Western Political Thought (WCIV2700)

Introduction

This lecture introduces students to the course and to the study of western political thought. It will outline the contestation around the three words that make up the course title and introduce students to some of the key concepts used in political life and by political thinkers.

No Seminar in Week 1

There is no seminar this week but you should prepare for next week's seminar and begin reading Plato's Republic.

Politics as Philosophy: Plato's Republic

The lecture introduces students to Plato's Republic which is recognised by many as a foundational text of western political thought. It will examine key passages to elaborate central concepts and themes in Plato's Republic as well as consider the book's reception in Western visions of politics.

Studying Western Visions of Politics

How and why should we study the history of (western) political thought? Which texts should we study, and why? How are canons formed? By whom? And how do we engage with the selected canonical texts? This immediately poses questions of method and purpose. We will consider two rival approaches to the history of political thought: political philosophy and contextual intellectual history. What's at stake in this rivalry? Why do scholars talk about 'visions of politics'? Can these visions of politics provide solace in a disenchanted world?

The Autonomy of Politics: Machiavelli's Prince

The lecture will examine Machiavelli's Prince, one of the most controversial texts in the history of western political thought. The lecture will discuss the genre of this text and Machiavelli's intentions, situating The Prince in relation to conventional political thought of the day.

Politics as Philosophy: Plato's Republic

A foundational text that established the western discourse of political philosophy. Why is The Republic structured as a dialogue? How does Plato present the figure of Socrates? How does Plato conceptualise justice and the good life? What role does philosophy play in the Platonic vision of politics? Why does Plato idealise the philosopher as ruler? What are the virtues required of a ruler? Why does Plato deprecate democracy and poetry?

Politics as Civil Science: Hobbes's Leviathan

The lecture examines Hobbes s Leviathan, one of the most seminal texts of European political thought. The book will be contextualised in the context of civil and religious war and will examine Hobbes s theoretical construction of the sovereign state in revisioning politics.

The Autonomy of Politics: Machiavelli's Prince

A classic political statement from the Italian Renaissance. Machiavelli's explosive little book built on humanist themes but scandalously rejected the notion that politics should be governed by moral-theological principles. To what extent did Machiavelli's diplomatic and political experience inform his vision of politics? What is the genre in which he wrote The Prince? What was his purpose? What are the virtues required of the prince? What happens to notions of justice and the good life in this vision of politics? How do virt and Fortuna function in Machiavelli's vision of politics?

Politics as Civil Religion: Rousseau's Social Contract

The lecture will examine Rousseau's Social Contract and contextualize the questions it addresses regarding legitimate political institutions. The republican arguments of the self-styled 'citizen of Geneva' were crucial in influencing French revolutionaries and other proponents of popular sovereignty for whom the state serves as a vehicle for the formation of a moral community.

Politics as Civil Science: Hobbes's Leviathan

Leviathan is monumental text of political theory written in the context of the English civil war. Hobbes s masterpiece defines and legitimises the notion of state sovereignty a notion that has decisively shaped the modern world for better or worse. What were his intentions given the political and religious context of England and Europe? How does he construe the relationship between protection and obedience? How does Hobbes understand the office or role of sovereign? What are the virtues required of a sovereign? What function is served by Hobbes s myth of the state of nature, and what does that myth tell us about Hobbes s vision of politics?

Politics as Counter-Revolution: Burke's Reflections on the Revolution in France

The lecture will examine Burke's eloquent counter-blast against the French Revolution. It will enquire into Burke's treatment of Enlightenment themes and concepts and his political critique of revolutionary politics.

Politics as Civil Religion: Rousseau's Social Contract

Rousseau's Social Contract begins with a paradox: 'man was born free, and everywhere he is in chains'. How does Rousseau seek to resolve this paradox? How does Rousseau's notion of the social contract differ from Hobbes's? What is the 'general will'? How does the social contract transform individuals? What roles do the legislator and civil religion play in Rousseau's vision of politics?

The Politics of Rights: Mary Wollstonecraft

The lecture examines Mary Wollstonecraft's rhetorically powerful and contemptuous reply to Burke. Embracing the spirit of Enlightenment, Wollstonecraft asserted the light of reason and natural rights of man as the basis on which a modern government was to be established.

