This unit focuses on politics as a field of study. It is concerned with questions such as the following: can politics be understood scientifically? Can there be objectivity in the study of politics, and if so, is it the same kind of objectivity aspired to in the natural sciences? Are all political concepts essentially contested? Should the study of politics be concerned primarily with material factors or with ideas? What is the relationship between ideas and power? As well as examining some classic works in social theory such as Marx and Weber we will also cover some of the key debates about the nature of the social sciences generally, and political science in particular, over the past... -- Course Website
Instructor: Dr Ian Tregenza
Prerequisites: 39cp or (6cp in HIST or MHIS or POL units at 200 level including 3cp in POL)
