PHEB104 Political Philosophy
Annotation:
The course supplies theoretical introduction to the main problems, categories and theories in the philosophy of politics. It is organized around few central questions: What is Politics, Democracy, Power, Freedom, etc.? Addressing those questions the course combines general lectures that introduce some of the main (sometimes incommensurable) theoretical approaches trying to answer them, as well as seminars on texts from the classics of political philosophy. An initial acquaintance with the very recent debates is also provoked.
Lecturers:
Prof. Dimitar Vatsov, PhD
Course Description:
Competencies:
After completing successfully this course the students will:
1) know:
• the main problems, categories and theories from the classics of political philosophy
2) are capable of:
• The students will be able: to orient themselves in the field of the political philosophy; to use its main categories distinguishing their different meanings in different contexts; to prepare a basic philosophical argumentation on specific political issues.
Prerequisites:
No preliminary requirements
Types:
Full-time Programmes
Types of Courses:
Lecture
Language of teaching:
English
Topics:
Bibliography:
Suggested Readings
Arendt, Hannah. On Violence. New York: Harvest Books, 1970.
Arendt, Hannah. The Human Condition. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1958.
Aristotle. The Politics. Translated by Barker, Sir Ernest. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995.
Berlin, Isaiah. Four Essays on Liberty, Oxford University Press, 1969.
Fraser, Nancy. “Parity: the Grammar of Contestation” (Interview with Nancy Fraser by Dimitar Vatsov). Critique & Humanism, vol. 46, No. 2/2016.
Hobbes, Thomas. Leviathan. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012.
Locke, John. The Works of John Locke, vol. 4. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1824.
Mouffe, Chantal. The Democratic Paradox. London: Verso, 2009.
Sartori, Giovanni . The Theory of Democracy Revisited. Chatham, N.J: Chatham House, 1987.
Vatsov, Dimitar et al. The Anti-Democratic Propaganda in Bulgaria: News Websites and Print Media, 2013-2016. http://hssfoundation.org/en/anti-liberal-discourses-and-propaganda-messages-in-bulgarian-media/
Assessment:
1. Test
2. Paper