Theory and the Modern State: Essays on State, Power, and Democracy. Polity Press, 1989.
Burke, Edmund. Reflections on the French Revolution. London: J.M. Dent & Sons LTD., 1910.
Kymlicka, Will. Contemporary Political Philosophy: An Introduction. Oxford University Press, 2002.

Module 3: Critical Political Ideologies (4 weeks)

This module will serve as a continuation of the trajectory of the discussion undertaken in the preceding module. The third module looks at how the entrenched assumptions and understandings of individual, society, and state and the accompanying issue of power receive a major scrutiny and reorientation under the lens of the ideologies such as Marxism, feminism, and postmodernism.

Essential Readings:

Burns, Emile. What is Marxism? Createspace Independent Pub., 1939.
Butler, Christopher. Postmodernism: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press, 2002. (Chapter 2).
Freedman, Jane. Feminism. Open University Press, 2001

Supplementary Readings:

Bryson, Valerie. Feminist Political Theory: An Introduction. Palgrave macmillan, 2003.
Kymlicka, Will. Contemporary Political Philosophy: An Introduction. Oxford University Press, 2002.
Marx, Karl and Friedrich Engels. The Communist Manifesto. Pluto Press, 2008.

Module 4: Paradox of Democracy (2 week)

The conflictual character of political is more poignantly manifested in the form of inclusion and exclusion and thus emanates as a crucial problem of political theory. This module seeks to explicate this phenomenon through an engagement with democracy-both as a system of government and as an embodiment of values. While democracy is heralded as exemplifying normativity and inclusivity, the narrative of exclusion and violence signifies its practices.

Essential Readings:

Muller, Jan-Werner. What is Populism? Penguin, 2017.
Ranciere, Jacques. "Does Democracy Mean Something?" in Dissensus: On Politics and Aesthetics. Continuum, 2010. Pp. 45-61.
Taylor, Charles. "The Dynamics of Democratic Exclusion," Journal of Democracy, Vol. 9, No. 4 (October, 1998). Pp. 143-156.

Supplementary Readings:

Gutmann, Amy. "Democracy" In A Companion to Contemporary Political Philosophy: Volume I, edited by Robert E. Goodin, Philip Pettit and Thomas Pogge. Blackwell Publishing, 2007.
Arblaster, Anthony. Democracy. Open University Press, 2002..
Mouffe, Chantal. "Deliberative Democracy and Agnostic Pluralism" Social Research, Vol. 66, No.3 (Fall, 1999): 745-758.