here - School of Social and Political Science

POLITICS and INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
POLITICAL THINKERS
PLIT08011
SEMESTER 2 2015-2016
1
Contents
Assessment at a glance................................................................................................................................... 2
Course Schedule............................................................................................................................................. 3
Course Aims and Outcomes........................................................................................................................... 4
Course Readings ............................................................................................................................................ 4
Course Structure............................................................................................................................................. 5
Course Assessment ........................................................................................................................................ 7
Essay Questions ............................................................................................................................................. 8
Teaching Team and Administration Contact Details ..................................................................................... 9
Course Outline ............................................................................................................................................. 10
Appendix 1: Essay Referencing ................................................................................................................... 25
Appendix 2: Administrative Guidance ........................................................................................................ 27
Assessment at a glance
Assessment
Essay
Exam
Assessment
weighting
50%
50%
Submission Date (all course work is due at 12 noon
on the date of submission)
22/02/16
Exam dates are set by Student Administration. Exam
diet information can be found at
http://www.ed.ac.uk/studentadministration/exams/exam-diets
Students are responsible for knowing the time, date and
location of their exams.
Return of
Feedback date
14/03/16
Dates will be
published closer
to the time
Note: All course work is submitted electronically through ELMA. Please read the School Policies and
Coursework Submission Procedures document for important information on submission procedures and
assessment polices.
External Examiner: Dr. Iseult Honohan (University College Dublin)
Course Degree Regulations and Programmes of Study (DRPS) Link: http://www.drps.ed.ac.uk/1516/dpt/cxplit08011.htm
2
Course Schedule
Semester
Week
1
1
2
2
3
3
4
4
5
5
-
6
6
7
7
8
8
9
9
10
10
11
11
Date
Topic
Lecturer
Monday
11th January
Thursday
14th January
Monday
18th January
Thursday
21st January
Monday
25th January
Thursday
28th January
Monday
st
1 February
Thursday
th
4 February
Monday
th
8 February
Thursday
11th February
Innovative Learning
Week
No Lecture
Innovative Learning
Week
No Lecture
Introduction to Political
Thinkers
Augustine
Dr. Philip Cook
Augustine
Dr. Philip Cook
Hobbes
Dr. Mihaela Mihai
Hobbes
Dr. Mihaela Mihai
Locke
Dr. Mihaela Mihai
Locke
Dr. Mihaela Mihai
Rousseau
Dr. Hugh McDonnell
Rousseau
Dr. Hugh McDonnell
Marx
Dr. Philip Cook
Innovative Learning Week
No Lecture
Innovative Learning Week
No Lecture
Innovative Learning Week
No Lecture
Innovative Learning Week
No Lecture
Marx
Dr. Philip Cook
Mill
Dr. Kieran Oberman
Mill
Dr. Kieran Oberman
Gandhi
Dr. Philip Cook
Gandhi
Dr. Philip Cook
Arendt
Dr. Masa Mrovlje
Arendt
Dr. Masa Mrovlje
Rawls
Dr. Philip Cook
Rawls
Dr. Philip Cook
Revision Lecture
Dr. Philip Cook
Monday
22nd February
Thursday
25th February
Monday
29th February
Thursday
3rd March
Monday
7th March
Thursday
10th March
Monday
14th March
Thursday
17th March
Monday
21st March
Thursday
24th March
Monday
28th March
Thursday
31st March
3
Dr. Philip Cook
Course Aims and Outcomes
The course has three main aims. The first is to develop students’ ability to think rigorously and critically about
the fundamental questions of politics, broadly conceived: about different conceptions of the proper scope of
politics itself, the nature of political institutions and processes, and about the principles and ideals that have
featured in political thinking in the past and which we might employ in our evaluations and judgements about
politics today.
The second aim is to introduce students to the main arguments and claims made by the most influential thinkers
of the past, whose thinking continues to inform current thought and practice in politics and in international
relations, as well as to broaden understanding by examining some past thinkers whose merits are now
becoming recognised within the tradition.
A third aim is to introduce students to issues and controversies about how we should study political thought.
We will be offering additional and optional ‘Methods and Controversies’ sessions each week where we will
explore a range of debates regarding the appropriate ways to study political thought. These ‘Methods and
Controversies’ session are optional and additional and intended for those students who wish to go deeper
into these issues. Please see ‘Methods and Controversies in the Study of Political Thought’ below for
further information
LEARNING OUTCOMES:
By the end of this course, students will have had the opportunity to:
 Engage critically and reflectively with a range of theoretical debates
 Develop their ability to assess a variety of perspectives and theoretical arguments
 Familiarise themselves with some of the key claims made by historically influential thinkers and
commentators
 Equip themselves with the skills and knowledge required for the interpretation and analysis of
theoretical texts
 Acquire the background understanding of the development of key concepts that will enable them to
contextualise their later learning in succeeding studies in politics and international relations
Course Readings
Happily, there are many excellent resources freely available for this course. Most of the key historical texts
we will be studying are available in high-quality scholarly online versions. Many of these online versions
are free and open-access, others are available to students through the library/University network. Where
there is no suitable edition available online, we have created scanned versions of key passages (called ‘ereserves). These are available on the Learn site. You will find links to relevant editions and also notes
indicating if a scanned version is available online in this course guide below. We will also make these
available in the Learn site so that you can click through easily from the course site.
If you wish to buy a book we recommend Political Thinkers: from Socrates to the Present, eds David
Boucher and Paul Kelly. It contains chapters on a number of the thinkers addressed in this course
(Augustine, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Mill, and Marx), has chapters on other thinkers that Politics or
International Relations students - at least - will meet in future courses, and will help you a great deal in
building a deep and broad understanding of the contextual development of western political thought.
Other useful general sources are:
Iain Hampsher-Monk, A History of Modern Political Thought: Major Political Thinkers from Hobbes to
Marx
4
John S McClelland, A History of Western Political Thought
Additionally there is a series called Cambridge Companions containing collections relevant to this course.
The Library holds electronic versions.
For Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, and Marx, Boucher and Kelly’s Social Contract from Hobbes to Rawls may
be useful.
The Library holds an electronic 'Past Masters' series containing texts for Augustine, Locke, Mill, Rousseau
and Hobbes, links are available below.
For each week of the course we have identified Required readings. They provide the important core
materials for the course. The course team has tried to select short excerpts that contain the most essential
elements to understand the basics of the thinker for the lectures and tutorials. Tutorials will be conducted on
the assumption that students will have read the Required Readings in advance. Required readings are
selected for their centrality to lecture and tutorial on the relevant thinker. Please start with the required
reading, and try to engage directly with the primary text. It may be challenging at first, but even an initial
attempt to read through some of the primary material will help you enormously in the lectures and tutorials.
Don’t worry if you find reading these texts quite hard going at first, and don’t be put off by having to read
texts several times. These are important thinkers, some of whom are writing in very different contexts from
our own, so there can be a process of entering into the language and ideas. However, slow and patient reading,
together with attending the lectures and tutorials will help you come to terms with the material. You are always
welcome to ask for extra help from Tutors or Lecturers (please email or contact them during their Guidance
and Feedback Hours).
Additional readings are accessible through the Library. These provide important context and scholarly
discussion of the primary texts. Additional secondary readings should not be relied on as a substitute for
reading the primary texts as they will often offer a particular point of view or argument that should be
engaged with critically. It is important you begin to read the primary texts on your own terms and begin to
form your own responses and understandings of the material.
