TAUGHT POSTGRADUATE

PROGRAMMES
AND PGT MODULES
IN POLITICS, PHILOSOPHY
AND RELIGION

2023 -24

Information contained in this booklet is correct at the time of publication, but changes may be
necessary, for example as a result of student feedback, Professional Statutory and Regulatory
Bodies’ (PSRB) requirements, staff changes, and new research. Errors and omissions excepted.

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GENERAL AIMS, OVERVIEW AND STRUCTURE
The following programmes and modules (plus the programmes run jointly with and
administered by the Law School and the Management School) reflect the department’s
research interests and strengths in Politics, Philosophy and Religion. These programmes are
designed to give students advanced training as a basis either for further postgraduate study
and research or for developing their careers.

TAUGHT POSTGRADUATE PROGRAMMES

Subject Degree Title

Politics MA Conflict, Development and Security
MA Conflict Resolution and Peace Studies
MA Diplomacy and Foreign Policy
MA/LLM Diplomacy and International Law
MA Diplomacy and Religion
MA/LLM International Law and International Relations
MA International Relations
MA Politics
MA Politics, Philosophy and Religion
MA Politics and Philosophy
MSc Politics, Philosophy and Management
MA Religion and Conflict
PG Cert Politics and International Relations
Philosophy MA Philosophy
MA Philosophy and Religion
MA Politics, Philosophy and Religion
MA Politics and Philosophy
MSc Politics, Philosophy and Management
PG Cert Philosophy
Religious Studies MA Diplomacy and Religion
MA Philosophy and Religion
MA Politics, Philosophy and Religion
MA Religion and Conflict
MA Religious Studies
PG Cert Religious Studies

THE MA PROGRAMME
Taught MA programmes typically consist of five taught modules and a dissertation. Each of
the taught modules counts for 20 credits of the overall assessment. The taught modules are
timetabled in the Michaelmas and Lent terms. The dissertation makes up the remaining 80
credits, and the main work is done in the summer term. If you are part time, then the
dissertation work takes place in your second year. Each of the taught modules is assessed on
the basis of coursework, which is typically in the form of a single 5,000 word essay. The
dissertation is 20,000 words. Further information about your programme can be found in
your student portal.

PPR DEGREE SCHEMES

Key : DL = distance learning module – no in person contact, all online
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MA IN CONFLICT DEVELOPMENT AND SECURITY
This MA programme addresses the merger between development and security that has
strengthened with the ending of the Cold War and the growing fear of terrorism. Policy
makers now widely believe that international development is vital if global stability is to be
achieved; at the same time, without security, lasting underdevelopment is the result.

Perceptions of war are also changing with an increasing appreciation of factors relating to the
vulnerability and resilience of populations living within, across and beyond territorial
boundaries. In tackling the global dimensions of economy and poverty, human security and
conflict, relations between state and non-state actors are changing. Multilateral institutions,
aid organisations and private companies are increasingly active in international humanitarian,
social reconstruction and democratisation programmes that are defining a new security
agenda.

The programme explores such issues as the changing nature of conflict, the growing
importance of non-territoriality, perceptions of state failure and success, political economy,
humanitarian intervention, social reconstruction and democratisation within this context.
Current theoretical and policy debates are related to case-study material drawn from a variety
of regions including Africa, Latin America, the Balkans, Eurasia and Asia. The dissertation
provides an opportunity to specialise.

The programme will be of interest to those seeking high-level study or contemplating

employment in the fields of international aid, humanitarian assistance, development and
security, together with practitioners from these areas wishing to study in more depth.

Core Modules
• PPR.400: Theory and Method in Postgraduate Studies
• PPR.425: Theorising Security and War
• PPR.405: Dissertation

MA IN CONFLICT RESOLUTION AND PEACE STUDIES

Taught in the Richardson Institute, this programme explores in depth how protracted conflicts
can be, and are, resolved. It draws together a theoretical understanding of conflict and
conflict resolution, comparative analysis of a number of contemporary conflicts, and a
detailed analysis of one in particular.

The course aims to develop practical skills in conflict analysis and conflict resolution as well
as exploring the difficulties of this approach, and draws on a special collection of material
about peacemaking and conflict. Field trips to learn about areas of conflict or to visit NGOs
involved in conflict resolution may be optional for individual students

Core Modules
• PPR.400: Theory and Method in Postgraduate Studies
• PPR.420: Conflict Management and Contemporary Conflicts
• PPR.405: Dissertation

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MA IN DIPLOMACY AND FOREIGN POLICY
This exciting programme is designed to introduce students to theories, issues and processes
connected with diplomacy and foreign policy. The programme is especially relevant to those
thinking about or currently working in diplomacy, international NGOs, and international policy
and politics. In addition to its two complementary core modules in diplomacy and foreign
policy, the programme uses a wide range of optional modules in, for example, international
relations, politics and policy. Distinguished diplomatic and foreign policy practitioners
contribute to elements of the programme, which may include student trips to the Foreign and
Commonwealth Office in London.

Core Modules
• PPR.400: Theory and Method in Postgraduate Studies
• PPR.430: Theory and Concepts in Diplomacy and Foreign Policy
• PPR.431: Issues and Practice in Diplomacy and Foreign Policy
• PPR.405: Dissertation

MA/LLM IN DIPLOMACY AND INTERNATIONAL LAW

Designed to introduce students to the fields of diplomacy and international law, this
programme draws upon modules from both PPR and Law. The programme is constructed to
permit students to graduate with either a MA or a LLM (for the LLM, a minimum of 100 credits
must be earned through module registrations with Law). The programme has three
complementary core modules which treat different aspects of diplomacy and foreign policy
and international law. A minimum of two modules must be chosen from each department.

Core Modules
• PPR.430: Theory and Concepts in Diplomacy and Foreign Policy
• PPR.431: Issues and Practice in Diplomacy and Foreign Policy
• LL.M5205: International Law
• PPR.405: Dissertation (for MA students only
• LL.M5100: Dissertation (for LLM or MA students)

MA IN DIPLOMACY AND RELIGION

This programme is designed to encourage students to consider the practical processes,
ideological dynamics and theoretical dimensions involved in the interface of diplomacy and
religion. The programme is relevant to those thinking about or currently working in
diplomacy, international NGOs, and international policy and politics. Distinguished diplomatic
and foreign policy practitioners contribute to elements of the programme, which may include
student trips to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London. In addition to its
complementary core modules in diplomacy and religion, the programme uses a wide range
of optional modules in, for example, international relations, religious studies, politics, and
policy. A 20,000 word dissertation gives students opportunity to undertake an extended
project which focuses upon one or a number of dimensions relating to the interface of
diplomacy and religion.

Core Modules
• PPR.400:Theory and Method in Postgraduate Studies

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 • Either PPR.430: Theory and Concepts in Diplomacy and Foreign Policy or PPR.431:
Issues and Practice in Diplomacy and Foreign Policy
• PPR.470: Studying Religion
• PPR.405: Dissertation

MA/LLM INTERNATIONAL LAW AND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

This programme is offered jointly with, and administered by, the Law School. It offers students
the opportunity to study various politico-legal aspects of the international system by means
of complementary courses offered by the two departments. A minimum of two modules must
be studied from each department, with a total of 5 modules overall (including core modules)
plus the dissertation.

Core Modules
• PPR.410: Major Approaches to International Relations
• LL.M5205: International Law (Law School)
• PPR.400 : Theory and Method in Postgraduate Study
• PPR.405: Dissertation

Optional Modules (one of which has to be in Law)

MA IN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
This is a broadly-based course of study designed for students who wish to gain a wide
understanding of the theory, structure and working of the modern international system. It
aims, first, to provide all students with a basic grounding in the theory of international
relations and the different approaches that may be taken to the subject and, second, to
enable students to gain a more detailed knowledge of those aspects of international relations
in which they wish to specialise.

Core Modules
• PPR.400: Theory and Method in Postgraduate Studies
• PPR.410: Major Approaches to International Relations
• PPR.405: Dissertation

MA IN PHILOSOPHY
This programme offers the opportunity to study a range of topics, texts, figures, and questions
in philosophy. It is suitable both for students who already have some background in the
discipline, and for those new to it. We offer a range of taught modules across the
department’s various expertise, as well as one-on-one independent study modules on topics
of individual interest to students (see Appendix A for some main topic areas).

Core Modules
• PPR.450: What is Philosophy? Methods, Aims, Debates
• PPR.405: Dissertation

MA IN PHILOSOPHY AND RELIGION

This interdisciplinary programme is designed to allow students to undertake sustained and
focussed study in the disciplines of philosophy and religion. In addition to core and optional
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modules in philosophy and religion, a 20,000 word dissertation gives students opportunity to
undertake an extended project which focuses upon one or a number of dimensions relating
to the interface of philosophy and religion.

Core Modules
• PPR.450: What is Philosophy? Methods, Aims, Debates
• PPR.470: Studying Religion
• PPR.405: Dissertation

MA IN POLITICS
Politics is a field of empirical, theoretical and normative enquiry about the organization,
interactions, and use and distribution of power within and between societies, organisations
and groups at all levels from the interpersonal and the local, over the regional and national,
to the transnational and global. Aspects of this field of enquiry have traditionally been studied
under different headings or 'sub-disciplines', even though the relevant dynamics and
normative questions at any of these levels can rarely be usefully considered in isolation, and
their study always benefits from straddling these intra-disciplinary boundaries.

This wholly flexible MA in Politics therefore aims to allow students to benefit from the wide
range of expertise and research interests present in the department, and, in consultation with
the Director of Taught Postgraduate Studies, to compose a programme of study that reflects
their interests.

The objectives of this programme are:

• to allow students to explore a broad range of interrelated aspects of the field of
politics, adjusted to their specific background, interests, and career or further study
aims, in a way that allows them to cross the boundaries of the subfields of the
discipline
• to enable students to gain detailed knowledge and critical awareness of the aspects
on which they wish to concentrate, without artificially constraining them within any
of the historically-grown subfields of the field of study
• to provide students with the conceptual methodological and empirical background
necessary to undertake research in the field
• to help students develop and demonstrate the ability to plan and carry out extended
independent research in the field of politics

Core Module
• PPR.400: Theory and Method in Postgraduate Studies
• PPR.405: Dissertation

MA IN POLITICS, PHILOSOPHY AND RELIGION

This unique multidisciplinary programme is designed to allow students to undertake
sustained and focussed study across the disciplines of politics, philosophy and religion. In
addition to core and optional modules, a 20,000 word dissertation gives students opportunity
to undertake an extended project which focuses upon one or a number of dimensions relating
to the interface of politics, philosophy and religion.

Core Modules

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 • PPR.400: Theory and Method in Postgraduate Studies
• PPR.410: Major Approaches to International Relations
• PPR.450: What is Philosophy? Methods, Aims, Debates
• PPR.470: Studying Religion
• PPR.405: Dissertation

MA IN POLITICS AND PHILOSOPHY

This interdisciplinary programme is designed to allow students to undertake sustained and
focussed study in the disciplines of politics and philosophy. In addition to core and optional
modules in philosophy and politics, a 20,000 word dissertation gives students opportunity to
undertake an extended project which focuses upon one or a number of dimensions relating
to the interface of politics and philosophy.

