Portuguese MA
European Political Thought: A View from Germany GERMAN4054
- Academic Session: 2026-27
- School: School of Modern Languages and Cultures
- Credits: 20
- Level: Level 4 (SCQF level 10)
- Typically Offered: Semester 1
- Available to Visiting Students: Yes
- Collaborative Online International Learning: No
- Curriculum For Life: No
Short Description
This course aims to introduce students to the rich tradition of political thought in Europe. It is both a survey course and a course which examines a distinct set of questions in order to gain entrance into a potentially vast topic.
Timetable
One two-hour session per week as scheduled on MyCampus.
This is one of the honours options in SMLC and may not run every year. The options which are running this session are available on MyCampus.
Excluded Courses
None
Co-requisites
None
Assessment
The standard assessments for this course are:
■ Essay 2000 words - 50%
■ Report 2000 words - 50%
If required, for instance where a disability prevents a student from undertaking a specific method of assessment, the following alternatives are available:
■ There is no alternative to the essay and report, but an extension to the deadline can be offered as reasonable adjustment (students should follow the usual process for extensions).
Further reasonable adjustments may be provided where necessary. Students are encouraged to consult with the course convenor.
Main Assessment In: April/May
Are reassessment opportunities available for all summative assessments? Not applicable
It is the default expectation that all courses will offer opportunities for reassessment or deferred assessment. Where it is not possible to offer this in some assessment components, the grade achieved at the first attempt will be counted towards the final course grade, and any exceptions for this course are described below.
[No exceptions]
Course Aims
This course will provide the opportunity to:
■ examine the tradition of political thought in Europe by consideration of a focussed selection of texts in French and German (also available in English);
■ equip students with an awareness of the chief arguments in European political thought;
■ enable students to discuss major themes and issues in political thought with confidence;
■ promote political awareness and critical reflection.
Intended Learning Outcomes of Course
By the end of this course students will be able to:
■ relate a representative selection of European thinkers to the following themes: (a) the relation between the individual and society; (b) the primacy of the economic; (c) engagement with the material world; (d) notion of the contract; (e) the function of the state;
■ relate those themes to each other and to the texts under discussion;
■ show familiarity with a representative selection of texts, focussing on Plato, Aristotle, Rousseau, Kant, Hegel, Marx, Adorno, and Habermas, and discuss these themes and issues with key confidence;
■ critically discuss political thought;
■ produce well-supported and well-referenced written arguments on course topics.