Many journal articles are likely to be held in JSTOR, an electronic database accessible through the Library’s
webpages. Other relevant databases are available – try Philosophers’ Index.
Also through the Library, you can recall books that are out on loan to another reader. For help recalling
books and accessing research materials, see Library staff.
For most of the thinkers covered in this course the published academic literature is vast, and our suggestions
under ‘additional readings’ are only that: a few suggestions from that vast literature to help get you started
on your research. If you cannot get hold of the specific sources suggested, there are many, many, others
easily available to you – try searching the Library catalogue, or JSTOR, using the relevant thinker’s name.
Course Structure
LECTURES




The course is taught in Weeks 1-5 and 6-11 of Semester 2 (please see the Course Schedule
above for detailed information on dates).
It has two lectures a week, on Mondays and Thursdays from 15.10-16.00.
The lecture on Mondays will be held in David Hume Tower Lecture Halls A and C (there will
be a video link between the two halls).
The lecture on Thursdays will be held in the George Square Lecture Theatre.
5



Each week there will also be an additional and optional ‘Methods and Controversies in the
Study of Political Thought’ session held on Tuesdays at 15.10-16.00 in George Square Lecture
Theatre.
Lectures commence in Week 1 (week beginning Monday, 11th January 2016).
Please note that there will be no lectures or tutorials during the Innovative Learning Week
(Semester Week 6: 15th – 19th February).
The lectures will introduce you to the main ideas of the theorists who are discussed each week, setting their
work in the appropriate context, explaining key claims and concepts, and showing how they contribute to the
broad theoretical question being addressed. You will get a great deal more out of the lectures if you have
already read the key readings, even if only in a preliminary way.
The ‘Methods and Controversies in Political Thought’ sessions will take the form of interactive discussions,
with some short presentations by the staff, activities by the students, and reflection on the issues for the way
we study the material on our course. These ‘Methods and Controversies’ sessions will also follow the
pattern of the lectures, namely: Weeks 1-5 and 6-11 of Semester 2 (with a break in Week 6: 15th-19th
February for Innovative Learning Week).
TUTORIALS
Tutorials are the primary forum for discussion, deliberation, and debate on the ‘big issues’ of the course.
The tutorials start in Week 2 until run until Week 11. Students must sign themselves up for a tutorial
in Week 1 – please see Appendix 2: Administrative Guidance for the Guide to Using LEARN for
Online Tutorial Sign-Up.
There are no classes between the 15th of February and the 19th of February to allow for Innovative
Learning Week. A full tutorial timetable, including the times and locations of tutorials, will be available on
the course home page in Learn during the first week of the course. Tutorials are an integral part of the
course. Your participation in tutorials is essential, and if you fail to attend on more than two consecutive
occasions without reasonable explanation, your Personal Tutor will be informed.
For each week’s tutorial there is a set of questions designed to explore key concepts and arguments in the key
readings and to stimulate debate about the theoretical and practical issues they raise. Your tutor will advise
you on which of these questions to focus on in preparing for the tutorial. The tutorial questions for each
week can be found on the course Learn pages. You should come prepared to discuss the readings and be
willing to consider possible applications of the ideas of the individual thinkers under discussion. As well as
exploring these questions you can use tutorials to take up issues raised by your reading or by the lectures.
The tutorial schedule and topics are as follows:
Week Date
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
th
Tutorial Topic
th
11 - 15 Jan
18th – 22nd Jan
25th - 29th Jan
1st - 5th Feb
9th – 15th Feb
15th - 19th Feb
22nd – 26th Feb
29th Feb – 4th Mar
7th – 11th Mar
14th -18th Mar
21st – 25th Mar
No Tutorial
Augustine
Hobbes
Locke
Rousseau
Innovative Learning Week – No Tutorials
Marx
Mill
Gandhi
Arendt
Rawls
6
METHODS AND CONTROVERSIES IN THE STUDY OF POLITICAL THOUGHT
An additional hour is provided each week during which we will discuss some of the deeper issues relevant to
the study of political thought. These ‘Methods and Controversies in the Study of Political Thought’ sessions
will take a different issue each week, and relate it to the substantive material of the course. We will consider
such questions as:
 ‘can historical texts be relevant to contemporary politics?’
 ‘are there common political concepts that feature in the history of political thought?’
 ‘how should we study political texts from traditions and cultures very different from our own?’
 ‘what role should evidence and science play in political thought?’
These additional ‘Methods and Controversies’ hours are optional. Students will not be expected to do
additional readings to participate and benefit from these sessions (although appropriate readings will be
indicated for those students wishing to follow up and explore the issues more deeply). Students will be able
to successfully pass the course without attending these sessions. However, we hope that they will provide
opportunity to think more deeply about the issues in studying political thought, and that students will find
them helpful to broadening and deepening their understanding of the nature of political thought. Further
information and a course guide for these sessions will be provided on the course Learn site.
Course Assessment
Assessment
Dates
Weighting
Essay (2,000
words)
The essay (questions will relate to the first four theorists covered in the 50%
course) must be submitted through ELMA by 12 noon on Monday 22nd
February 2016.
Exam
The exam (questions will relate to the last five theorists covered in the 50%
course) will be held during the April-May examination diet. The date will
be posted on the Registry website later in the semester.
The following are the criteria on which the essay will be marked. However, it is important to note that the
overall mark is a result of a holistic assessment of the assignment as a whole.
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
Does the essay address the question set, and with sufficient focus?
Does the essay show a grasp of the relevant ideas, claims, and concepts?
Does the essay demonstrate a logical and effective pattern of argument?
Does the essay demonstrate reflexivity and critical thinking in relation to arguments and evidence?
Is the essay well presented in having impeccable referencing and quoting, spelling, grammar and style,
and acceptable layout and visual presentation?
The following are the criteria through on which the exam script will be marked. However, it is important to
note that the overall mark for each question answered is a result of a holistic assessment of that answer as a
whole.
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
Does the answer address the question set, and with sufficient focus?
Does the answer show a grasp of the relevant ideas, claims, and concepts?
Does the answer demonstrate a logical and effective pattern of argument?
Does the essay demonstrate reflexivity and critical thinking in relation to arguments and evidence?
Is the answer well presented in having quotations (where used) that are accurate and pertinent;
impeccable spelling, grammar and style; legibility?
7
Essay Questions
The essay (questions will relate to the first four theorists covered in the course) must be submitted through
ELMA by 12 noon on Monday 22nd February 2016.
Answer ONE question, and the question must be your essay title. Essays should be no longer than 2,000
words.
Please see Appendix 1 and 2 for information on referencing, submission, extensions, and penalties.
1. Describe and critically discuss Augustine’s understanding of the relationship between human nature and
political authority.
2. Outline and assess Hobbes's account of the laws of nature. Discuss their content, scope and force.
3. Explain and evaluate Locke's justification for private property.
4. Critically analyse Rousseau’s remark that those who refuse to obey the general will shall be ‘forced to be
free’ (The Social Contract, Book 1, Chapter 7).
8
Teaching Team and Administration Contact Details
Course Convenor:
Dr. Philip Cook
Email: [email protected]
Room: 3.29, Crystal Macmillan Building, 15a George Square.