Core Modules
• PPR.400: Theory and Method in Postgraduate Studies
• PPR.450: What is Philosophy? Methods, Aims, Debates
• PPR.405: Dissertation

MA IN RELIGION AND CONFLICT

This interdisciplinary programme is designed to allow students to undertake sustained and
focussed study across the disciplines of politics and religion, with particular attention to the
topic of conflict. In addition to core and optional modules in politics and religion, a 20,000
word dissertation gives students opportunity to undertake an extended project which focuses
upon one of a number of dimensions relating to the interface of politics and religion as it
pertains to conflict.

Core Modules
• PPR.400: Theory and Method in Postgraduate Studies
• PPR.420: Conflict Management in Contemporary Conflicts
• PPR.470: Studying Religion
• PPR.405: Dissertation

MA IN RELIGIOUS STUDIES
This is a broad MA programme that aims to explore the academic discipline of Religious
Studies. We seek to introduce you to key theoretical and methodological issues in the study
of religion from a range of disciplinary perspectives.

Our programme typically explores key topics in religion such as the social and cultural
transformations of contemporary religion and spirituality; religion and conflict; religion and
popular culture; modern religious thought and history; new religious movements; and religion
and gender. In addition, the programme provides you with an opportunity to explore the
history, texts and contemporary contexts of specific religious traditions.

We hope that you will develop advanced research skills through the programme, skills that
can be relevant to a range of professions. Equally, the programme can also provide a
foundation for those looking to pursue academic careers.

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Core Modules
• PPR.470: Studying Religion
• PPR.405: Dissertation

MSc POLITICS, PHILOSOPHY AND MANAGEMENT

This programme is a joint initiative with the Department of Organisation, Work and
Technology (OWT) in Lancaster University Management School. It gives students in-depth
knowledge of the major theories, concepts and issues relating to politics, philosophy, and the
management of institutions across various intellectual traditions and historical contexts.

Core Modules
• OWT.557: The Rise of Management Ideas and Concepts
• OWT.558: Analysing Management in Practice
• OWT.510: Dissertation

Optional Modules
• To be chosen from OWT or PPM as long as the student gains 180 credits in total or
slightly above (because OWT modules are 15 credits each where PPR modules are 20
credits each).

POSTGRADUATE CERTIFICATE IN POLITICS AND INTERNATIONAL

RELATIONS; PHILOSOPHY; RELIGIOUS STUDIES
These are usually made up of a core module from each discipline and two optional modules.
These can be undertaken as a standalone qualification, where students can focus on a
particular topic area or can be converted to the relevant MA programme. PPR.400 is not
allowable as a module on the PGCert.

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MODULES 2023-24
PPR Course Term Title Module
MODULES code Convenor
Subject
PPR PPR.400 M Theory & Method in Postgraduate Studies T Loughran
PPR PPR.401 M or L Independent Study Module (students can take both, with Various
PPR.401b Director’s agreement)
PPR PPR.405 S Dissertation Various
Politics PPR.410 M Major Approaches to the Study of International Relations L Ardovini
PPR.417 M The European Union M Steven
PPR.420 L Conflict Management and Contemporary Conflicts A Misra
PPR.425 M Theorising Security and War M Lacy
PPR.427 L Public Policy D Eseonu
PPR.430 M Theories and Concepts in Diplomacy and Foreign Policy C May
PPR.431 L Issues and Practice in Diplomacy and Foreign Policy B Germond
PPR.433 M Politics & Policymaking of Immigration E Consterdine
PPR.435 L International Relations and Politics of South Asia K Mukherjee
PPR.438 L Development and the Global South G Uysal
PPR.441 M Conflict, Security and War K Mukherjee
PPR.442 L Cybersecurity in the 21st Century J Whyte
PPR.443 L Global Environmental Politics C Germond-
Duret
PPR.491b S Cybercrime J Burton /
S Soare
PPR.555 M Body in Text: Politics of Gender in Islam A Ebbiary
PPR.571a M Philosophies of War and Conflict S Hitchen
PPR.592c M The Ethics and Politics of Communication L Smith
Philosophy PPR.401 M or L Independent Study (Philosophy) Various
PPR.401b
PPR.450 M What is Philosophy? Various
PPR.463 L Issues In Practical Philosophy C Todd
PPR.465 L Philosophy of Mental Disorder R Cooper
PPR.471a M Philosophies of War and Conflict S Hitchen
PPR.479 L Sources of Indian Religion and Philosophy B Black
PPR.501 M Philosophy of Art S Hitchen
PPR.504 M Darwinism and Philosophy B Garvey
PPR.505 M Language and Logic N Unwin
PPR.507 L Transformations and Revolutions in Twentieth Century P Major
Philosophy
PPR.571x L Reading Philosophy in Progress: Welfare and the Self S Clark

PPR.592a L Future Generations N Williams

PPR.592c L Ethic and Politics of communication L Smith

PPR.592f M Feminist Philosophy A Stone
Religion PPR.401 M or L Independent Study (Religious Studies) Various
PPR.401b
PPR.470 M Studying Religion B Black
PPR.477 M Religion and Psychoanalytic Thought G Hyman
PPR.479 L Sources of Indian Religion and Philosophy B Black
PPR.492d L Religion and Conflict (distance learning)* H Kawanami
PPR.555 M Body in text: politics of gender in Islam A Ebbiary
PPR.571 L Wild Goddesses B Sarkar

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PPR.400: Theory and Methods in Postgraduate Studies

Term Taught: Michaelmas Term

Tutor: Dr Thomas Loughran

This module serves to consolidate postgraduate research and learning support by enabling
students to engage with theories, methods, and skills relevant to your studies. The module is
core for all PPR PGT politics students. Through this module we aim to equip you with the
ability to reflect upon the processes and implications of research project planning, design
and execution in Politics.
The first section of the module examines the principles of research, including different
disciplinary traditions of knowledge production and ethical responsibilities. It goes on to set
out the process of structuring a research project and explores how to develop and apply
theory. The second part of the module critically examines a range of common methods for
conducting social science research, including interviews, surveys, and case studies and
engages with how to build and critique research designs using these methods. Through the
module, students will design research projects, develop writing and critical evaluation skills,
and have the opportunity to present their research ideas as part of developing their own
projects. The module involves a combination of lectures, small group discussion, and
presentations covering the following areas:
• The academic research process.
• Project planning, design and process management.
• Ethics in postgraduate research.
• Resource identification and review processes.
• Data acquisition techniques and issues.
• Analytical and interpretative approaches.
• Academic conventions (e.g. making an argument, writing, referencing).
• The academic research process.
• Project planning, design and process management.
• Ethics in postgraduate research.
• Resource identification and review processes.
• Data acquisition techniques and issues.
• Analytical and interpretative approaches.
• Academic conventions (e.g. making an argument, writing, referencing).

Assessment is by 5,000 word research proposal.

Select Bibliography
Bryman, A. 2016. Social Research Methods 5th Ed.: Oxford University Press
Cooley, L. 2003. Dissertation Writing in Practice. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press.
Creswell, J. and Creswell, J.W. 2018. Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed
Methods Approaches. 5th Ed. Thousand Oaks: Sage.
Grix, J. 2010. The Foundations of Research. 2nd ed. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
McMillan, K. 2011. Study Skills for International Students. Harlow: Prentice Hall, 2011.
Potter, S. (ed.) 2006. Doing Postgraduate Research. 2nd ed. London: Sage.
Thody, A. 2006. Writing and Presenting Research. London: Sage.
Wilkinson, D. 2005. The Essential Guide to Postgraduate Study. London: Sage.
Wisker, G. 2008. The Postgraduate Research Handbook. 2nd ed. Basingstoke: Palgrave
Macmillan.

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PPR.401 and PPR401b: Independent Study Module (Philosophy)

Term Taught: available in Michaelmas (PPR.401) and Lent (PPR.401b) Terms

Tutor: various

An Independent Study module allows you to undertake a focussed and self-directed study of
your own choice of topic in philosophy, guided by a tutor with relevant expertise and research
interests. Teaching consists of one-on-one tutorials, and contact hours are five hours of
meetings, to be arranged between you and your supervisor over the term. You can take an
independent study module in philosophy in Michaelmas and/or Lent, up to a maximum of
two.

The subject-specialist tutor who supervises the student will:

• help to shape and focus the research project
• give guidance on the professional literature, and on the nature, format, and planning
of the essay
• discuss the developing content of the essay
• give feedback on at least one draft
• if possible, suggest appropriate undergraduate modules which the student could audit
in support of their research
Independent study requires intellectual maturity and self-direction from the student. The
student will:
• work with the supervisor to shape and focus the research project
• seek out, read, and engage argumentatively with relevant disciplinary literature
• write, share, and discuss draft work towards the assessment
• engage with the supervision process

Assessment is by 5,000 word essay.

It is possible to do an independent study in almost any topic in philosophy, subject to

constraints of feasibility, fit, and staff availability. The notes in Appendix A describe some of
the major areas of philosophy in which we’d welcome independent study proposals, suggest
preliminary readings, and point you to members of staff with relevant expertise. Please see
our respective staff webpages for details of our particular interests and areas of expertise,
and feel free to contacts us, by email or in office hours, to discuss possible independent study
projects in these or other areas.

See Appendix A: Some Major Areas of Philosophy for areas in which we have particular
interest and expertise for supervising independent study.

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PPR.405: Dissertation

Term Taught: Summer Term

Tutor: various

The module involves the negotiation, design and delivery of a research project whose precise
topic will be determined by the student and the project supervisor.

The dissertation will be up to 20,000 words in length. The process of producing it is designed
to provide students with the opportunity to consolidate their existing knowledge and skills
base while developing new knowledge and skills made possible by its project-orientated
nature.

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 PPR.410: Major Approaches to the Study of International Relations

Term Taught: Michaelmas

Tutor: Dr Lucia Ardovini

Major Approaches to the Study of International Relations will explore the development of
International Relations (IR) theory in the 20th and 21st centuries and examine it in the light of
major historical developments and contemporary events. The module aims at providing the
students with the necessary skills and background knowledge to engage critically with the world
that we live in. To do so, the module pays special attention to the unequal power relations and
Western dominance in the study of IR and politics, and to how they have become embedded into
our institutions, theories and methods. The module will also introduce students to theories and
debates in human and environmental sustainability.

Learning Outcomes
• compare and contrast the major international relations theories and apply them to
contemporary international relations, security and sustainability issues and problems;
• understand the different historical contexts behind these theoretical developments and
see how they change and develop over time;
• understand the different political implications of the main IR theories and how these
interact with different political movements;
• better understand specialised debates in international relations, security and foreign
policy, including a knowledge of specialised terminology;
• put into historical context, understand and criticise debates about international
relations, security and sustainability;
• understand the larger theoretical framework in which international relations are
positioned;
• provide space to engage in critical discussions about power, gender and race in IR, and
help in developing a more critical eye to the challenges and possibilities of different
approaches to and visions of IR;
• obtain an introductory knowledge of environmental sustainability.

