Faculty Booklet - The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine ...

P O S T G R A D U A T E R E G U L A T I O N S & S Y L L A B U S E S 2 0 1 2 - 2 0 1 3
THE FACULTY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES
SEMESTEr: 2
COUrSE CODE: gOVT 6005 (gT64F)
COUrSE TITLE: POLITICAL THEOrY
NO. OF CrEDITS: 3
COUrSE DESCrIPTION: This is a course on Contemporary
Political Theory. You should bring to this class as prerequisites
the materials covered in GOVT 2014/GT 27A “Introduction to
Political Thought” and GOVT 2015/GT 27B “Modern Political
Thought”. These courses attend to the traditional areas of
Western political philosophy stretching from the pre-Socratics
to the present and covering theorists such as Heraclitus,
Permenides, Plato, Aristotle, Cicero, Machiavelli, Hobbes, Locke,
Rousseau, St. Simon, Hagel, Marx, Lenin and Mao Tse Tung.
This course has a different focus. Many contemporary crises
challenge the field of political philosophy with the demand for
critical reflection and insight. To be sure, in many of these crisis
areas, some of the questions are old but many are new. Hence,
while some of the old questions of political philosophy continue
to haunt contemporary issues and remain on the agenda, this
course addresses a set of subject areas with new concerns and
their contemporary theorists. Each of the issue areas selected
for our attention can easily be a separate course unto itself.
This means that this course takes the form of an introductory
survey. Each student will select a topic around one of the issue
areas for his/her paper and will make a presentation to the class.
Class attendance is expected as well as class participation in
discussions.
Segment I:
The State in Crisis: Self-Determination and Secession (3 weeks)
1. The State and Nation
2. Self-Determination: Theory
3. On the Right to Secede: The Political and Philosophical
Debate
4. Secession, International Law and Political Power
Segment II:
Liberty, Equality and Justice (3 weeks)
1. Utilitarianism and the General Welfare: Maximising Collective
Preferences as the Standard of Rightness in Public Policy
2. Liberalism and John Rawls
3. Libertarianism and Robert Nozick
4. Marxism and Communist Justice
5. Communitarianism
Segment III:
Citizenship Theory and Deliberative Democracy (1 week)
Segment IV:
Multiculturalism and Cultural Diversity (1 week)
Segment V:
Feminism and the Equality/Difference Dilemma (1 week)
Segment VI:
Human Rights and International Society (1 week)
Segment VII:
Political Philosophy of Forgiveness:
The Reconciliation Commissions
Assessment:
Paper (25%)
Final examination (75%).
SEMESTEr: 2
COUrSE CODE: gOVT 6004 (gT64g)
COUrSE TITLE: POLITICAL SOCIOLOgY II
NO. OF CrEDITS: 3
COUrSE DESCrIPTION: The aim of this course is to implement
and apply to contemporary phenomena in the Caribbean,
the theoretical principles and constructs analysed in Political
Sociology I. Analysis will accordingly focus on themes such as
the political culture of the Caribbean, bureaucracy, political elites,
parties, ethnicity and globalisation.
Assessment:
Coursework component - 40%
Final examination - 60%
SEMESTEr: 1
COUrSE CODE: gOVT 6090 (gT65A)
COUrSE TITLE: CONTEMPOrArY INTErNATIONAL
POLITICS I
NO. OF CrEDITS: 3
COUrSE DESCrIPTION: The primary aim is to understand
and appreciate Contemporary relationships in the world by
studying relevant aspects of the “what”, the “why” and the “how”
of comparable past relationships. (Historical/Philosophical/
Theoretical perspectives). In the context of world relations, to
relate past experiences to present and prospective issues and
challenges. (Present position and future prospects).
The ultimate objectives are that at the end of the course, students
should have:
(i) Factual bases for describing and the theoretical bases
for analysing situations and issues in Contemporary
International Politics.
(ii) An opportunity and ability to describe and analyse selected
issues in Contemporary International Politics in the context
of continuities and changes in the global configurations of
power.
The main focus of this course in Contemporary International
Politics (CIP) is a constituent part of a wider course in International
Relations (IR). It is therefore linked to all the other courses of IR.
Consequently, all relevant information from all the courses of
IR should be used interchangeably. CIP focuses particularly on
the political (power), economic (material) and social (cultural)
relations of humanity in historical, contemporary and future
perspectives. That is, the crystallized relationships of structures
(intuitions), which have emerged and persisted, over time, are the
main topics of study. Thus attempts are made to trace the genesis,
continuity and changes of such structures/relationships and to
study their effects on the contemporary relations of states and
peoples throughout the world.
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