Guidance and Feedback Hours: Wednesdays 9.30am-11.30am (or by appointment, please email)
Course Lecturers:
Dr. Hugh McDonnell
Email: [email protected]
Room: 3.22, 18 Buccleuch Place
Guidance and Feedback Hours: Tuesday 9th February, 11am-1pm (or by appointment, please email)
Dr. Mihaela Mihai
Email: [email protected]
Room: 3.21, 18 Buccleuch Place
Guidance and Feedback Hours: Tuesdays 3pm-5pm (or by appointment, please email)
Dr. Masa Mrovlje
Email: [email protected]
Room: 3.22, 18 Buccleuch Place.
Guidance and Feedback Hours: Fridays (11th and 18th March) 2pm -4pm (or by appointment, please email)
Dr. Kieran Oberman
Email: [email protected]
Room: 3.30, Crystal Macmillan Building, 15a George Square
Guidance and Feedback Hours: Wednesdays 11am-1pm (or by appointment, please email)
Tutors:
Name
Richard Brodie (Senior Tutor)
Andrew Drever
Pia Halme
William Kerr
Maggie Morrison
Elena Pollot
Zoey Reeve
Michal Rozynek
Lisa Schweiger
Email
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
For administration enquiries, please contact the Course Secretary Natalie Stroud by email:
[email protected]
9
Course Outline
11th January: Introduction to Political Thinkers
14 & 18 January:
Augustine – God, Human Nature, Politics, and War?
Dr Philip Cook
We consider Augustine’s view of human nature, and the influence of humanity’ sinful nature on politics. We
discuss Augustine’s understanding of the relationship between the City of God and the City of Man. Why
does war persist, and what is its place in a just political order?
Required readings:
Mitchell Cohen and Nicole Fermon eds., Princeton Readings in Political Thought: Essential Texts since
Plato. (Princeton University Press, 1996), Ch. 5 St. Augustine City of God pp. 133-143 Available as an ereserve on Learn site
St. Augustine, Political Writings, ed. Douglas Kries and Ernest L. Fortin, (Indianapolis, Indianna, Hackett
Publishing, 1994), ‘War’ pp. 218-230, Available as an e-reserve on Learn site
For further reading in Augustine, please read especially bks II-V, VIII, XI-XXII from City of God, which
is available free online at: http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/1201.htm and also at Project Gutenberg
http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/45304 & http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/45305
A useful introduction and overview can be found here: http://www.iep.utm.edu/aug-poso/
Additional readings:
Janet Coleman, A History of Political Thought: from Ancient Greece to Early Christianity, (Oxford: WileyBlackwell, 2000), Ch. 6 St Augustine pp. 292-340, Available as an e-reserve on Learn site
George Klosko, History of Political Theory: an introduction, Vol. 1 Ancient and Medieval 2nd Edition,
(OUP 2012), Ch. 8 St. Augustine, pp. 221-256, Available as an e-reserve on Learn site
Jean Bethke Elshtain, ‘St Augustine’, Contemporary Political Theory, 2004, Vol.3 (3), pp.268-274
_______, ‘St. Augustine’, in David Boucher and Paul Kelly eds., Political Thinkers, 2nd edition, (Oxford
University Press, 2009) (first edition equally acceptable)
Peter Brown, Augustine of Hippo : A Biography (London : Faber, 1967).
Henry Chadwick, Augustine, Past Masters (Oxford : Oxford University Press, 1986).
Herbert Andrew Deane, The Political and Social Ideas of St. Augustine (London: Columbia University
Press, 1963), esp. chs 3–5.
John Neville Figgis, The Political Aspects of S. Augustine’s “City of God” (London: Longmans,, 1921),
chap. 4 – “The State.”
J. von Heyking, ‘A headless body politic? Augustine’s understanding of populus and its
representation’, History of Political Thought, 20 (1999)
10
R.L. Holmes, ‘St. Augustine and the justification of war’, in Hols ed., On War and Morality (London:
Princeton University Press, 1989)
R.A. Markus, ‘Saint Augustine’s views on the just war’, in W.J. Sheils ed., The church and war : papers
read at the twenty-first summer meeting and the twenty-second winter meeting of the Ecclesiastical History
Society, 20 (1983), 1-13
_______, Saeculum: History and Society in the Theology of St Augustine (1970) esp. ch. 4, available as an
e-book through the library catalogue
_______, ‘The Latin Fathers’, in J.H. Burns, ed., The Cambridge History of Medieval Political Thought,
c.350-c.1450 (1988), ch. 6 available as an e-book through the library catalogue
Rex Martin, “The Two Cities in Augustine’s Political Philosophy,” Journal of the History of Ideas 33, no. 2
(1972): 195–216. Available as an electronic journal article through library catalogue
John Mark Mattox, St. Augustine and the Theory of Just War. (London: Thoemmes Continuum, 2006)
Reinhold Niebuhr, The Essential Reinhold Niebuhr: Selected Essays and Addresses (Yale University Press,
1987), chap. 10 – “Augustine”s Political Realism’.
P. Ramsey, ‘The just war according to St Augustine’ in J.B. Elshtain, ed., Just War Theory (Oxford:
Blackwells, 1992)
Paul Weithman, ‘Augustine’s political philosophy’, in The Cambridge Companion to Augustine, ed. E.
Stump and N. Kretzmann (Cambridge University Press, 2001), pp. 234-52 Available as an e-book through
library catalogue
J. Wetzel ed., Augustine’s ‘City of God’: A critical guide (Cambridge University Press 2012), esp. ch. 2, 3,
& 5. Available as an e-book through library catalogue
R. Williams, ‘Politics and the soul: a reading of the City of God’, Milltown Studies 19 (1987)
Tutorial Question:
What is Augustine’s view of human nature? How does his view of human nature affect his view of
politics and the state?
11
21 & 25 January
Hobbes: Insecurity and Sovereignty
Dr. Mihaela Mihai
Why do we have governments? Why should we obey the laws they make? Hobbes is the first systematic
(early) modern thinker addressing these questions, and the first major thinker of the tradition of the social
contract. The answers he gives to questions of legitimate authority, and resistance to it, have been
controversial and very influential since they were first expounded.
Required readings:
Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan, chapters 13-31.
Thomas Hobbes, On the Citizen [De Cive], ‘Preface to the Readers’, Chapters 1-14 inclusive.
Leviathan is available on Project Gutenberg: http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/3207 and
https://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/h/hobbes/thomas/h68l/index.html
On the Citizen is available online through Library catalogue at:
http://discovered.ed.ac.uk/44UOE_VU1:default_scope:44UOE_ALMA51137711690002466 or at
http://discovered.ed.ac.uk/44UOE_VU1:default_scope:44UOE_ALMA51136651750002466 (n.b. you may
need to be connected to the University Network to access the full text)
Additional readings:
Richard Tuck, Hobbes: A very short introduction (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002).
Glen Newey, The Routledge Philosophy Guidebook to Hobbes and Leviathan (London: Routledge, 2007)
David Raphael, Hobbes: Morals and Politics (London: Routledge, 2004).
Johann Sommerville, Thomas Hobbes: Political Ideas in Historical Context (Basingstoke: Palgrave, 1992).
Tom Sorrell, ed., The Cambridge Companion to Hobbes (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996).