Assessment is by 5,000 word essay.

Select Bibliography

Weber, Cynthia. International Relations Theory: A Critical Introduction, Taylor & Francis Group,
2020.

Gruffydd Jones, B. (2006). Decolonizing International Relations. Blue Ridge Summit: Rowman &
Littlefield.

McGlinchey, S., (2016). International Relations (Open textbook library). Minneapolis, MN: Open
Textbook Library.

Edkins, J., Zehfuss, M., (ed. 2019) Global politics: A new introduction. Abingdon: Routledge
(3rd ed.).

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PPR.417: The European Union

Term Taught: Michaelmas

Tutor: Dr Martin Steven

This module focuses on the politics and international relations of the European Union (EU).
It starts with a focus on the activities of the various European institutions in Brussels,
Strasbourg and Luxembourg (Council, Commission, Parliament, Court of Justice). It then
moves on to key policy areas, including cohesion policy, justice and home affairs,
neighbourhood as well as wider global issues. The module will also have the aim of
introducing students to careers in the EU and looking at what it is like to work for a
European institution.

The class will be taught as a two hour graduate seminar with interactive lectures and class
discussions.

Assessment is by 5,000 word essay.

Select Bibliography

D. Kenealy et al, The European Union: how does it work? (2022)

J. McCormick, European Union Politics (2020)
S. Bulmer et al, Politics in the European Union (2020)
M. Cini and N. Pérez-Solórzano Borragán, European Union Politics (2019)

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PPR.420: Conflict Management in Contemporary Conflicts

Term Taught: Lent

Tutor: Dr Amalendu Misra

The course aims to explore a variety of approaches to conflict management in contemporary

conflicts, by third parties and parties in conflict, and critically assesses their effectiveness and
potential. The course draws its theoretical foundations from peace and conflict research but
is aimed at enabling students to learn to assess the scope for conflict management and peace-
building in practice. The module includes both academic literature as well as policy relevant
papers.

The focus of the course is on analysing peace processes and practical problems of conflict
prevention, conflict management and peace-building in a range of contemporary
international, internal, ethnic, community and environmental conflicts.

Students will be divided up into groups of two or three, and each group will take responsibility
for identifying and investigating a specific approach to conflict management in a conflict of
their choice. The choice of cases will vary with the interest of students. In recent year topics
included Afghanistan, Chechnya, Georgia, Kashmir, Kosovo, Macedonia, Northern Ireland,
Liberia/Sierra Leone, Timor Elste, conflict prevention and the emergent global climate change
negotiations, and peace-building in contemporary Africa and Asia.

The course is taught in 10 2-hour lecture seminars, with the first half devoted to the lecture
and the second half dedicated to substantial presentations by the student / group.

Assessment is by 5,000 word essay.

Select Bibliography
Barash, David P. & Webel, Charles P. Peace and Conflict Studies (London: Sage, 2008).
Butler, Michael J. International Conflict Management (Routledge, 2009).
Crocker, Chester A., Fen Osler Hampson & Pamela Aall editors (eds.) Leashing the Dogs of
War: Conflict Management in a Divided World (Washington, DC: US Institute of Peace, 2007).
Darby J & Mac Ginty, R, Contemporary Peacemaking (Palgrave Macmillan, 2002.)
Eriksen, T. H., Ethnicity and Nationalism (Zed, 2010).
Kaldor, M., New & Old Wars (Polity Press, 2006).
Lyons, T. Conflict Management and African Conflicts – Ripeness, Bargaining and Mediation
(London: Routledge, 2008).
Misra, A. Afghanistan: The Labyrinth of Violence (Polity, 2004).
Misra, A. Politics of Civil Wars (Routledge 2008)
Misra, A. The Landscape of Silence: Sexual Violence Against Men in War (Hurst, 2015).
Paris, R., At War’s End (Cambridge Univ. Press. 2005).
Raymond G. Helmick & Rodney Petersen (ed.) Forgiveness and Reconciliation: Religion, Public
Policy and Conflict Transformation, (New York: Templeton Press. 2001).
Ramsbotham, O, Woodhouse T. & Miall, H, Contemporary Conflict Resolution – 3rd edition
(Blackwell's, 2010).
Rupesinghe, K, Civil Wars, Civil Peace (Pluto Press, 1998).
Zartman, I.W., Peacemaking in International Conflict (USIP, 2005).
European Centre for Conflict Prevention, People Building Peace (1999).
Wallensteen, P., Understanding Conflict Resolution (Sage, 2006).
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PPR.425: Theorising Security and War

Term Taught: Michaelmas

Tutor: Dr Mark Lacy

This course examines the changing character of war and security in a time of rapid and
disruptive technological and geopolitical/ecological change. The course combines analysis of
contemporary policy documents with the interdisciplinary insights of intellectuals – such as
Zygmunt Bauman and Paul Virilio – who have examined how war has changed in the modern
age.

Students are introduced to a range of concepts that are currently significant in the debates
about the future of war – concepts such as ambiguous war, the gray zone, unrestricted
warfare, the third offset strategy, and the three block war.

While the course is grounded in broader debates from social and political thought about war
and modernity, it explores a range of evolving and inter-related case studies that are central
to understanding how war is changing: cybersecurity/artificial intelligence; cities and urban
war; drones and the future of robotics; climate change and ecological insecurity.

Assessment is by 5,000 word essay.

Select Bibliography

Coker, C, Future War, London: Polity, 2017.

Virilio, P, Pure War, New York, Semiotexte, 2008.
Rid, T, Cyberwar will Not Place, London: Hurst, 2014
Bousquet, A, The Eye of War, Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2019.
Chamayou, G, Drone theory, London: Penguin, 2017

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 PPR.427 Public Policy

Term Taught: Lent

Tutor: Dr Dayo Eseonu

The module offer students an opportunity to learn about policymaking theories, and policy analysis to
enable them combine public policy insights and apply them to the real world.. The module will use both
theoretical and practitioner perspectives through the use of relevant case studies in public policy from the
UK and beyond. At the end of the module, students will be able to define policy problems, generate
feasible solutions through policy analysis, and make recommendations on how policy problems can be
addressed.

The module is taught in weekly two-hour lectures / seminars. These will commence in Week 1
and run for ten weeks. Key topic areas are listed below:

• Introduction to Policymaking
• Theories of policymaking
• Critical Policy Studies
• Policy implementation and administration
• Policy evaluation
• Policy analysis

Assessment is by 5,000 word essay.

Select Bibliography:

Cairney, P. (2020). Understanding Public Policy: Theories and Issues, Second edition. London: Red
Globe Press.

Fischer, F, & Miller, GJ (eds) 2006, Handbook of Public Policy Analysis : Theory, Politics, and
Methods, Taylor & Francis Group, Baton Rouge.

Hill, M, & Varone, F 2016, The Public Policy Process, Taylor & Francis Group: London.

17
PPR.430: Theory and Concepts in Diplomacy and Foreign Policy

Term Taught: Michaelmas

Tutor: Dr Cindy May

Diplomacy and Foreign Policy are central to the understanding of international politics. The
structure of the international system induces a constant need for political dialogue and
negotiations.

This module introduces students to ways of conceptualizing diplomacy and foreign policy in
the 21st century:
• Why do states rely on diplomacy?
• What are the current forms and features of diplomacy and foreign policy?
• Is diplomacy the only form of international dialogue besides war?
• How do states (and statesmen) negotiate?
• How has diplomacy evolved throughout history?
• Does ‘global governance’ exist?

The teaching and learning strategy of Diplomacy and Foreign Policy is designed to give
students both theoretical and practical understanding of contemporary issues in diplomacy
and foreign policy. Academic teaching can be complemented by lectures and in-class activities
carried out by practitioners (e.g. diplomats, civil servants, etc.).

Assessment is by 5,000 word essay.

Select Bibliography

R. Barston, Modern Diplomacy, Longman, 2006.

G. R. Berridge, Diplomacy: Theory and Practice, Palgrave, 2002.
C. Bjola and M. Kornprobst, Understanding International Diplomacy: Theory, Practice and
Ethics, Routledge, 2013.
A. Heywood, Global Politics, Palgrave, 2011.
J. P. Muldoon et al., The New Dynamics of Multilateralism Diplomacy, International
Organizations, and Global Governance, Westview Press, 2005.
S. Smith et al., Foreign Policy: Theories, Actors, Cases, OUP, 2012.

18
PPR.431: Issues and Practice in Diplomacy and Foreign Policy

Term Taught: Lent

Tutors: Professor Basil Germond

Diplomacy and Foreign Policy are central to the understanding of international politics. The
structure of the international system induces a constant need for political dialogue and
negotiations. Besides war, diplomacy is the common language states are using to interact on
the world stage.

Complementing the first core module on Diplomacy and Foreign Policy, which provides
theoretical understanding of the subject, this module applies these theoretical tools to
contemporary diplomatic and negotiation issues and great power politics (PPR.430 is NOT a
prerequisite though). Indeed, the teaching and learning strategy of Diplomacy and Foreign
Policy is designed to give students both theoretical and practical understanding of
contemporary issues in diplomacy and foreign policy. Academic teaching will thus be
complemented by guest lectures (e.g. by a practitioner) and in-class activities such as mock
negotiation exercises.

The syllabus is likely to draw upon the following: Nuclear weapons and foreign policy, Arms
control and diplomacy, cyber diplomacy, South-North relations and development, and some
in-class mock negotiation exercises.

Assessment is by 5,000 word essay.

Select Bibliography
R. Barston, Modern Diplomacy, Longman, 2014.
G. Berridge, Diplomacy: Theory and Practice, Palgrave, 2015.
A. Heywood, Global Politics, Palgrave, 2014.
J. A. Larsen and J. J. Wirtz, Arms Control and Cooperative Security, Lynne Rienner Publishers,
2009.
J. H. Mittelman, Contesting Global Order: Development, Global Governance and Globalization,
Routledge, 2011.
J.M. Siracusa, Nuclear weapons: a very short introduction, OUP, 2015.

19
PPR.433: Politics and Policymaking of Immigration

Term Taught: Michaelmas

Tutor: Dr Erica Consterdine

Immigration is one of the most controversial political issues across liberal democratic states.
The issue dominates debate across the political spectrum and continues to be a top voting
issue in many Western states including the UK. It is one of the most divisive, contested and
important issues of our time. The goal of this course is to unpack the politicisation of
immigration, including how and why immigration is so contested, the actors that shape these
debates and how immigration policy is made. The course is designed to give students a rich
understanding of the politics of immigration and immigration policies, including a
comprehensive understanding of why immigration policies differ across countries, the critical
debates at the heart of immigration policymaking, and ultimately why immigration is
politicised. The course particularly considers European countries’ immigration policies and
the political dynamics and processes that shape these policy outputs. By the end of the
module, students will have developed an understanding of the theoretical and conceptual
frameworks used by political scientists to analyse the politics of immigration, as well as
acquiring a sound knowledge of political debates and policy trends across Europe. Students
will acquire the skills to analyse the political dynamics of immigration policymaking.

