BASS Philosophy and Criminology

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This course introduces central arguments in the political and social philosophy of Hegel and Marx. 

The unit aims to: 

This course aims to introduce the work of Hegel and Marx.  The approach taken is philosophical rather than historical, and will involve examining critically their claims and arguments about such matters as the alienation, exploitation, justice and human labour, and the possibility of mutual recognition and community.  It is expected that students will engage with the original texts, formulate the central arguments to be found in them and to assess their cogency.

Lectures (20 hours): delivery of content 

Tutorials (10 hours): small group discussion will facilitate student engagement 

Office Hours: students will have access to the course convenor through regular office hours 

VLE: learning materials (reading lists, lecture slides, etc.) available online (asynchronous) 

Essay Plans: students will be encouraged to submit essay plans for formative feedback

• state and critically respond to the central arguments Hegel’s social and political philosophy.
• state and critically respond to the central arguments Marx’s economic and political philosophy.

• analyse the argument of key primary texts
• formulate their own informed responses to these arguments studied

• write a cogent and well-argued essay on a topic taken from the course unit.

• analyse and develop arguments
• read carefully and interpret the central arguments of different texts

Written assignment (inc essays)             50% 

Written assignment (inc essays)             50%   

The School of Social Sciences (SoSS) is committed to providing timely and appropriate feedback to students on their academic progress and achievement, thereby enabling students to reflect on their progress and plan their academic and skills development effectively. Students are reminded that feedback is necessarily responsive: only when a student has done a certain amount of work and approaches us with it at the appropriate fora is it possible for us to feed back on the student’s work. The main forms of feedback on this course are written feedback responses to assessed essays and exam answers.

We also draw your attention to the variety of generic forms of feedback available to you on this as on all SoSS courses. These include: meeting the lecturer/tutor during their office hours; e-mailing questions to the lecturer/tutor; asking questions from the lecturer (before and after lecture); presenting a question on the discussion board on Blackboard; and obtaining feedback from your peers during tutorials.

The following reading list is indicative, and students are not required to read all the publications listed.

Hegel G. W. Philosophy of Right 

Hegel G. W.  The Phenomenology of Spirit 

Knowles, D. Routledge Philosophy GuideBook to Hegel and the Philosophy of Right. 

Wood, A.  Hegel's Ethical Thought 

Beiser, F. Hegel 

Marx, K. Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts 

Marx, K. Preface to A Critique of Political Economy 

Marx, K. Capital Volume 1 

Cohen G. A. Karl Marx's Theory of History 

Wood A. Karl Marx 

Lukes S. Marxism and Morality 

Geras, N. 'On Marx and Justice' New Left Review, 150, 1985, pp.47-85. 

Wolff, J.  Why Read Marx Today?