Patricia Springborg, ed., The Cambridge Companion to Hobbes’s Leviathan Hobbes (Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 2007).
Quentin Skinnner, ‘Hobbes and the Purely Artificial Person of the State’, Journal of Political Philosophy,
7/1, 1999, pp. 1-29.
David Runciman, ‘What Kind of Person is Hobbes’s State? A Reply to Skinner,’ Journal of Political
Philosophy 8, 2000, pp. 268-278.
David Dyzenhaus, ‘Hobbes and the Legitimacy of Law’, Law and Philosophy 20, 2001, pp. 461-498.
Susanne Sreedhar, Hobbes on Resistance: Defying the Leviathan (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
2010).
Tutorial Questions:
1. What does Hobbes mean by saying that the ‘state of nature’ is that of ‘war of all against all’?
2. What is his theory of natural rights?
3. What is Hobbes’s account of the social contract? Under what circumstances, if any, is it
dissoluble?
12
28 January and 1 February
Locke: Property, Consent and Toleration
Dr. Mihaela Mihai
John Locke has been hugely influential in his argument for limited and constitutional government. In these
two lectures we shall explore his account of property, legitimate government, rebellion and religious conflict.
Required reading:
John Locke, Two Treatises on Government, second treatise, chapters 2, 3, 5, 8, 9, 18 and 19. Available at
Project Gutenberg here: http://www.gutenberg.org/files/7370/7370-h/7370-h.htm
Locke, John. A Letter Concerning Toleration (1689). Available online for free at:
http://www.constitution.org/jl/tolerati.htm & free pdf, html, and e-book versions at:
http://oll.libertyfund.org/titles/2375
Additional readings:
Iain Hampsher-Monk, History of Modern Political Thought: Major Political Thinkers from Hobbes to Marx,
(Oxford: Blackwell, 1992). Chapter on Locke.
John Dunn, Locke: A very short introduction (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1992).
Paul Kelly, Locke's Second Treatise of Government (London: Continuum, 2007).
C.B. Macpherson, The Political Theory of Possessive Individualism: Hobbes to Locke, (Oxford: Clarendon
Press, 1962).
Barbara Arneil, John Locke and America, (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1996).
Jeremy Waldron, The Right to Private Property, (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1988), chapters 6 and 7.
James Tully, A Discourse on Property, John Locke and His Adversaries, (Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press 1980).
Ashcraft, Richard. “Locke’s Political Philosophy” in The Cambridge Companion to John Locke
(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994), pp. 226-251.
Schwartzman, Micah. “The Relevance of Locke’s Religious Arguments for Toleration,” Political Theory 33,
no. 5 (2005): 678-705.
Tutorial Questions:
1. How is Locke’s theory of the social contract different from Hobbes’s?
2. What argument does Locke provide for the right to private property and how successful is this
argument?
3. Under what circumstances is rebellion against the government permissible? How does this differ
from Hobbes’s account?
4. What are Locke’s arguments for toleration?
5. What are the limits of toleration for Locke?
13
4 & 8 February
Rousseau: Freedom as Popular Sovereignty
Dr. Hugh McDonnell
With Rousseau we continue studying the social contract tradition. Is it possible to reconcile individual
freedom with collective action within a political association? Rousseau proposes a possible solution.
Required readings:
Jean-Jacques Rousseau, The Social Contract, available at Project Gutenberg at:
http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/46333
Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Discourse on the Origin and Foundations of Inequality Among Men or Second
Discourse, Part II. Available at Project Gutenberg at: http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/46333
Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Considerations on the Government in Poland, available online:
http://www.constitution.org/jjr/poland.htm
Additional readings:
Maurice Cranston & S Peters, eds Hobbes and Rousseau: a collection of critical essays
Patrick Riley, ed, The Cambridge Companion to Rousseau
Christopher Morris, ed, Social Contract Theorists: critical essays on Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau
Ethan Putterman, Rousseau, Law, and the Sovereignty of the People
J L Talmon, The Origins of Totalitarian Democracy
Joshua Cohen, ‘Reflections on Rousseau: Autonomy and Democracy’, Philosophy and Public Affairs 15,
1986 (pp275-97)
J Broome, Rousseau: a study of his thought
J Chapman, Rousseau: Totalitarian or Liberal?
John Charvet, The Social Problem in the Philosophy of Rousseau
A Cobban, Rousseau and the Modern State
Hilail Gildin, Rousseau’s Social Contract
N Dent, Rousseau: an introduction
S Ellenburg, Rousseau’s Political Philosophy
Robert Grimsley, The Philosophy of Rousseau
J Hall, Rousseau: Introduction to his Political Philosophy
Roger D Masters, The Political Philosophy of J J Rousseau
M Levin, ‘Rousseau and Independence’, Political Studies 1970
14
J McAdam, ‘Rousseau and General Will’, Dialogue 1967
R Noble, ‘Freedom and Sentiment’, History of Political Thought, 1988
John Plamenatz, Man and Society Vol 1, chapter 10
D Rosenfeld, ‘Rousseau’s unanimous contract’, History of Political Thought 1987
Frederick Newhouser, ‘Freedom, Dependence, and the General Will’, Philosophical Review 102, 1993,
pp363-95
Tutorial Question:
What is ‘the general will’ according to Rousseau?
15
Please Note: 15 & 19 February INNOVATIVE LEARNING WEEK – There
will be no Lectures or Tutorials
11 & 22 February
Marx – Capitalism, History, and Revolution
Dr Philip Cook
We consider Marx’s view of human nature and material production. We examine his notion of historical
materialism and laws governing social life. We discuss his critique of capitalism (and the capitalist state)
and his argument that it will inevitably collapse and lead to communism. We analyse Marx’s conceptions of
ideology and alienation.
Required Reading
Andrew Bailey, Samantha Brennan, Will Kymlicka, Jacob Levy, Alex Sager, & Clark Wolf eds., The
Broadview Anthology of Social and Political Thought: Essential Readings Ancient, Modern, and
Contemporary Texts, (Broadview Press 2012), Chapter: Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, Available as an ereserve on Learn site
Additional Reading
Iain Hampsher-Monk, A History of Modern Political Thought, Oxford: Blackwell 1992, ch. 10 Marx, pp.
483-563 Available as an e-reserve on Learn site
George Klosko History of Political Theory: an introduction, Vol. 2 Modern 2nd Edition, OUP 2013 Ch. 10
Karl Marx, pp. 498-558, 23 Available as an e-reserve on Learn site
Gareth Stedman Jones. (2011). The Young Hegelians, Marx and Engels. In: Gareth Stedman Jones and
Gregory Claeys (eds.) The Cambridge History of Nineteenth-Century Political Thought. pp. 556-600.
Available as an e-book through library catalogue
David McLellan, Marx, Fontana Modern Masters (London: Fontana, 1975).
Peter Singer, Marx, Past Masters (Oxford University Press, 1980).
Allen W. Wood, Karl Marx, The Arguments of the Philosophers (London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1981),
chap. 1.
Allen E. Buchanan, Ethics, Efficiency and the Market (Totowa, N.J.: Rowman & Allanheld,, 1985), pp. 87–
95.
J. Rawls, Lectures on the History of Political Philosophy, Samuel Freeman (ed), (Cambridge MA, 2007),
‘Lectures on Marx’, pp. 319-372.