The course will touch on a number of questions, including why is immigration politicised?
Who makes and shapes immigration policy? What role do political parties play? To what
extent is migration policy become ‘Europeanized’? Has multiculturalism failed? Have states
‘lost control’ of migration? Why do gaps persist between immigration policy outputs and
outcomes? How can we explain differences in immigration policies, across streams and
countries? Why do publics oppose immigration? To answer these questions, this course will
unpack the political dynamics of immigration and in turn, the policymaking processes by
examining different explanatory theories and concepts utilised by political scientists.

Assessment is by 5,000 word essay.

Select Bibliography

Mayblin, Lucy. Asylum after empire: Colonial legacies in the politics of asylum seeking. Roman &
Littlefield International, 2017.
Cornelius, Wayne et al (eds), Controlling Immigration: A Global Perspective, 3rd edition, 2014.
Peters, M. E. (2017). Trading barriers: immigration and the remaking of globalization. Princeton
University Press.
Sassen, Saskia, Losing Control? Sovereignty in an Age of Globalisation, 1996.
Soysal, Yasemin, Migrants and Postnational Membership in Europe, 1994.
Kymlicka, W. (1995) Multicultural Citizenship: A Liberal Theory of Minority Rights
Ruhs, Martin, and Bridget Anderson, eds. Who needs migrant workers?: labour shortages,
immigration, and public policy. Oxford University Press, 2010.
Geddes, A., & Scholten, P. (2016). The politics of migration and immigration in Europe. Sage.
Davies, T., and A. Isakjee. (2018) Ruins of Empire: Refugees, race and the postcolonial geographies of
European migrant camps, Geoforum
Boswell, C. (2009). The political uses of expert knowledge: Immigration policy and social research.
Cambridge University Press.
Consterdine, E. (2017). Labour's immigration policy: the making of the migration state. Springer

20
 PPR.435: International Relations and Politics of South Asia

Term Taught: Lent

Tutor: Dr Kunal Mukherjee

The course will begin with a look at the history of the subcontinent, covering ancient, medieval
and modern times. This will help us to understand the historical and cultural roots of the region
and what impact modernisation has had on it. Since most states of the region have adopted
western political institutions, it is important to inquire if these are working satisfactorily and if
they are not, what is the alternative? This necessitates an examination of political systems.
However, in order to further our understanding of South Asian politics, we also need to look at
ethnicity and nationalism in the region. An examination of the relations between the states in the
region as well as their relations with the rest of the world is important in understanding the
foreign policy goals of each state and their contribution to the regions overall development.
Important issues that need to be examined include efforts to promote regional cooperation and
South Asias role in the global political economy.

Introducing South Asia

Perspectives on the history of the Indian subcontinent
India: The Construction of a Nation State
Pakistan and Bangladesh: Weakness of Internal Sovereignty
Sri Lanka: The Failure of Multiculturalism
South Asian Security: Its Different Dimensions
India: A Heavyweight in Regional Politics?
Pakistan: Survival is the key Concern
Sri Lanka/Bangladesh/Bhutan/Nepal: Small State Psyche
South Asian Regional Cooperation: SAARC
Concluding the Course

Assessment is by 5,000 word essay.

Select Bibliography

Basham,A.L., The Cultural History of India, Clarendon Press, Oxford,Oxford, 1975.

Baxter, C., Government and Politics in South Asia, Boulder, Colo and Oxford: Westview press, 1998,
5thedition, 2002.

Bose, S. and Jalal, A., Modern South Asia, Routledge, London and NY, 1998.

Brass,P., The Politics of India since Independence, CUP, Cambridge, 1994.

Chandra, B., Indias Struggle for Independence, Penguin Books, New Delhi and London, 1989.

S.Dutt, India in a Globalised World, Manchester University Press, 2006.

Farmer, B.H., An Introduction to South Asia, London and New York, Routledge, 1993.

Flood, G., An introduction to Hinduism, CUP, Cambridge, 1996.

Haq, K., The South Asia Challenge, OUP, Oxford, 2002.

21
Hewitt, V., The New International Politics of South Asia, MUP, 1997.

Jalal, A., The sole spokesman: Jinnah, The Muslim League and demand for Pakistan, Cambridge
University Press, 1985.

Jalal, A., Nationalism, Democracy and Development: State and politics in India, Oxford University Press,
1999. (co edited with S.Bose)

Jalal, A., Partisans of Allah: Jihad in South Asia, 2008.

Jalal, A., Democracy and Authoritarianism in South Asia, Cambridge, 1995.

Jha,D.N., Ancient India: Historical Outline, Manohar Publishers, 1977.

Mukherjee, K., Why has Democracy been less successful in Pakistan than in India? Asian Affairs 41(1)
pp67-77, March, 2010 (Routledge)

Mukherjee, K., Islamic Revivalism and Politics in Contemporary Pakistan: From Independence to Musharaff
Journal of Developing Societies, 26(3) pp329-353 July-Sep, 2010 (SAGE)

Mukherjee, K., Is there a Distinct Style of Asian Democracy? Journal of Asian and African Studies, 45(6)
pp684-694 (SAGE)

Mukjerjee, K., Islamism and its varied Dimensions in South Central Asia in Sagarika Dutt and Alok Bansal
(eds) South Asian Security: 21stCentury Discourse, London Routledge, 2011.

Richards, J.F., The Mughal Empire, Cambridge University Press

Spear, P., A History of India: volume 2, penguin.

Thapar, R., A History of India: volume 1, Penguin, 1966.

Thapar, R., Early India: From origins to AD 1300, Penguin, 2002.

Thapar, R., Cultural Pasts: Essays in Early Indian History, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2003.

Thapar, R., Interpreting early India, Oxford University Press, 1999.

22
 PPR.438: Development and the Global South

Term Taught: Lent

Tutor: Dr Gönenç Uysal

The emergence, consolidation, and transformation of world capitalism has been marked by its
uneven character in terms of development. This uneven development has significantly
characterised the Global South, mainly consisting of underdeveloped/developing countries in
Africa, Asia, and Latin America. The uneven development has particularly determined social,
economic, political, and cultural forms, relations, and processes in the Global South, including
state-society relations and issues pertaining to class, gender, and race. This module focuses on
mainstream and critical approaches to development; the historical roots and present pillars of
development; and empirical issues regarding development in/of the Global South.

Topics will include:

- Classical and neoclassical economics, modernisation theory, dependency theory, uneven
development

- Colonialism, decolonisation, neo-colonialism, imperialism

- Development, underdevelopment, late development

- State-led development, neoliberalism, globalisation

Assessment is by 5,000 word essay.

Select Bibliography

Amiya Kumar Bagchi. 1982. The Political Economy of Underdevelopment. Cambridge University
Press.
Ray Kiely. 2006. The New Political Economy of Development. Bloomsbury.
Uma Kothari. 2019. A Radical History of Development Studies. Zed Books.
Philip McMichael. 2017. Development and Social Change. Sage.
P. W. Preston. 1996. Development Theory. Blackwell.
Gilbert Rist. 2008. The History of Development. Zed Books.
Henri Veltmeyer and Paul Bowles. 2018. The Essential Guide to Critical Development Studies.
Routledge.
John Weeks. 1985. Limits to Capitalist Development. Routledge.

23
PPR.441: Conflict, Security and War

Term Taught: Michaelmas

Tutor: Dr Kunal Mukherjee

This module revolves around different aspects of Asian Security and looks at some of Asia’s
trouble spots. The course will also examine the politics of intervention in these conflicts, and
the attempts made to manage and prevent conflicts, and transform these conflict zones into
more peaceful situations. The case studies that this module looks at include Afghanistan,
Pakistan, India and China.

The module aims to provide students with an in-depth knowledge of the different facets of
contemporary Asian conflicts and how international organisations and Western and Asian
governments have attempted to deal with these challenges in recent times. Conceptually, the
course will examine the principles of state failure; terrorism, ‘New Wars’, the New Security
Agenda, nationalism and sub nationalism, international conflict prevention; peace keeping;
and global governance. The course also covers topics like the rise of Islamism and Hindu
nationalism in contemporary South Asia. This module provides students with an overview of
the key security concerns of South-Central Asia.

Aims of the Module

• To firstly identify trouble spots in contemporary Asia and the different layers of
conflict in each case study;
• To analyse the politics of intervention;
• To examine the basis of political identities, the nature of nationalism and sub
nationalism and their implications for the nation state, regional stability, security,
peace, cooperation and development;
• To identify methods of conflict resolution for these violent conflict zones and to look
at the politics of reconstruction.

Assessment is by 5000 word essay.

Select Bibliography

Mukherjee, K., Conflict in India and China’s Contested Borderlands: A Comparative Study,
Routledge, 2019.
Dillon, M., Xinjiang: China’s Muslim Far Northwest, Routledge, 2004.
Topgyal, T., China and Tibet: The Perils of Insecurity, London Hurst, 2016.
Gregory, S., edited, Democratic Transition and Security in Pakistan, Routledge, 2016.
Durward, R and Marsden, L., eds, Religion, Conflict and Military Intervention, Asghgate, 2009.
Small, A., The China-Pakistan Axis: Asia’s New Geopolitics, Oxford University Press, 2015.
Paul, T.V., The Warrior State: Pakistan in the Contemporary World, Oxford University Press,
Random House, India, 2014.
Dutt, S. and Bansal, A., eds, South Asian Security: 21st Century Discourses, Routledge, 2012.

24
PPR.442: Cybersecurity in the 21st Century

Term Taught: Lent

Tutor: Dr Jeff Whyte

The module examines the global politics of cybersecurity, the ‘fifth sphere’ of power
projection on the international arena. Students will have the opportunity to learn about the
politics of the cyberspace through the prism of national and international politics - how it is
legislated, governed, and justified. The module will also discuss how cybersecurity continues
to challenge the operations of state and non-state actors using key theories from the field of
international relations and security studies. Main themes of the module include espionage,
surveillance, cyber warfare, deterrence, data collection, and many more.

Assessment is by 5,000 word essay.

Select Bibliography
Chen, T. L. Jarvis and S. Macdonald, (2014) Cyberterrorism: Understanding, Assessment, and
Response. New York: Springer.

Choucri N. et al., (2019) Cyberspace and International Relations: The Co-Evolution Dilemma.
Cambridge MA: MIT Press.

Greenberg. A. (2019) Sandworm: A New Era of Cyberwar and the Hunt for the Kremlin's Most
Dangerous Hackers. New York: Doubleday.