Politics as Counter-Revolution: Burke's Reflections on the Revolution in France

Burke wrote eloquent and withering attacks on the French Revolution for its enthusiastic embrace of abstract political concepts detached from the institutions and conventions of government. Why was Burke hostile to the theoretical abstractions of political thought? Why did Burke see the French Revolution as a threat to European affairs? What is the vision of politics Burke sought to defend? How does Burke elaborate the political virtues?

Reading Week

No lecture this week. Undertake research for your essay.

Reading Week

No seminar this week. Undertake research for your essay.

Politics as Social Revolution: Marx & Engels' Communist Manifesto

The lecture will present the arguments of Marx and Engels' Communist Manifesto, one of the most influential texts of modern political thought. The critique of industrial capitalism and arguments to expand freedom and justice will be contextualised to understand the transformation of politics envisaged by Marx and Engels.

The Politics of Rights: Mary Wollstonecraft

Wollstonecraft wrote an eloquent and impassioned denunciation of Burke. Why was she so hostile to his account of the French Revolution? What is the vision of politics Wollstonecraft sought to defend? How does she conceptualise and elaborate the political virtues? What role do moral sentiments play in Wollstonecraft's argument? To what extent can we say that Wollstonecraft offers a feminist critique of Burke?

Mid-Semester Break

No classes this week.

Mid-Semester Break

No classes this week.

Politics as a Vocation: Max Weber

This lecture will situate Weber's famous lecture, 'Politics as a Vocation' in relation to his earlier, and equally famous and significant lecture on 'Science as a Vocation'. In these lectures, delivered to German university students in 1917 and 1919 respectively, Weber affirmed that different spheres of life should be seen as cultivating different values and responsibilities. The lecture will outline and explain Weber's conception of politics in a disenchanted world.

Politics as Social Revolution: Marx & Engels' Communist Manifesto

A powerful polemic about industrial capitalism's transformation of the modern world. We examine the Manifesto's critique of political economy and its analysis in terms of class struggle. How does Marx's conception of socialism shape notions of power, freedom, civil society, the state, etc? How do Marx and Engels' use of political concepts differ from previous European thinkers? What was the purpose of this text? How did it reshape German idealist philosophy? What, if anything, does Marx's transformative vision of politics hold in common with other thinkers we have studied in this course?

Politics without Solace: Hannah Arendt's On Revolution

The lecture will introduce students to the thinking of one of the twentieth century's most significant political theorists, Hannah Arendt. Her book On Revolution represents a critical engagement with one of the key concepts of western political thought.

Politics as a Vocation: Max Weber

Weber's lecture on 'Politics as a Vocation' is rightly regarded as a major twentieth-century statement on what it means to engage in politics in the modern world. Yet it raised many controversies and questions. Why did Weber conceive of politics as a vocation? What does that imply? How should political actors conduct themselves? What are the markers of political leadership? What role does charisma play in politics? What is at stake in the distinction Weber makes between an ethic of conviction and an ethic of responsibility?

Politics as Justice: Uluru Statement from the Heart

This lecture introduces students to a contemporary Australian classic of political thought, the Uluru Statement from the Heart. It will reflect on the process of dialogue that led to the Uluru Statement and its defining political concepts and themes. It will also examine Noel Pearson's essay as a powerful example of the way western political thought has been applied to the ongoing struggles of Indigenous Australians.

Politics without Solace: Hannah Arendt's On Revolution

This penetrating and provocative book On Revolution presents historically-informed theoretical reflections on one of the great modern political themes. How did Arendt frame her approach to the study of revolution? What role does she see for pity and compassion in politics? What is the place of violence in politics? What does Arendt mean by the 'social question' and how does she see its function in political life? What does Arendt see as the main differences between the American and French revolutions?

Revision Lecture

This lecture will help students prepare for the oral assessment.

Politics as Justice: Uluru Statement from the Heart

We examine the Referendum Council's Uluru Statement in the context of its production (ie., dialogue among Indigenous communities and colonial-settler government) and the way it handles key western political concepts and introduces Indigenous themes through the concept of Makarrata. What is the purpose of this text? What is it calling for? What is the genre of this text? What is its vision of politics? To whom is it addressed? Does it reflect the sense of crisis in western political thought? How does it relate to other historic declarations? How do its conceptions of power, authority, and truth compare to others examined in the course? To what extent does the Uluru Statement reflect or reject western visions of politics, and why?