S. S. Wolin, Politics and Vision: Continuity and Innovation in Western Political Thought, expanded edn.,
(Princeton NJ, 2004), chapter 12 ‘Marx: Theorist of the Political Economy o the Proletariat or of
Uncollapsed Capitalism?’, pp. 406-453.
W. J. Booth, ‘Gone Fishing: Making Sense of Marx’s Concept of Communism’, Political Theory, 17 (1989),
205-222 Available as an online journal through Library catalogue
On Ideology
Raymond Geuss, The Idea of a Critical Theory (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1981). Especially
ch. 1
16
Jorge Larrain, The Concept of Ideology (London: Hutchinson, 1979), Parts 1 & 2.
Allen Wood, Karl Marx (London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1981), Parts 2 & 3.
George Lichtheim, The Concept of Ideology and Other Essays (New York, NY:
Random House, 1967), ch. 1 'The concept of ideology'.
John Plamenatz, Ideology (London: Macmillan, 1971), chs. 1, 4 & 5.
Michael Rosen, On Voluntary Servitude (Cambridge: Polity Press, 1996), chs. 1, 2 & 6.
On Alienation
In addition to the general readings by Marx above, the following should be consulted:
Karl Marx, 'Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts; the Holy Family; the German Ideology', in D.
McLellan, ed., Karl Marx: Selected Writings (Oxford: Oxford
University Press, 1977; 2nd ed. 2000).
Karl Marx, 'From the Paris Notebooks', in J. O'Malley, ed., Marx: Early Political Writings (Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 1994).
Steven Lukes, 'Alienation and Anomie', in his Essays in Social Theory (Aldershot: Gregg Revivals, 1994),
pp. 74-95.
Bertell Ollman, Alienation: Marx's Conception of Man in Capitalist Society. 2nd ed. (Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 1976), sect. 3. Available as an e-book through the library catalogue
Karl Lowith and Bryan S. Turner. Max Weber and Karl Marx. 2nd ed. (London: Routledge, 1993) Available
as an e-book through the library catalogue
Allen Wood, Karl Marx (London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1981). Esp. Part I
G.A Cohen, History, Labour and Freedom (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1989), ch. 5.
Craig A Conly, 'Alienation, Sociality, and the Division of Labor', Ethics, 89, no. 1 (1978): 82-94.
http://www.jstor.org/stable/2380134
John Elster, Making Sense of Marx (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1985), ch. 2 'Philosophical
anthropology'.
John Plamenatz, Karl Marx's Philosophy of Man (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1975), chs. 5 & 6.
Tutorial Questions:
How does Marx understand the relationship between economic production and politics/society? What
does alienation mean for Marx? What is the role of ideology in Marx’s thought?
17
25 February & 29 February
J.S. Mill: Individual Autonomy and National Self-Determination
Dr Kieran Oberman
According to JS Mill, societies must respect personal autonomy by allowing people to act as they choose as
long as they do not harm to others. Mill also argued that each society should, on the whole, be cautious about
intervening in the affairs of other societies, even when those other societies violate exactly the kinds of
freedoms that Mill espoused. In these classes, we shall investigate whether Mill’s arguments for either of
these positions are plausible in themselves and consistent when assessed together.
Required reading:
J.S. Mill, On Liberty, introduction and chapter 4. Available at Project Gutenberg:
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/34901/34901-h/34901-h.htm
JS Mill, “A Few Words on Non-Intervention”, in New England Review, 27/3 ([1859] 2006): 252-264.
Available online at JSTOR: http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.is.ed.ac.uk/stable/40244870
Additional reading:
Introductory:
David Brink, “Mill's Moral and Political Philosophy”, The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Fall 2014
Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.).
Jonathan Wolff, An Introduction to Political Philosophy, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1996), chapter
4.
On “On Liberty”
J.C. Rees, “A Re-Reading of Mill on Liberty”, in John Gray and GW Smith, eds., JS Mill On Liberty in Focus,
(London: Routeledge, 2003).
Gerald Dworkin, “Paternalism”, in Richard A. Wasserstrom (ed.), Morality and the Law, (Belmont:
Wadsworth, 1971).
Joel Feinburg, Offense to Others, (New York: Oxford University Press, 1985) chapter 9.
John Skurupski, Why Read Mill Today? (London: Routledge, 2006).
C.L. Ten, Mill on Liberty, (Oxford: Clarendon Press 1980).
Jonathan Riley, Mill On Liberty, (London: Routledge, 1998).
David O. Brink, “Millian Principles, Freedom Of Expression, and Hate Speech”, Legal Theory 7 (2001):
119-157.
Richard, Wollheim, “John Stuart Mill and the Limits of State Action” Social Research 40 (1973): 1-30.
Jonathan Riley, “One Very Simple Principle’ Utilitas 3 (1991): 1-35.
Non-Intervention and Colonialism
Michael W. Doyle, “A Few Words on Mill, Walzer and Non-Intervention”, Ethics & International Affairs,
23/4 (2009): 349–369
Arthur Applebaum, “Forcing a People to be Free”, Philosophy and Public Affairs, 25/4 (2007): 359-400
Michael Walzer, Just and Unjust Wars, (New York: Basic Books, 2006), pp51-63, pp86-108.
18
David Luban, “Just War and Human Rights”, Philosophy and Public Affairs, 9/2 (1980): 160-181
Yvonne Chiu and Robert S. Taylor, “The Self-Extinguishing Despot: Millian Democratization”, The Journal
of Politics 73 (2011): 1239-1250
Uday Singh Metah, Liberalism and Empire, A Study of Nineteenth Century British Liberal Thought
(Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1999), pp 97-106.
Tutorial Questions:
How does Mill distinguish between other regarding and self-regarding behaviour? Why does Mill believe
this distinction is so important? Why is Mill in favour of international intervention in some cases and
against it in other cases?
19
3 & 7 March
Ghandi – Freedom, Truth, and Non-Violence
Dr Philip Cook
We will consider Gandhi’s views on truth and freedom in politics. We will analyse his arguments for nonviolence in politics. We will examine his legacy and character as a political thinker.
Required Readings
Mohandas K. Gandhi, The Penguin Gandhi Reader, ed. Rudrangshu Mukherjee, 2 edition (New Delhi ; New
York: Penguin Books, 1995), section: The Creed of Non–Violence, pp. 93–122. Available on Learn
Mahatma Gandhi, The Essential Writings, ed. Judith M. Brown, New Ed edition (Oxford ; New York: OUP
Oxford, 2008), chap. Four – India Under British Rule, making a new nation. Available on Learn
Additional Readings
Akeel Bilgrami: Secularism, Identity, and Enchantement, (London: Harvard University Press, 2014), esp.
ch.4 (Gandhi, the philosopher) also available here:
http://philosophy.columbia.edu/files/philosophy/content/BilgramiGandhi.pdf
______, ‘Gandhi (and Marx), Social Scientist, 40, no. 3/4, (2012), pp. 3-25
http://www.jstor.org/stable/23338881
Farah Godrej, ‘Nonviolence and Gandhi’s Truth: A Method for Moral and Political Arbitration’, The Review
of Politics, 68, no. 2, (2006), pp. 287-317 available online through the library catalogue
______, “Gandhi’s Civic Ahimsa: A Standard for Public Justification in Multicultural Democracies,”
International Journal of Gandhi Studies, 1 (2011), 75-106.