Sanger, D. (2018) The Perfect Weapon: War, Sabotage, and Fear in the Cyber Age. London:
Scribe

Singer, P. W. and A. Friedman (2014) Cybersecurity and Cyberwar: What Everyone Needs to
Know. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Van Puyvelde, D. and A.Brantly, (2019) Cybersecurity: Politics, Governance and Conflict in
Cyberspace. Cambridge: Polity Press.

25
PPR.443: Global Environmental Politics

Term Taught: Lent

Tutor: Dr Celine Germond-Duret

In the age of the 'anthropocene', the devastation of the natural environment, loss of
biodiversity, global warming and pollution can no longer be ignored. At the same time, the
solutions to the environmental crisis have not yet materialised and environmental
protection remains a highly political and contested question. This module introduces
students to the challenges the environmental crisis poses to a multitude of actors, including
international organisations and governments. It will discuss the way in which institutions,
ideas and interests shape environmental politics, and will provide a comprehensive
introduction to green politics at the international level.

Following an introduction to the debates and concepts central to understanding

environmental thinking, the module will explore a wide range of environmental issues,
concepts, and debates, and can include some of the following topics: the causes of the
environmental crisis, the different approaches to environmentalism, the global
environmental regime, international climate politics, environmental justice, ocean
governance, resource security. The importance of decolonising environmental politics will
be highlighted throughout the module.

Assessment is by a 5000 word essay.

Select Bibliography

Carter N (2018), The Politics of the Environment (3rd Edition) Cambridge, C.U.P.

Connelly J & Smith G (2012) Politics and the Environment: From Theory to Practice (3rd
edition). Routledge, New York

Dobson A (2016), Environmental Politics: A Very Short Introduction, Oxford University Press

Doyle T (2005) Environmental Movements in Majority and Minority Worlds: A Global

Perspective. Rutgers UP, New York

Morin J, Orsini A, Jinnah S (2020) Global Environmental Politics. Oxford

Newell P (2020) Global Green Politics. Cambridge

Snell C and Haq G (2014), The Short Guide to Environmental Policy, Policy Press.

Stevenson H (2018) Global Environmental Politics. Cambridge University Press.

26
PPR.450: What is Philosophy? Methods, Aims, Debates

Term Taught: Michaelmas

Tutor: Dr Brian Garvey and
Philosophy staff

Philosophy is a various, contested, self-reflective discipline. It includes many different areas,

questions, and approaches to answering them. Metaphysics, ethics, political philosophy,
epistemology, philosophy of mind, and aesthetics are just some of the more obvious areas.
Philosophers at Lancaster investigate questions about the nature of mental illness, free will,
the self, the ethics of new medical technologies, Romantic thought, the emotions, autonomy,
and many other topics. Our approaches range across critical reading of historical texts,
engagement with special sciences including biology and psychology, conceptual analysis,
literary studies, phenomenology, and more.

The aim of this module is to use guided practice in doing philosophy, and in thinking about
what we’re doing, to develop the skills and virtues of a postgraduate-level philosopher. We
pursue this aim in three strands:
(1) Presentations from philosophy staff on their research work, followed by discussion,
to offer a tasting menu of some of the varied questions and approaches in
contemporary professional philosophy as done here at Lancaster
(2) Reading and guided discussion of an important text or texts in one or more
contemporary sub-disciplines of philosophy
(3) Reflective practice in central philosophical styles of skilled reading, writing, research,
discussion, and presentation.

Assessment is by 5,000 word essay.

Select Bibliography

You can get a sense of the range and style of contemporary Anglo-American professional
philosophy by browsing the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy Online

David Edmunds, Nigel Warburton, et al., ‘What is Philosophy?’, Philosophy Bites podcast
G. E. R. Lloyd, Disciplines in the Making: cross-cultural perspectives on elites, learning, and
innovation (Oxford University Press 2009): chapter 1
Justin E. H. Smith, The Philosopher: a history in six types (Princeton University Press 2016)

27
 PPR.463: Issues in Practical Philosophy

Term Taught: Lent

Tutor: Dr Cain Todd

This module considers a selection of major and advanced-level issues in practical philosophy -
that is, political, legal, moral and applied philosophy - on which staff in PPR have specific research
expertise. Particular topics that may be covered in detail include: theories of justice; children's
rights; moral motivation; well-being; the nature of political action; democratic theories;
cosmopolitanism and nationalism; punishment and responsibility; contemporary Kantian
practical philosophy.

Assessment is by 5,000 word essay.

Select Bibliography

David Archard Children Rights Childhood, 2nd edition (Routledge, London, 2004)

Stephen Darwall The Second-Person Standpoint: Morality, Respect and Accountability (Harvard
University Press, Cambridge MA, 2006)

David Held Cosmopolitanism (Polity Press, Cambridge, 2010)

Thomas E. Hill Jr. Human Welfare and Moral Worth: Kantian Perspectives (Clarendon Press,
Oxford, 2002)

Chandran Kukathas Philip Pettit (eds) John Rawls' "Theory of Justice" and Its Critics (Polity Press,
Cambridge, 1990)

28
PPR.465: Philosophy of Mental Disorder

Term Taught: Lent

Tutor: Professor Rachel Cooper

This module will involve an in depth study of a number of contemporary debates in the
philosophy of mental disorder. Topics will include the following:

• What is mental disorder? Students will be introduced to some of the key accounts of
mental disorder: What is the relationship between evolutionary dysfunction and
disorder? Are disorders necessarily harmful?
• Antipsychiatry/ postpsychiatry - The antipsychiatrists (and more recently
postpsychiatrists) argue that the very concept of mental disorder is dubious. Are
mental disorders substantially like physical disorders? Or, do diagnoses of "mental
disorder" simply label behaviour that is unusual, socially stigmatised, or bad?
• Conceptualising cultural variations - Do mental disorders vary from culture to culture?
Would cultural variation mean that a disorder is less "real"?
• Realism and constructionism about mental disorder - What does it mean to say that a
disorder is real or constructed?
• Responsibility and disorder - Are those with mental disorders responsible for their
actions? Are psychopaths ill or simply evil?

Assessment is by 5,000 word essay.

Selected Bibliography:

Bolton, D. (2008). What is mental disorder?: an essay in philosophy, science, and values.
Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Cooper, R (2007) Psychiatry and Philosophy of Science. Stocksfield: Acumen.
Foucault, M. (1988). Madness and civilization: A history of insanity in the age of reason.
LLC:Random House
Glover, J. (2014). Alien Landscapes?: Interpreting Disordered Minds. Harvard: Harvard
University Press.
Murphy, D. (2006). Psychiatry in the scientific image. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Szasz, T. (1960) The myth of mental illness American Psychologist, 15, 113-118.
Wakefield, J. (1992) The concept of mental disorder - On the boundary between biological
facts and social value. American Psychologist. 47, 373-388.

29
PPR.470: Studying Religion

Term Taught: Michaelmas

Tutor: Dr Brian Black

This module aims to support existing taught modules in religious studies by introducing
research methods and approaches from various disciplines and working to understand
theoretical and practical issues in the study of religions. It introduces cross-cultural and cross-
religious examination of research topics in religious studies. The module will also give
students the opportunity for developing generic skills in library research, essay writing, ethics
in research, dissertation planning, and presentations.

Aims and Objectives

• Induction into the study of religions
• Research methodologies: case studies and examples selected from anthropological,
sociological, philosophical approaches as well as from the study of texts
• Theoretical approaches to the study of religion: examples selected from the disciplines
of the humanities and social sciences
• Dissertation workshop: finding a topic and supervisor, completion plan, case studies

Assessment is by 5,000 word essay.

Select Bibliography

Asad, Talal (1993) ‘The Construction of Religion as an Anthropological Category’. Genealogies

of Religion: Discipline and Reasons of Power in Christianity and Islam. Baltimore: Johns
Hopkins University Press.

Knott, Kim (2017) ‘How to Study Religion’ from L. Woodhead, K. Kawanami, C. Partridge (eds)
3rd Edition. Religions in the Modern World. London: Routledge.

Masuzawa, Tomoko (2005) ‘World Religions’. Encyclopedia of Religion, Vol. 14: pp. 9800-
9804.

Taylor, Mark (1999) Critical Terms for Religious Studies. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Woodhead, Linda (2017) 'Introduction: Modern contexts of religion’ from L. Woodhead, K.

Kawanami, C. Partridge (eds) 3rd Edition. Religions in the Modern World. London: Routledge.

30
 PPR. 477 Religion and Psychoanalytic Thought
Term Taught: Michaelmas
Tutor: Dr Gavin Hyman

Psychoanalysis is an attempt to understand the meaning of human behaviour which focuses

upon there being an influential unconscious as well as a conscious side to the
personality. Directly and indirectly, it has come to play an influential role in modern life. Words
like ‘Oedipus complex', ‘introverted', ’neurotic', ‘obsessional', are in fairly common use, often
with little clear understanding of their meaning. Psychoanalysts have had a major impact upon
ideas of what it is to be a person. They have also provided key elements in the criticism
frequently levelled at religion that it is nothing but the comforting projection of personal and
social problems into another illusory world. We shall be examining these issues in detail. To this
end, we shall study selected texts by Freud and other texts drawn from the work of Bataille,
Lacan, Kristeva, de Certeau and Žižek.

Assessment is by 5,000 word essay.

Select bibliography

Freud, S., The Interpretation of Dreams, tr. Joyce Crick (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999).

Capps, D. (ed.), Freud and Freudians on Religion (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2001).

DiCenso, J., The Other Freud: Religion, Culture and Psychoanalysis (London: Routledge, 1999).

Taylor, Mark C., Altarity (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1987).

Ward, Graham (ed.), The Postmodern God (Oxford: Blackwell, 1997).

31
 PPR. 479 Sources of Indian Religion and Philosophy
Term Taught: Lent
Tutor: Dr Brian Black

In this module we will encounter some of the most foundational religious and philosophical texts
of the Hindu and Buddhists traditions. Texts will vary from year to year, but may include: the Rg
Veda, Upanishads, Mahabharata, Bhagavad Gita, or the Yoga Sutra from the Brahmanical/Hindu
tradition, and the Nikayas, Vinaya, Jatakas, Lotus Sutra, and The Bodhicaryavatara from the
Buddhist tradition. Through close readings, we will examine some of the core religio-
philosophical ideas of early Indian thought as well as pay close attention to the composition,
style, and structure of the texts themselves. We will also attempt to situate Hindu and Buddhist
textual material within a social and historical context, paying close attention to who participates
in the religio-philosophical world of ancient India and in what types of social circumstances
religio-philosophical ideas are discussed. Alongside reading the primary sources, we will also
situate our engagements within scholarly debates about methods of interpretation such as text-
historical criticism, hermeneutics, phenomenology, orientalism, and post-colonial theory.

Assessment is by 5,000 word essay.

Select bibliography

Hiltebeitel, Alf (2011) Dharma: Its Early History in Law, Religion, and Narrative. New York: Oxford
University Press.

