Intellectual Landscapes: Society and Arts of Rule

2023/2024

Учебный год

ENG

Обучение ведется на английском языке

3

Кредиты

Кто читает:

Департамент политологии и международных отношений

Статус:

Курс по выбору

Когда читается:

3-й курс, 4 модуль

Преподаватель

Герцо-Виноградская Анастасия Игоревна

Course Syllabus

Abstract

The course of the practically oriented seminars aims to introduce students to a range of the political and intellectual concepts, their emergence, evolution and the contemporary usage in political, public and social discussions. The course seeks to highlight the historic and social contexts as well as dynamic changes and multifaceted usage of the concepts in a variety of discourses. The course deals with the so-called "complementary" concepts/ideas such as politeness, taste, the sublime alongside with purely political ones such as monarchy, duty, republicanism. The innovative element of the course includes listening to the authentic audio materials (podcasts) that elucidate the concepts and provide comprehensive view of the historic setting, social and cultural milieu that generated or adopted and transformed them, seeking resolution for the pressing challenges of the moment. The course offers the students ample opportunities for active engagement with the course by encouraging them to produce presentations, organise discussions and analyse the concepts in the contemporary pan-European contexts. Entry requirements: knowledge of the English Language at Upper-Intermediate/B2 level.

Learning Objectives

• To achieve improved overall understanding of the political, economic and social contexts that generated the intellectual concepts;
• To enhance ability of fluent speaking on a range of abstract concepts;
• To enrich the vocabulary that deals with expressing opinions/formulating arguments;
• To enhance the ability to analyse the complex information;
• To enhance listening skills.

Expected Learning Outcomes

• Able to analyse the political, social and cultural contexts related to the intellectual ideas; Students are able to comprehend fully complex audio information on abstract subjects (intellectual concepts)
• Able to use intellectual concepts with related academic terms, expressions and notions
• Improve speaking skills to discuss intellectual concepts/social contexts fluently
• Have enhanced vocabulary
• Able to comprehend fully complex information on abstract subjects (intellectual concepts)

Course Contents

• Seminar. The Culture of Politeness, sociability and clubbability in the context of Enlightenments.
• Seminar. The concept of "taste" and its implications for the commercial society.
• Seminar. The nexus of the ideas about virtue and beauty in contemporaneous discussions (the 18th century).
• Lecture. "Luxury, politics and patriotism" in European economic, social and political thought.
• Seminar. Modern contexts: sociability, civility and ethical consumerism.
• Lecture. Sympathy and secularisation.
• Seminar: The Sublime.
• Lecture. The Sublime in aesthetic, moral and political contexts.
• Seminar. Sovereignty: brief historical overview of the concept.

Assessment Elements

• Written exam
  Written exam is worth 55 points. Written examination is carried out for 2 academic hours. The students are provided with the list of the questions in advance. The students receive an assignment that contains two questions: the question that deals with theoretical/historical aspects of the concepts considered and the question that covers social contexts/practices involved. The students are asked to produce a written response (narration) of overall 500-750 words. Alternatively, the students are provided with the prompt cards that contain quotations from the philosophers/political/thinkers/essayists and are asked to produce a written response elaborating on the quotation. The students may be exempt from the exam based on their performance during the seminars.
• Oral assessment
  Oral assessment: individual presentations on a range of themes associated with the concepts discussed is worth 15 points. Individual presentation is an oral presentation delivered at the class (10-15 min). Students choose the subjects/themes for the presentation from the lists provided beforehand. The presentations cover various aspects of the concept(s) discussed, individual thinkers, debates, social contexts and practices involved. The students produce the presentation using the audio/printed materials either provided or recommended as well as the sources of their own choice.
• Research essay
  Written essay is the essay on history, evolution, various aspects, social practices associated with the concepts as well as the contemporary usage of the relevant concept/s (approximate length 1000 words). The essay should be of an original character and demonstrate the sure theoretical grasp of the concept(s) as well as the ability to analyse social contexts. The students are welcome to come up with the topics of their own based on the issues/topics discussed: taste, social practices, commercial networks, art and taste, etc.

Interim Assessment

• 2023/2024 4th module
  0.15 * Oral assessment + 0.3 * Research essay + 0.55 * Written exam

Bibliography

Recommended Core Bibliography

• The Oxford Handbook of the History of Political Philosophy / Klosko, G — Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011. — 856 с. — ISBN 9780199238804. — URL: https://www.oxfordhandbooks.com/view/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199238804.001.0001/oxfordhb-9780199238804 (дата обращения: 30.08.2019). — Текст : электронный.

Recommended Additional Bibliography

• The Cambridge history of eighteenth-century political thought, , 2006