Dennis Dalton, Gandhi: ideology and authority, Modern Asian Studies, 3, no. 4, (1969), pp. 377-393
Joan Bondurant, Conquest of Violence, (London: Princeton University Press, 1988), esp. chs, 2 & 3
Leela Gandhi. "Concerning Violence: The Limits and Circulations of Gandhian Ahisma or Passive
Resistance." Cultural Critique 35, no. 0 (1996): 105-47.
Bidyut Chakrabarty, The Social and Political Thought of Mahatma Gahndi, London: Taylor and Francis,
2006, 9780415360968 Gandhi – The Mahatma at the Grassroots: the practice of ahimsa or non-violence
Available as an e-reserve on the Learn site
Indira Rothermund, “The Individual and Society in Gandhi’s Political Thought,” The Journal of Asian
Studies 28, no. 2 (February 1, 1969): 313–20,
Karuna Mantena, “Another Realism: The Politics of Gandhian Nonviolence,” American Political Science
Review 106, no. 02 (May 2012): 455–70 Available as an e-journal through library catalogue
_______, “On Gandhi’s Critique of the State: Sources, Contexts, Conjunctures,” Modern Intellectual
History 9:3 (2012) https://karunamantena.files.wordpress.com/2013/06/mantena-gandhiscritiqueofthestatemih.pdf
_______, Gandhi and the Means-Ends Question in Politics,” Occasional Papers of the School of Social
Science, Institute for Advanced Study, 46 (2012)
https://karunamantena.files.wordpress.com/2011/04/mantena-gandhimeansends.pdf
20
Judith M. Brown, Gandhi : Prisoner of Hope (London: Yale University Press, 1989).
Judith M. Brown and Anthony Parel, eds., The Cambridge Companion to Gandhi (Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 2011), chap. 5–9, Available as an e-book through library catalogue
Bhikhu Parekh, Gandhi’s Political Philosophy : A Critical Examination (Basingstoke : Macmillan, 1989);
Bhikhu Parekh, Gandhi: A Very Short Introduction, New Ed edition (Oxford ; New York: Oxford
Paperbacks, 2001)
Antony Copley, Gandhi: Against the Tide (Oxford University Press, 1987).
Tutorial question:
How does Gandhi understand truth and freedom in political life? Why is non-violence so important in his
thinking about politics?
21
10 & 14 March
Arendt: Responsibility and the Common World
Dr. Masa Mrovlje
Arendt has a distinctive view on the space and nature of political being, and her work on responsibility,
judgement, and evil in times of political extremism – written in response to Nazism and Stalinism - is
increasingly influential.
Required reading:
Hannah Arendt, The Human Condition, Chapters: 1, 2, 4-10 inclusive, 24-28 inclusive, 31-34 inclusive, 4143 inclusive excerpts available on the Learn site
Hannah Arendt, Eichmann in Jerusalem: a report on the banality of evil, Chapter VIII available on the
Learn site
Hannah Arendt, The Origins of Totalitarianism, Chapter 9 ('The Decline of the Nation-State and the End of
the Rights of Man'), Chapter 13 ('Ideology and Terror: a Novel Form of Government')', 'Preface to the First
Edition', and 'Concluding Remarks'. excerpts available on the Learn site
Hannah Arendt, 'The Origins of Totalitarianism: A Reply', The Review of Politics, 15, no. 1 (1953): 76-84.
Additional reading:
All chapters in The Human Condition
Hannah Arendt, ‘Freedom and Politics: a lecture’, Chicago Review, 14 (1), 1960 available on the Learn site
Hannah Arendt, ‘The Great Tradition, I: Law and Power’, Social Research 74 (3), and ‘The Great Tradition,
II: Ruling and Being Ruled’, Social Research 74 (4), 2007
Hannah Arendt, ‘Postscript’, Eichmann in Jerusalem available on the Learn site
Dana Villa, ed, The Cambridge Companion to Hannah Arendt, esp. ch’s ‘Dana Villa: Introduction: The
Development of Arendt’s Political Thought’, ‘Seyla Benhabib: Arendt’s Eichmann in Jerusalem’; ‘George
Kateb: Political Action: its nature and advantages’;
Garrath Williams, ‘Hannah Arendt on Power’, in Keith Dowding, ed, Encyclopedia of Power
Majid Yar, ‘From Actor to Spectator: Hannah Arendt’s ‘Two Theories’ of Political Judgement’, Philosophy
and Social Criticism 26 (2), 2000
Majid Yar, ‘Hannah Arendt’, Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Roger Berkowitz et al, Thinking in Dark Times: Hannah Arendt on Ethics and Politics
Hannah Arendt, 'Personal Responsibility under Dictatorship' in Hannah Arendt: Responsibility and
Judgment, ed Jerome Kohn
Steve Buckler, Hannah Arendt and Political Theory
Peg Birmingham, Hannah Arendt and Human Rights: the predicament of common responsibility
Dana Villa, Politics, Philosophy, Terror: essays on the thought of Hannah Arendt
22
Seyla Benhabib, The Reluctant Modernism of Hannah Arendt
Maurizio Passerin d’Entreves, The Political Philosophy of Hannah Arendt
Tutorial Question:
What, for Arendt, does it mean to be a citizen?
17 & 21 March
Rawls: Justice and Political Liberalism
Core Reading
John Rawls, ‘On Justice as Fairness’ in Matthew Clayton and Andrew Williams (eds.), Social Justice,
(Oxford: Blackwells, 2004) pp. 49-84
John Rawls, Political Liberalism (New York, NY: Columbia University Press, 1993).
Especially Lectures 1, 4-6 and Part 2
Additional Readings
Samuel Freeman, ‘Reason and Agreement in Social Contract Views’, Philosophy and Public Affairs, Vol.
19, No. 2, (1990), pp. 122-157
_______, Rawls (London: Routledge, 2007), esp. ch. 8 & 9.
Will Kymlicka, Contemporary Political Philosophy: an introduction, 2nd ed., (Oxford: Oxford University
Press, 2001), ch. 3 ‘Liberal Equality’
Chandran Kukathas and Philip Pettit, Rawls: A Theory of Justice and its Critics, (Cambridge: Polity Press,
1990), ch. 1 ‘A New Departure’ & ch. 2 ‘A Contractarian Theory’
Sebastiano Maffetone, Rawls: An Introduction, (Cambridge: Polity, 2010), ch. 1 ‘Introduction’, and ch. 2
‘The Theory’
John Mandle, Rawls’s ‘Theory of Justice: An Introduction, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009),
‘Introduction’, and ch. 1 ‘Part I of A Theory of Justice – Theory’
Martha Nussbaum, Frontiers of Justice, (London: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2006), ch. 1
‘Social Contracts and Three Unresolved Problems of Justice’
D. Phillips, “Contractualism and Moral Status.,” Social Theory and practice 24 (1998): 183–184.
Geoffrey Sayre-McCord, ‘Contractarianism’, in H. LaFollette, Blackwell Guide to Ethical Theory, (Oxford:
Blackwell, 2000)
Adam Swift, Political Philosophy: a beginner’s guide for students and politicians (Cambridge: Polity,
2006), Part 1, ‘Social Justice’
Catharine McKinnon, Toward a Feminist Theory of the State (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press,
1989), ch. 8 'The liberal state'.