Samuel, Geoffrey (2008) The Origins of Yoga and Tantra: Indic Religions to the Thirteenth
Century. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press (Part One: Meditation and Yoga).

Primary Sources

Bryant, Edwin F. (tr.) The Yoga Sutras of Patajali. New York: North Point Press.

Crosby, Kate and Skilton, Andrew (trs) (2008) The Bodhicaryavatara. Oxford: Oxford University
Press.

Olivelle, Patrick (tr.) (1998) The Early Upanishads: Annotated Text and Translation. New York:
Oxford University Press.

Patton, Laurie L. (tr.) (2008) The Bhagavad Gita. London: Penguin Books.

Reeves, Gene (tr.) (2014) The Lotus Sutra: A Contemporary Translation of a Buddhist Classic.
Boston: Wisdom Publications.

Smith, John (tr.) (2009) The Mahabharata. Harmondsworth: Penguin.

Walshe, Maurice (tr.) (1987) The Long Discourses of the Buddha: A Translation of the Digha
Nikaya (Boston: Wisdom Publications). Watson, Burton (tr.) (1993) The Lotus Sutra. New York:
Columbia University Press

32
 PPR.491b: Cybercrime
Term Taught: Summer
Tutor: Professor Joe Burton/ Dr Simona Soare

The module is led by the Politics, Philosophy and Religion department with input from colleagues
in Computing Science, Sociology and Criminology. We aim to foster interdisciplinary teaching and
learning across social sciences and computing sciences. PPR491 Cybercrime is a core module on
the MSc Cybersecurity degree and an optional module for PPR students MA students as well as
those in Sociology and Law, so has been designed with you all in mind.

The module is block-taught across an intense four-week period, through lectures, seminar
activities and group work in Summer Term. Each lecture examines a specific issue relating to
‘cybercrime’.

In the group task you will learn how to use evidence-based methods to explore a cybercrime
topic. Sessions/topics are delivered by experts in their field, and there will be plenty of time for
questions and debate.

Assessment is by 3000-4000 word essay.

Select bibliography
TBC

33
 PPR.492d: Religion and Conflict
Term Taught: Lent

Tutor: Professor Hiroko Kawanami

Whether global, national, ethnic or ethical, conflicts frequently involve religion. Between
themselves, in their relations with secular states and ideologies, and even at the level of sects or
denominations, religions engage in conflicts arising from deeply held beliefs and values, as well
as in struggles for power, status and legitimacy. Understanding how and why religious groups
contribute to global and regional conflicts and civil wars – from terrorist attacks, through
historically embedded disputes to intra-religious and intra-ethnic violence – is vital for
humanitarian intervention, international relations, diplomacy and conflict resolution.
This module provides the knowledge and skills to help students understand and analyse why
conflict happens within and between religious groups, and to assess the positive and negative
contributions that religions make to wider struggles – from local disputes through to global
terrorism.

Week 1: An Historical Introduction to 'Religion and Conflict'

Week 2: Religion, Conflict, and International Relations
Week 3: Religion and Violence
Week 4: Religion and Conflict: Bosmia
Week 5: Religion and Conflict: Sri Lanka
Week 6: Buddhist Nationalism and Political Monks: Myanmar
Week 7: Conflict within the State and without a State: China and Tibet
Week 8: Religion, Protest, and Revolution
Week 9: Religion and Society: Islam in Britain
Week 10: Consolidation Lecture

The module is designed to introduce students to key concepts and issues in scholarship on
religion and conflict: e.g. on the relationship between conflict and violence, religion and
ethnicity, the ‘clash of civilizations’, intra-ethnic and intra-religious as well as inter-religious
conflict, jihad and martyrdom. Equal attention will be given to the importance of context –
historical, social-political, geographical and cultural. Analysis and debate about religion and
conflict will be situated in particular cases, from the UK and Europe, the Indian sub-continent,
Southeast Asia, East Asia, and the Middle East. Lecture podcasts and online discussion
activities will be complemented by online talks by experts and short films. There will be
plenty of opportunities for online interaction with peers and tutors.

Assessment is by 5,000 word essay.

Select bibliography
Cavanaugh, William T. The Myth of Religious Violence: Secular Ideology and the Roots of Modern
Conflict. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009.
34
Deegalle, Mahinda. Buddhism, Conflict and Violence in Modern Sri Lanka. Routledge, 2006.
Gravers, Mikael. ‘Anti-Muslim Buddhist Nationalism in Burma and Sri Lanka: Religious Violence
and Globalized Imaginaries of Endangered Identities’. Contemporary Buddhism, 16:1 (2015), 1-
27.
Haynes, Jeffrey. Religion, Politics and International Relations. New York: Routledge, 2011.
Sankaran Krishna. Postcolonial Insecurities: India, Sri Lanka, and the Question of Nationhood.
University of Minnesota Press, 1999.
Maréchal, Brigitte and Sami Zemni (eds.) The Dynamics of Sunni-Shia Relationships: Doctrine,
Transnationalism, Intellectuals and the Media. London: Hurst, 2012.
Murphy, Andrew (ed.) The Blackwell Companion to Religion and Violence. Oxford: Wiley-
Blackwell, 2011.
Zucker, Eve Monique and Ben Kiernan (eds.) Political Violence in Southeast Asia since 1945:
Case Studies from Six Countries. Routledge, 2021.

35
PPR.501: Philosophy of Art
Term Taught: Michaelmas
Tutor: Dr Sarah Hitchen

This module introduces central issues, problems and theories in philosophical aesthetics by
critically examining a number of central topics including: the nature of aesthetic experience;
the objectivity of aesthetic judgement; emotional responses to fiction; the moral and
cognitive value of art; the aesthetic value of nature. In addition to central philosophical
discussions, various findings from empirical psychology and neuroscience will also be used.
Although examples from all of the arts will be employed throughout the course, the emphasis
will be on the wider issues just listed, and not exclusively focussed on art. That is, aesthetics
will be explored as an important area of the philosophy of value in general.

This module is taught jointly with a parallel third-year undergraduate module.

Assessment is by 5,000 word essay.

Select Bibliography

Gordon Graham, Philosophy of the Arts: an introduction to aesthetics

Matthew Kieran (ed), Contemporary Debates in Aesthetics and the Philosophy of Art
P. Lamarque and S. Olsen (eds), Aesthetics and the Philosophy of Art

36
PPR.504: Darwinism and Philosophy

Term Taught: Michaelmas

Tutor: Dr Brian Garvey

This module will look at philosophical issues that arise out of Darwin’s theory of evolution.
These include questions about how best to understand the theory of evolution, and questions
about what evolution implies for our view of the world, and in particular of ourselves. The
course breaks down into three broad areas:

• Different ways to understand the theory of evolution, e.g. is evolution, as some would
have us believe, all about genes? Is natural selection the only important factor in
evolution?
• Conceptual issues relating to biology, e.g. how do we define ‘function’? Is there one
right way to classify living things?
• Implications of Darwinism for understanding human nature, e.g. does the fact that we
have evolved affect how we should see human nature? Why are evolutionary theories
of human nature so controversial? Does Darwinism have any implications for moral
questions?

This module is taught jointly with a parallel third-year undergraduate module.

Assessment is by 5,000 word essay.

Select Bibliography

T. Lewens, Darwin (Routledge, 2007)

J. R. Richards, Human Nature After Darwin (Routledge, 2000)
N. Stamos, Evolution and the Big Questions (Blackwell, 2008)
K. Sterelny & P. Griffiths, Sex and Death (University of Chicago Press, 1999)

37
PPR.505: Logic and Language

Term Taught: Michaelmas

Tutor: Dr Nick Unwin

This module provides an introduction to formal logic together with an examination of various
philosophical issues that arise out of it. The syllabus includes a study of the languages of
propositional and quantificational logic, how to formalize key logical concepts within them,
and how to prove elementary results using formal techniques. Additional topics include
identity, definite descriptions, modal logic and its philosophical significance, and some
criticisms of classical logic.

This module is taught jointly with a parallel third-year undergraduate module.

Assessment is by 5,000 word essay.

Select Bibliography

P. Smith, An Introduction to Formal Logic (Cambridge University Press, 2003)

38
PPR.507: Transformations and Revolutions in Twentieth Century
Philosophy

Term: Lent
Tutor: Dr Philippe Major

In the Twentieth Century, Western philosophy underwent a number of fundamental

“turns”—the linguistic turn, the phenomenological turn, the postmodern turn. Some of these
changes were viewed as “revolutions” in philosophy. At the extreme end, there were even
arguments that Western philosophy, as conceived since Plato, was finished. In this module
we explore some of these key transformations. We consider the “linguistic” turn, and the
formation of “analytic philosophy” at the turn of the twentieth century. One central figure of
this linguistic turn is Ludwig Wittgenstein. But Wittgenstein shifts from being at the centre of
analytic philosophy to arguing that philosophy is finished. At the same time, philosophy also
undergoes a phenomenological turn. We focus on how this leads, via Sartre, to a revival of
existentialism. The contrasts between French philosophy and English-speaking philosophy
become even more pronounced in the final third of the century, with post-structuralism and
post-modernist philosophy viewed by the “analytic” philosophy community as not even being
a kind of philosophy. We assess the roots of, and justification of, this “analytic/continental”
divide.

This module is taught jointly with a parallel third-year undergraduate module.

Assessment is by 5,000 word essay.

Select Bibliography

R. Campbell, “The Covert metaphysics of the clash between 'analytic' and' continental'
philosophy” British Journal for the History of Philosophy (2001) 9(2): 341-359
G. Gutting, ‘Sartre, Foucault, Derrida’ in N. Bunnin & E.P. Tsui-James (ed.) Blackwell
Companion to Philosophy (Blackwell, 1996)
N. Levy, ‘Analytic and Continental Philosophy: Explaining the Differences’ Metaphilosophy
(2003) 34(3): 284-304
J.P. Sartre, Existentialism is a Humanism [widely available online]
L. Wittgenstein, Philosophical Investigations (Wiley, 2009)

39
PPR.555: Body in text: politics of gender in Islam

Term Taught: Michaelmas

Tutor: Dr Alyaa Ebbiary

Introduction
Week 1 Introduction to the study of Gender, Religion and Islam: This session is devoted to
getting to know each other and discussing key issues in the study of gender and religion in
light of feminist and post-colonial approaches.

Gender in the Tradition: Weeks 2-5

Week 2 Women in Qur'anic Narratives: This session introduces students to the study of the
Qur’an with a focus on the representation of gender in Qur’anic narratives.

Week 3 The Construction of Gender Norms: This session investigates the moral boundaries
of gender relations in the Qur’an, Hadith and early Muslim interpretation with a focus on
the model of the Prophets’ wives and its extension to Muslim women in general.

Week 4 Sexuality and Modesty: This session continues to investigate the moral boundaries
of gender relations in the Qur’an and Hadith with a focus on the question of sexuality and
the dress code.

