Political Theory
UndergraduateLTU-PHI3POT2025
Course information for 2025 intake View information for 2024 course intake
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- Study method
- 100% online
- Assessments
- 100% online
- Enrol by
- 20 July 2025
- Entry requirements
- No ATAR needed, No prior study
- Duration
- 12 weeks
- Price from
- $2,124
- Upfront cost
- $0
- Loan available
- HECS-HELP and FEE-HELP available
Political Theory
About this subject
On successful completion you will be able to:
- Understand some of the major methodologies and approaches employed by contemporary political philosophers.
- Understand how contemporary political philosophers formulated their theories as responses to important social problems in their own societies.
- Consider how political philosophy might help us tackle new social problems in our contemporary world.
- Develop and refine close reading and critical thinking skills.
- Modern Political Philosophy
- Problems of Civil and Uncivil Disobedience
- Rawls and Arendt
- Punishment
- Gender Diversity
- Justice in the Context of Changing Family Structures
- Ecological Collapse
This subject provides an advanced introduction to some of the most important values, concepts, and theories that have defined political philosophy since the second world war. You will begin by considering how influential political philosophers have historically understood their tasks and methods. You will then analyse how political philosophers responded to several key social problems of the postwar period, including the rise of the civil rights and social movements, conscientious objection during the Vietnam War, the justification of civil disobedience, and the existence of unjust institutions derived from slavery. We will then turn to more recent political philosophy, which has tackled social problems in the last two centuries, including the distribution of punishment by police and the courts, the problem of uncivil disobedience and envious rioting, demands for justice across gender diversity, changing structures of family life, and ecological collapse. By engaging with the work of political philosophers who have tackled various social problems in their own times, you will be encouraged to consider how new social problems might also demand new thinking. This subject will help you further your understanding of the relationship between politics, philosophy, and economics (PPE), clarify your own thinking on contemporary political issues, and sharpen your capacity to advance and evaluate arguments.
This is a level 3 subject. This subject includes live sessions with the expectation of student attendance and participation.
- Short essay (equivalent to 1200 words) (30%)
- Research paper (equivalent to 1800 words) (40%)
- In-class and/or online activities (equivalent to 1000 words) (30%)
For textbook details check your university's handbook, website or learning management system (LMS).
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Entry requirements
No entry requirements
Study load
- 0.125 EFTSL
- This is in the range of 10 to 12 hours of study each week.
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What to study next?
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UndergraduateLAT-HSC-DEG
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UndergraduateLAT-AHS-DEG
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UndergraduateLAT-ART-DEG
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