Iris M.Young, Justice and the Politics of Difference (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1999), ch. 4
'The ideal of impartiality and the civic public'.
Brian Barry, 'John Rawls and the Search for Stability', Ethics, 105, no. 4 (1995): 874-915.
23
Burton Dreben, 'On Rawls and Political Liberalism', in S. Freeman, ed., The Cambridge Companion to
Rawls (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003)
Marilyn Friedman, Autonomy, Gender, Politics (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003), ch. 8 'John Rawls
and the political coercion of unreasonable people'.
Jean Hampton, 'Should Political Philosophy Be Done without Metaphysics?' Ethics, 99 1989): 791-814.
Charles Larmore, 'Public Reason', in S. Freeman, ed., The Cambridge Companion to Rawls (Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 2003), pp. 368-93.
Leif Wenar, 'Political Liberalism: An Internal Critique', Ethics, 106, no. 1 (1995): 32-62.
Tutorial Questions: Why does Rawls use the devices of the veil of ignorance and the original position in
his derivation and justification of the two principles of justice? Why does Rawls develop the distinctive
approach of ‘Political Liberalism’ in his later work? Is this development necessary and successful?
24th March Revision Lecture
24
Appendix 1: Essay Referencing
The key to essay referencing is that you convey the relevant information about a source and do so in a
consistent fashion. The point of referencing is that any reader of your work should be able to check every
single one of its references against the original source to see that, for example, the author you are citing
really did write what you claim s/he wrote, or that where you have presented a fact then it has been
accurately presented and comes from an authoritative source. So it is your responsibility as a scholar to
ensure that any potential reader of your essay could easily trace every single one of your claims. One way
of doing this is to use the Harvard system, outlined below. If you do not wish to use this system, you must
use another recognised system – not one you have made up - which conveys the same information. The
library website contains guidance on referencing, including a subscription to ‘Cite Them Right’, an excellent
on-line referencing tool.
Essentials of the Harvard system:
1. After you have quoted from or referred to a particular text in your essay, add in parentheses the author’s
name, the publication date and page numbers (if relevant). Place the full reference in your bibliography. Here
is an example of a quoted passage and its proper citation:
Quotation in essay:
‘Marx and Freud are the two great heroes of the radicalized Enlightenment’ (Callinicos, 1989: 172).
Book entry in bibliography:
Callinicos, A. (1989), Against Postmodernism: A Marxist Critique, Cambridge: Polity Press.
Note the sequence: author, year of publication, title, edition or translation information if needed, place of
publication, publisher.
2. If you are employing someone else’s arguments, ideas or categorization, you will need to cite them even if
you are not using a direct quote. One simple way to do so is as follows:
Callinicos (1989: 162-5) argues that postmodernism is more a symptom of ‘Good Times’ than of ‘New Times.’
3. How to cite various sources:
(ii) Chapters in book:
In your essay, cite the author, e.g. (Jameson, 1999). In your bibliography details, should be arranged in this
sequence: author of chapter, year of publication, chapter title, editor(s) of book, title of book, place of
publication, publisher, article or chapter pages. For example:
Jameson, F. (1999), ‘The Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism’, in A. Elliott (ed.), The Blackwell Reader in
Contemporary Social Theory, Oxford: Blackwell, pp. 338-350.
(iii) Journal article:
In your essay, cite the author, e.g. (Gruffydd-Jones, 2001). In your bibliography, details should be arranged in
this sequence: author of journal article, year of publication, article title, journal title, journal volume, journal
issue or number, article pages. For example:
25
Gruffydd-Jones, B. (2001), ‘Explaining Global Poverty: A Realist Critique of the Orthodox Approach’,
Journal of Critical Realism, 3(2): 2-10.
(iv) Newspaper or magazine article:
If the article has an author, cite as normal in the text (Giddens, 1998). In bibliography cite as follows:
Giddens, A. (1998), ‘Beyond left and right’, The Observer, 13 Sept, pp. 27-8.
If the article has no author, cite name of newspaper in text (The Herald) and list the source in the bibliography
by magazine or newspaper title. For example:
The Herald (1999), ‘Brown takes on the jobless’, 6 Sept, p. 14.
(v) Internet sites:
If the site has an author, cite in the text as normal, e.g. (Weiss and Wesley, 2001). In the bibliography, provide
a full reference which should include author, date, title of website and URL address. For example:
Weiss, S. & Wesley, K. (2001), ‘Postmodernism and its Critics.’ Available at:
http://.www.brief.berkeley.edu/phil/postmodern.html
If the site has no author, cite the address of the site in your text, e.g. for Centre for Europe’s Children
(http://Eurochild.gla.ac.uk/). In the bibliography, provide a full reference including the title of the website,
URL address, publisher or owner of the site, and if no date is available, indicate the date you accessed the site.
For example:
‘Fourteen Countries Meet in Manila to Tackle Childhood Trafficking’ (www.asem.org), ASEM Resource
Centre, Child Welfare Initiative, 23 Oct, 2001.
Further information on how to use the Harvard Style is available at:
http://www.docs.is.ed.ac.uk/docs/Libraries/PDF/SEcitingreferencesHarvard.pdf
26
Appendix 2: Administrative Guidance
Guide to Using LEARN for Online Tutorial Sign-Up:
The following is a guide to using LEARN to sign up for your tutorial. If you have any problems using the
LEARN sign up, please contact the course secretary by email ([email protected]).
Tutorial sign up will open on Monday 11th January at 4pm, after the first lecture has taken place, and will close
at 12 noon on the Friday of Week 1 (15th January).
Step 1 – Accessing LEARN course pages
Access to LEARN is through the MyEd Portal. You will be given a log-in and password during Freshers’
Week. Once you are logged into MyEd, you should see a tab called ‘Courses’ which will list the active
LEARN pages for your courses under ‘myLEARN’.
Step 2 – Welcome to LEARN
Once you have clicked on the relevant course from the list, you will see the Course Content page. There will
be icons for the different resources available, including one called ‘Tutorial Sign Up’. Please take note of any
instructions there.
Step 3 – Signing up for your tutorial
Clicking on Tutorial Sign Up will take you to the sign up page where all the available tutorial groups are
listed along with the running time and location.
Once you have selected the group you would like to attend, click on the ‘Sign up’ button. A confirmation
screen will display.
IMPORTANT: If you change your mind after having chosen a tutorial you cannot go back and change
it and you will need to email the course secretary. Reassignments once tutorials are full or after the
sign-up period has closed will only be made in exceptional circumstances.
Tutorials have restricted numbers and it is important to sign up as soon as possible. The tutorial sign
up will only be available until 12 noon on the Friday of Week 1 (15th January) so that everyone is
registered to a group ahead of tutorials commencing in Week 2. If you have not yet signed up for a
tutorial by this time you will be automatically assigned to a group which you will be expected to attend.
ELMA: Submission and Return of Coursework:
Coursework is submitted online using our electronic submission system, ELMA. You will not be required to
submit a paper copy of your work. Marked coursework, grades and feedback will be returned to you via
ELMA. You will not receive a paper copy of your marked course work or feedback.