Week 5 Authority and power: This session will explore premodern Muslim views about the
status of women and male authority, particularly in light of the central text Q. 3:34 (Male
guardianship and the so-called beating verse)

Week 6 Individual Tutorials

Feminist Approaches and Contemporary Movements: Weeks 7-10

Week 7 Feminist Approaches to the Islamic tradition: Deconstructing Patriarchy: This

session will look at the reform discourses which led to new approaches to the Qur’an with a
focus on feminist interpretations that aim to deconstruct ‘patriarchal’ readings of the
Qur’an.

Week 8 Feminist Approaches to the Islamic tradition: Reconstructing Islamic law: In this
session, we take a closer look at the transnational Muslim Musawah (Equality) movement
associated with Sisters in Islam and its effort to reconstruct Gender norms and laws in Islam.

Week 9 Politics and Piety: Reconstructing Islamic Practice: In the final two sessions we move
to look at women’s involvement in changing religious practices through political action. This
session looks at the British and US contexts and the emergence of the women-led mosques.

Week 10: Politics and Piety: The Revival of the Tradition and Critiques of Feminist
Approaches: This session focuses on the revivalist, more traditionally-oriented mosque
movement in the Middle East with reference to Egypt. The primary aim, however, will be to
critically reflect upon and assess feminist approaches to Gender in Islam.

40
This module is taught jointly with a parallel third-year undergraduate module.

Assessment is by 5,000 word essay.

Select Bibliography

Arberry, A. J. (1963). The Koran Interpreted (Volumes1-2). London: George Allen and Unwin
Ltd. (Several English translations are now available on:

http://www.altafsir.com/ViewTranslations.asp?Display=yes&SoraNo=1&Ayah=0&Language
=2&TranslationBook=3)

Al-Bukhari, Muhammad Ibn Isma’Il, Abu ’Abd Allah. (d. 870) (1979). The Translation of The
Meanings of Sahih al-Bukhari (trans. Muhammad Muhsin Khan), Chicago:Kazi. (An English
translation is available on:

www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/bukhari/)

41
 PPR.571: Wild Goddesses: Power and Transgression in South and South
East Asia

Term Taught: Lent

Tutor: Dr Bihani Sarkar

South and South East Asian religious traditions are globally unique for their reverence of female
divine power. Called Devi (goddess) and Shakti (power/potentiality), the Goddess is thought to
be multiform and worshipped in ‘power-sites’ (shaktipithas) scattered all over the subcontinent.
In theological traditions of medieval India, she was conceptualized in some of the most
sophisticated metaphysical arguments as an ultimate Consciousness. For worshippers, she is a
symbol of many things: autonomous power, liberation, rulership, transgression, duality,
sexuality, passion, motherhood, the colour red, Death, vision and sleep.
In this module we explore the only major religious culture, in which female sacred power plays
an undilutedly central role. We assess its history and its importance in South and South East
Asian society drawing on classical historical sources-- Sanskrit narratives, ritual manuals, poetry,
philosophical literature and epigraphy, as well as explore her impact on living traditions.

Along the way we will be exploring the following questions:

What does the tradition of goddesses in South Asia say about the role of heretical traditions and
doctrines, of which many of its scriptures and practices were considered parts?

How do the Goddess's traditions express issues of gender, such as women's agency, subversion,
and subjectivity?

How can they be explained through, and in turn contribute to, contemporary critical analyses of
gender?

To assess the latter two questions Masters students will be reading key texts from global cultural
perspectives on gender, including Black and Islamic feminism, indicated in the Bibliography and
exploring how they can frame their discussions on Asian goddesses.

This module is taught jointly with a parallel third-year undergraduate module.

Assessment is by 5,000 word essay

Select bibliography

Allen, Michael (1975), The Cult of Kumari: Virgin Worship in Nepal (Kathmandu, Mandala Book
Point
Birkenholtz, Jessica Vantine, 2018, Reciting the Goddess: Narratives of Place and the Making of
Hinduism in Nepal,Oxford University Press: Oxford London (Study of the Nepalese Goddess
Svasthani)
Bose, Mandakranta (Ed) The Oxford History of Hinduism: The Goddess (Oxford History of
Hinduism), OxfordUniversity Press, Oxford 2018
Erndl, Katherine, The Play of the Mother: Possession and Power in Hindu Women in T. Pintchman
ed. Women’sLives, Women’s Rituals in the Hindu Traditions, Oxford University Press, 2007.
Kinsley, David, Hindu Goddesses: Visions of the Divine Feminine, Berkeley: University of

42
California Press.
Rothschild, Norman Harry, 'Heroic Saktism with Chinese Characteristics: The Female Warrior
Sovereign Prophecy,the Navaratri, and a Trio of Devis of War in the Accession of Female Emperor
Wu Zhao'. Hualin International Journalof Buddhist Studies, 4.2, (2021), pp. 300-449.
Sarkar, B. (2017) Heroic Shaktism: The Cult of Durga in Ancient Indian Kingship. British Academy
Monographs.Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Santiko, Hariani, 1997, The Goddess Durga in the East-Javanese Period, Asian Folklore Studies
Vol. 56, No. 2 (1997), pp. 209-226
Sax, William S., Mountain Goddess: Gender and Politics in a Himalayan Pilgrimage, Oxford
University press NewYork 1991
Slouber, Michael (Ed) A Garland of Forgotten Goddesses Tales of the Feminine Divine from India
and BeyondUniversity of California Press, 2020.
Silburn Lilian 1975: Lilian Silburn Études sur le sivaïsme du Cachemire école Krama : Hymnes aux
Kali, la roue desénergies divines,
Simmon, C., Sen. M. and Rodriguez, H. Nine Nights of the Goddess The Navaratri Festival in South
Asia, SUNY:New York, 2018

43
PPR.571/591/592: Special Subjects in Philosophy

Term Taught: Michaelmas or Lent

Tutor: various (course convenor: To be confirmed)

Every year the department runs several Special Subject modules in philosophy, in which
students engage in depth with research topics chosen by individual members of staff. These
modules offer an opportunity to work on cutting-edge philosophy, in a small group, under the
guidance of a subject expert. They are open both to final-year undergraduate students and to
MA students (under different codes for administrative purposes).

Special Subject classes are run as seminars or reading groups: the tutor convenes the group,
sets reading, and guides discussion, but does not lecture; students are expected to be active,
self-directed, and well-prepared participants. Depending on student numbers and timetables,
you may either take seminars with undergraduates or in your own separate groups.

Your assessed work for this module will be marked at the appropriate level, distinct from and
higher than undergraduates’ assessed work, and requiring a greater degree of depth,
independence, and knowledge of the appropriate philosophical literature. Guidance will be
provided.

You can take a special subject module in Michaelmas and/or Lent, up to a maximum of two.

In 2023-24, the following special subjects are available:

• Michaelmas term:
Philosophies of Warand Conflict (PPR.571a)

Ethics and Politics of Communication (PPR.592c)

Feminist Philosophy (PPR.592f)

• Lent term:
Future Generations (PPR.592a)

Reading Philosophy in
Progress: Welfare and the Self
(PPR.571x)

Complexity, Ethics, Values and

Policy (PPR.592e)

Descriptions follow.

44
 PPR.571a: Philosophies of War and Conflict

Term Taught: Michaelmas

Tutor: Dr Sarah Hitchen

This course will examine some of the core philosophical questions raised by warfare and conflict.
We will look at the ethics of war and killing, but also at more neglected philosophical issues in
this area, and non-Western approaches as well as classic texts in the Western tradition.

We will do so by examining some of the central dilemmas faced by soldiers, policy makers and
non-combatants, in the form of a weekly question for discussion. These questions include: Can
war be beautiful? When, if ever, should we go to war? What counts as legitimate action in war?
What, if anything, do we owe to our enemies? Is soldiering a good life? What does technological
development mean for warfare? What should a responsible citizen do when their country is, or
looks about to be, at war? Who has the epistemic authority to speak about war? Is war always
tragic?

This module is taught jointly with a parallel third-year undergraduate module.

Assessment is by 5,000 word essay

Select bibliography

Butler J., Frames of War. When Is Life Grievable?, (Verso, 2016)

Coker C., Future War, (Polity, 2015)

Frowe H., The Ethics of War and Peace. An Introduction, (Routledge, 2nd ed, 2016)

McMahan J., Killing in War, (OUP, 2009)

Sherman N., Stoic Warriors. The Ancient Philosophy Behind the Military Mind, (OUP, 2005)

Stockdale J.B., Courage Under Fire. Testing Epictetuss Doctrines in a Laboratory of Human
Behaviour, (Hoover, 1993)

45
 PPR.571x: Reading Philosophy in Progress; Welfare and the Self

Term Taught: Lent

Tutor: Dr Sam Clark

I’m writing a book under the working title Welfare and the Self. Short description:

What am I? That is, what is the self? What does that mean for how my life would best be lived,
that is for answering the philosophical question of welfare: what is it for someone’s life to go well
for her? I address these problems by exploring the space of possible selves and their welfare,
using work both in philosophy and in science fiction novels. I have three main aims: 1) To show
the distinctive contribution of science fiction as philosophy of the self. 2) To map the space of
possible selves, so as to better understand ourselves by contrast with imagined others. 3) To
develop and defend a distinctive self-realization account of the self and its welfare. The book will
investigate significant pairings between possible kinds of self and their welfares, including passive
selves and experiential welfare; agentic selves and desire-based welfare; species selves and
perfectionism; individual developmental selves and self-realization. It will respond to major
criticisms of the last pair, including Buddhist and other no-self views; arguments for self-creation
and for self-definition of welfare; and worries from the possibility of artificial and designed
selves. The book will engage both with philosophical work by Derek Parfit, Peter Godfrey-Smith,
Christine Korsgaard, Philippa Foot, Monima Chadha, and others; and with science fiction by
Adrian Tchaikovsky, Ann Leckie, Ken MacLeod, C. J. Cherryh, and others.

In this special subject module, we will read my book draft together and discuss its arguments and
topics.
This module is taught jointly with a parallel third-year undergraduate module.

Assessment is by 5,000 word essay

Select bibliography

Clark, Samuel. Good Lives: Autobiography, Self-Knowledge, Narrative, and Self-Realization

(Oxford University Press 2021)

Godfrey-Smith, Peter. Other Minds: The Octopus and the Evolution of Intelligent Life (Harper
Collins 2017)

Parfit, Derek. Reasons and Persons (Clarendon Press 1984): Part III

Tchaikovsky, Adrian. Children of Ruin (Pan 2020)

46
PPR.592a: Future Generations

Term Taught: Lent

Tutor: Dr Nicola Williams

What moral obligations do we have towards future generations – to people who are yet to be born,
and to merely possible people whose very existence (or non-existence) depends on how we act now?
This special subject explores this question by examining both a series of practical case studies and
some of the main concepts and theories that philosophers use when thinking about these issues.
Questions considered normally include:

• How should we weigh quality against quantity of life? Would a world with a relatively small
number of ‘happier’ people preferable to one with many more ‘less happy’ ones?
• Ought we to try significantly to extend the human life span (to 150 years or beyond)?
• Should cryonics be permitted and what ethical issues does this raise?
• Is there a moral obligation to refrain from having children (e.g. for environmental reasons)
and what measures may governments take to encourage or enforce population control?
Conversely, might there be a moral obligation to have (more) children?
• Should we use selection techniques to minimise the incidence of genetic disorders and
disabilities in future populations?
• Should parents be allowed to use these techniques to determine the characteristics of their
future children (e.g. choosing their child’s eye or hair colour, or sex selection)?
• When considering the future, how should the interests of non-human creatures be weighed
against those of humans? How strong are our moral obligations to prevent extinctions, and to
preserve wildernesses?
• When considering long-term environmental issues (e.g. climate change, nuclear power) and
long-term financial issues (e.g. national debt and pensions) how should we balance the
interests and rights of people who exist now against those of future people?

