Studying at York
Things fall apart: political thought in times of crisis - POL00067I
- Department: Politics and International Relations
- Credit value: 20 credits
- Credit level: I
- Academic year of delivery: 2024-25
- See module specification for other years: 2023-24
Module summary
W.B. Yeats wrote in 1920 that things fall apart when the centre cannot hold and the blood-dimmed tide is loosed on the world. In such times the best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity. Asked in 1936 to join a campaign to free a German pacifist incarcerated by the Nazis, he responded by recommending his poem, which “foretold what is happening”. Perhaps only “The Second Coming” can rescue us still. In this module you'll examine four times and places in which things fell apart: Ancient Rome, mid-seventeenth century Britain, late-eighteenth century France and Haiti, and post-World War One Germany. The module brings alive classic texts alongside pamphlets, ballads and visual images produced at moments of crisis when the world as people knew it was collapsing and a new order was yet to be born. Resurrecting the political thought of these times offers powerful alternative ways of understanding the crises of the present.
Module will run
| Occurrence | Teaching period |
|---|---|
| A | Semester 1 2024-25 |
Module aims
(1) To develop in students a critical understanding of important texts in the history of political thought;
(2) To cultivate their analytical, argumentative and communicative skills;
(3) To recognise the continued vitality of alternative ways of understanding political life and, more particularly, of identifying and grasping the unique challenges to democracy as a form of government, and recapturing the reasons why historical thinkers reached for alternative ways of organising our collective life.
Module learning outcomes
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Demonstrate detailed knowledge of debates in the history of political thought about the nature of politics itself (PLO1)
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Critically evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of arguments in political theory about the nature and conditions of a legitimate political order (PLO2)
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Present arguments and advanced ideas from the module in written work (PLO5)
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Work independently to set goals and objectives in order to solve problems through selection and analysis of primary and secondary sources (PLO4)
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Demonstrate a reflective and critical approach to the ethical and political implications of holding different theoretical positions in politics (PLO6)
Module content
Likely structure to include:
1 The nature of politics and the nature of crises
2 The first crisis: The fall of the Roman Republic
3 The first crisis: The rise of the Roman Empire
4 The second crisis: the fall of the English monarchy
5 The second crisis: The Hobbesian counterrevolution
6 The third crisis: Reflections on the French Revolution
7 The third crisis: Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity for whom?
8 The fourth crisis: The fall of the Weimar Republic
9 The fourth crisis: The Nazi Revolution
10 Politics and the crises of our times: economic, environmental, civilisational
Indicative assessment
| Task | % of module mark |
|---|---|
| Essay/coursework | 75 |
| Essay/coursework | 25 |
Special assessment rules
None
Indicative reassessment
| Task | % of module mark |
|---|---|
| Essay/coursework | 75 |
| Essay/coursework | 25 |
Module feedback
Students will receive written timely feedback on their formative assessment. They will also have the opportunity to discuss their feedback during the module tutor’s feedback and guidance hours.
Students will receive written feedback on their summative assessment no later than 25 working days after submission; and the module tutor will hold a specific session to discuss feedback, which students can also opt to attend. They will also have the opportunity to discuss their feedback during the module tutor’s regular feedback and guidance hours.
Indicative reading
Extracts from the following primary sources (alongside selected discussions in the secondary literature):
Seneca, De clementia
Cicero, De republica
Richard Overton, Arrow against all Tyrants (1646)
Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan (1651)
Edward Sexby, Killing no Murder (1657)
Abbé Sieyès, What is the Third Estate? (1789)
Mary Wollstonecraft, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792)
Carl Schmitt, The Concept of the Political (1927/32)
Eric Voegelin, “The Preservation of Democracy” (1940)
Political pamphlets, images, ballads from the French and Haitian revolutions, and from the Weimar Republic.