For information, help and advice on submitting coursework and accessing feedback, please see the ELMA
wiki at https://www.wiki.ed.ac.uk/display/SPSITWiki/ELMA. Further detailed guidance on the essay
deadline and a link to the wiki and submission page will be available on the course Learn page. The wiki is
the primary source of information on how to submit your work correctly and provides advice on approved file
formats, uploading cover sheets and how to name your files correctly.
When you submit your work electronically, you will be asked to tick a box confirming that your work complies
with university regulations on plagiarism. This confirms that the work you have submitted is your own.
We undertake to return all coursework within 15 working days of submission. This time is needed for marking,
moderation, second marking and input of results. If there are any unanticipated delays, it is the course
organiser’s responsibility to inform you of the reasons.
All our coursework is assessed anonymously to ensure fairness: to facilitate this process put your
Examination number (on your student card), not your name or student number, on your coursework
or cover sheet.
27
Important note to students:
To ensure your course work is submitted successfully, students should aim to upload their submissions at least
1 hour before the deadline. Students are responsible for ensuring they have sufficient internet access and
connection to submit their course work electronically. Technical difficulties and poor internet connection are
not acceptable reasons for submitting work late.
You should monitor your university student email account in the 24 hours following the deadline for
submitting your work. If there are any problems with your submission the course secretary will email you at
this stage.
Return of Feedback:
Feedback for essays will be returned online via ELMA on Monday 14 March.
Word Count Penalties:
Your essay should be between 2000 words (excluding bibliography). Essays above 2000 words will be
penalised using the Ordinary level criterion of 1 mark for every 20 words over length: anything between 2001
and 2020 words will lose one mark, between 2021 and 2040 two marks, and so on.
You will not be penalised for submitting work below the word limit. However, you should note that shorter
essays are unlikely to achieve the required depth and that this will be reflected in your mark.
The Operation of Lateness Penalties:
Management of deadlines and timely submission of all assessed items (coursework, essays, project reports,
etc.) is a vitally important responsibility in your university career. Unexcused lateness will mean your work
is subject to penalties and will therefore have an adverse effect on your final grade.
If you miss the submission deadline for any piece of assessed work 5 marks will be deducted for each calendar
day that work is late, up to a maximum of five calendar days (25 marks). Work that is submitted more than
five days late will not be accepted and will receive a mark of zero. There is no grace period for lateness and
penalties begin to apply immediately following the deadline. For example, if the deadline is Tuesday at 12
noon, work submitted on Tuesday at any time after 12 noon will be marked as one day late, work submitted
at any time after 12 noon on Wednesday will be marked as two days late, and so on.
Extension Policy:
If you have good reason for not meeting a coursework deadline, you may request an extension from either
your tutor (for extensions of up to five calendar days) or the course organiser (for extensions of six or more
calendar days), normally before the deadline. Any requests submitted after the deadline may still be
considered by the course organiser if there have been extenuating circumstances. A good reason is illness, or
serious personal circumstances, but not pressure of work or poor time management. Your tutor/course
organiser must inform the course secretary in writing about the extension, for which supporting evidence may
be requested. Work which is submitted late without your tutor's or course organiser's permission (or without
a medical certificate or other supportive evidence) will be subject to lateness penalties.
Exam Feedback and Viewing Exam Scripts:
General exam feedback will be provided for all courses with an examination. General feedback will be
uploaded to the relevant course learn page within 24 hours of the overall marks for the course being returned
to Students.
Students will also receive individual feedback on their exam. Individual exam feedback will be collected from
the Undergraduate Teaching Office Reception and the relevant Course Secretary will contact students to let
them know when this is available.
When collecting feedback, students will need to bring their student cards with them as proof of identity.
28
If students wish to view their scripts for any reason, they must contact the relevant Course Secretary via email
to arrange this.
Plagiarism Guidance for Students:
Avoiding Plagiarism:
Material you submit for assessment, such as your essays, must be your own work. You can, and should, draw
upon published work, ideas from lectures and class discussions, and (if appropriate) even upon discussions
with other students, but you must always make clear that you are doing so. Passing off anyone else’s work
(including another student’s work or material from the Web or a published author) as your own is plagiarism
and will be punished severely. When you upload your work to ELMA you will be asked to check a box to
confirm the work is your own. ELMA automatically runs all submissions through ‘Turnitin’, our plagiarism
detection software, and compares every essay against a constantly-updated database, which highlights all
plagiarised work. Assessed work that contains plagiarised material will be awarded a mark of zero, and
serious cases of plagiarism will also be reported to the College Academic Misconduct officer. In either case,
the actions taken will be noted permanently on the student's record. For further details on plagiarism see
the Academic Services’ website:
http://www.ed.ac.uk/schools-departments/academic-services/students/undergraduate/discipline/plagiarism
Data Protection Guidance for Students:
In most circumstances, students are responsible for ensuring that their work with information about living,
identifiable individuals complies with the requirements of the Data Protection Act. The document, Personal
Data Processed by Students, provides an explanation of why this is the case. It can be found, with advice on
data protection compliance and ethical best practice in the handling of information about living, identifiable
individuals, on the Records Management section of the University website at:
http://www.ed.ac.uk/schools-departments/records-management-section/data-protection/guidancepolicies/dpforstudents
Students with Disabilities:
If you are a student with a Disability (including those with specific learning difficulties such as dyslexia), you
should get in touch with the Student Disabilities Service as soon as possible. You can find their details as
well as information on all of the support they can offer at: http://www.ed.ac.uk/student-disability-service
The School welcomes disabled students with disabilities and is working to make all its courses as accessible
as possible. If you have a disability special needs which means that you may require adjustments to be made
to ensure access to lectures, tutorials or exams, or any other aspect of your studies, you can discuss these with
your Student Support Officer or Personal Tutor who will advise on the appropriate procedures.
Further guidance and information for Students with Disabilities can also be found in your Programme
Handbook.
Learning Resources for Undergraduates:
The Study Development Team at the Institute for Academic Development (IAD) provides resources and
workshops aimed at helping all students to enhance their learning skills and develop effective study
techniques. Resources and workshops cover a range of topics, such as managing your own learning, reading,
note making, essay and report writing, exam preparation and exam techniques.
The study development resources are housed on 'LearnBetter' (undergraduate), part of Learn, the University's
virtual learning environment. Follow the link from the IAD Study Development web page to enrol:
www.ed.ac.uk/iad/undergraduates
Workshops are interactive: they will give you the chance to take part in activities, have discussions, exchange
strategies, share ideas and ask questions. They are 90 minutes long and held on Wednesday afternoons at
1.30pm or 3.30pm. The schedule is available from the IAD Undergraduate web page (see above).
Workshops are open to all undergraduates but you need to book in advance, using the MyEd booking system.
Each workshop opens for booking 2 weeks before the date of the workshop itself. If you book and then cannot
attend, please cancel in advance through MyEd so that another student can have your place. (To be fair to all
students, anyone who persistently books on workshops and fails to attend may be barred from signing up for
future events).
29
Study Development Advisors are also available for an individual consultation if you have specific questions
about your own approach to studying, working more effectively, strategies for improving your learning and
your academic work. Please note, however, that Study Development Advisors are not subject specialists so
they cannot comment on the content of your work. They also do not check or proof read students' work.
To make an appointment with a Study Development Advisor, email [email protected]
(For support with English Language, you should contact the English Language Teaching Centre).
30