This module is taught jointly with a parallel third-year undergraduate module.

Assessment is by 5,000 word essay

Select bibliography

John Broome, Climate Matters: ethics in a warming world, New York: WW Norton & Co 2012
Jonathan Glover, What sort of people should there be?,
http://www.jonathanglover.org/books/what-sort-of-people-should-there-be
John Harris, Enhancing Evolution: the ethical case for making better people, Princeton: Princeton
University Press 2007
Stephen Wilkinson, Choosing Tomorrow’s Children: the ethics of selective reproduction, Oxford:
Oxford University Press 2010

47
PPR.592c: Ethics and Politics of Communication

Term: Lent
Tutor: Dr Leonie Smith

This module critically explores a range of key topics in the ethics and politics of
communication, including lying, deception and spin; freedom of speech and freedom of the
press; the regulation of the press and other media. We also focus upon practices of exclusion
from communication, including “silencing”.

This module is taught jointly with a parallel third-year undergraduate module.

Assessment is by 5,000 word essay

Select bibliography

Bok, Sisela: Lying: Moral Choice in Public and Private Life (London: Quartet, 1980)
Kaye, David. Speech police: The global struggle to govern The Internet. Columbia Global
Reports, 2019.
Pomerantsev, Peter. This is not propaganda: Adventures in the war against reality. Hachette
Book Group, 2019.
Lichtenberg, Judith. "Foundations and Limits of Freedom of the Press." Philosophy & Public
Affairs 16.4 (1987): 329-355.
Dotson, Kristie. "Tracking epistemic violence, tracking practices of silencing." Hypatia 26.2
(2011): 236-257.

48
PPR.592e: Complexity, Ethics, Values and Policy

Term Taught: Lent

Tutor: Professor Robert Geyer

As is now commonly recognised, the world is becoming increasingly connected and complex. Just as
policy and socio-political actors can no longer view the state, market and society as distinct and
separate entities, we can no longer see the global as neatly divided between powerful and distinct
nation-states. Global interaction via economics, the media and the internet overwhelm these earlier
rigid barriers. But how do we understand this new world and, equally important, how do we act
within.
To try to answer that question we will explore complexity theory its applications to politics, policy
and society. The module will begin with an introduction to the development of the earlier
‘orderly/Newtonian’ framework played in shaping 19th and 20th century social science and public
policy. It will then go on to examine the paradigm shift in the natural sciences beyond the limits of
that framework and towards a more complexity oriented paradigm. Following this the module will
begin to explore how complexity has spilled over into the social sciences in the end of the 20th
century and beginning of the 21st. It will then explore how complexity overlaps with some of the
main concepts from pragmatist philosophy and its implications for ethics and values. Finally, it will
conclude with an exploration of the impact of a complexity framework on several policy areas.

Topics will typically include:

• What is Complexity?
• Concepts and Tools of Complexity
• Applying Complexity to Politics and Policy
• Complexity, Pragmatism and Policy
• Complexity, Ethics, Values and Policy
• Complexity and International Relations
• Complexity and Health
• Complexity and Law

This module is taught jointly with a parallel third-year undergraduate module.

Assessment is by 5,000 word essay.

Select Bibliography
Neil Harrison and Robert Geyer, Governing Complexity in the 21st Century, 2021
Robert Geyer and Samir Rihani, Complexity and Public Policy, 2010.
Robert Geyer and Paul Cairney, Handbook of Complexity and Public Policy, 2015
David Byrne, Complexity Theory and the Social Sciences: An Introduction 1998
David Byrne and G. Callaghan, Complexity Theory and the Social Sciences: The State of the Art, 2014.
John Lewis Gaddis, The Landscape of History, OUP, 2002.
Klaus Mainzer, Thinking in Complexity : The Computional Dynamics of Matter, Mind, and Mankind
(5th edition) 2007.

49
 PPR.592f: Feminist Philosophy

Term Taught: Michaelmas

Tutor: Professor Alison Stone

This special subject focuses on feminist philosophy and in particular the study of women and
feminists in the history of philosophy, using nineteenth-century British philosophy as a case study.

The aims are to provide an in-depth understanding of debates around women in the history of
philosophy, the relation between feminism and women, and how to research and study historical
women philosophers who until recently have been omitted from the canon. This will provide
important transferable skills in doing research in the digital world, including working with digital
archives and historical journals. The course will allow students to undertake a sustained piece of
independent research on historical essays of their choice by women philosophers from nineteenth-
century Britain. Students taking this course will not merely be learning about philosophy as done by
others; they will be doing cutting-edge philosophical research themselves.

Select bibliography:

Eileen O’Neill and Marcy Lascano, eds., Feminist History of Philosophy: The Recovery and Evaluation
of Women's Philosophical Thought, Springer, 2019

Sarah Tyson, Where Are the Women? Why Expanding the Archive Makes Philosophy Better, Columbia
University Press, 2018.

Alison Stone and Charlotte Alderwick, 'Introduction' to British Journal for the History of
Philosophy special issue Nineteenth-Century Women Philosophers in Britain and America (2021)

Alison Stone, Ann Garry and Serene Khader, eds., The Routledge Companion to Feminist Philosophy
(Routledge, 2017)

This module is taught jointly with a parallel third-year undergraduate module.

Assessment is by 5,000 word essay

Select bibliography

50
Appendix A : Some Major Areas of Philosophy

Independent Study should take on a specific, appropriately challenging topic. These notes
describe some broader areas in which we have particular expertise, and within which you
might find that topic: Ethics, Philosophical Aesthetics, Philosophy of Medicine and Bioethics,
Philosophy of Mind and Psychology, Philosophy of Science, Environmental Philosophy,
Political Philosophy/Theory, or Post-Kantian European Philosophy. Independent Study in
other areas of philosophy is certainly possible: you shouldn’t take this list as exhaustive, but
should approach individual members of staff to discuss your ideas.

Ethics/Moral Philosophy is the systematic theoretical study of morality or ethical life:

what we ought to do, what we ought to be, what has value or is good, the epistemic and
metaphysical status of putative answers to those questions, and their application to individual
choice and social policy. Topics, debates, and figures in ethics include:
• Value and valuing

• Personhood/selfhood
• Practical reason
• Moral psychology
• Metaethics, e.g. moral realism, expressivism, cultural relativism
• Freedom, agency, and responsibility
• Utilitarianism and its critics
• Virtue Ethics and its critics
• Deontology and its critics
• The nature of the good life
• Applied ethics, e.g. consent, privacy, the beginning and end of life
• Major recent and contemporary figures such as Bernard Williams, Martha Nussbaum,
Peter Railton, Christine Korsgaard, Philippa Foot, Allan Gibbard, Simon Blackburn.
• Major historical figures such as Aristotle, David Hume, Immanuel Kant, John Stuart
Mill, G. E. Moore.
PPR staff with relevant expertise: Sam Clark, Chris Macleod, Neil Manson, Garrath Williams,
Cain Todd, Nick Unwin, Steve Wilkinson.

General and introductory texts on ethics and its sub-fields:

• Piers Benn, Ethics (Routledge 1998)
• David Copp ed., The Oxford Handbook of Ethical Theory (Oxford University Press 2006)
• Roger Crisp & Michael Slote eds, Virtue Ethics (Oxford University Press 1997)
• Stephen Darwall ed., Deontology (Blackwell 2003)
• Julia Driver, Ethics: The Fundamentals (Blackwell 2007)
• Samuel Scheffler ed., Consequentialism and its Critics (Oxford University Press 1998)
• Peter Singer, Practical Ethics (3rd edn, Cambridge University Press 2011)
• Peter Singer ed., A Companion to Ethics (Blackwell 1991)
51
 • Michael Smith, The Moral Problem (Blackwell 1994)
• David Wiggins, Ethics: Twelve Lectures on the Philosophy of Morality (Penguin 2006)
Philosophical Aesthetics is the study of the nature of aesthetic judgement, aesthetic
value, and aesthetic experience. It is generally focussed on particular questions that arise in
the domain of art—e.g. what is art? How do pictures represent? How can music express
emotions? Do we have genuine emotions towards fiction?—but is not limited to art. For
example, natural objects can be appreciated aesthetically, and more general questions such
as the objectivity of aesthetic judgement, the nature of expertise, and the role of imagination
or emotion in aesthetic experience/judgement are also studied within aesthetics. Topics,
debates, and figures in philosophical aesthetics include:

• The ontology of art, and of the specific arts, e.g. what are musical works? Is conceptual
art really art?
• The objectivity of aesthetic judgement, e.g. are our judgements of art or nature
subject to any normative constraints? Are they merely arbitrary? Are there really
aesthetic experts?
• Musical expression, e.g. how can abstract music express and arouse emotion?
• Depiction, e.g. how can a two-dimensional canvas represent reality? Does the
imagination play a role in the experience of pictures?
• Fiction, e.g. are your responses to fiction genuine emotions? How can we explain such
responses?
• What is the role of ethical assessment in aesthetic judgement and the appreciation of
art?
• Does art have cognitive benefits, e.g. can artworks give us knowledge?
PPR staff with relevant expertise: Alison Stone, Cain Todd.

General and introductory texts in philosophical aesthetics:

• Noël Carroll, The Philosophy of Art: A Contemporary Introduction (Routledge 1999)
• Clive Cazeaux ed., The Continental Aesthetics Reader (Routledge 2011)
• Stephen Davies, The Philosophy of Art (Blackwell 2006)
• Berys Gaut & Dominic Lopes eds, The Routledge Companion to Aesthetics (2nd edn,
Routledge 2005)
• Matthew Kieran ed., Contemporary Debates in Aesthetics and the Philosophy of
Art (Blackwell 2006)
• Matthew Kieran, Revealing Art (Routledge 2005)
• Peter Lamarque & Stein Haugom Olsen eds, Aesthetics and the Philosophy of Art: The
Analytic Tradition: An Anthology (Blackwell 2004)
• Jerrold Levinson ed., The Oxford Handbook of Aesthetics (Oxford University Press
2003)
Philosophy of Medicine and Bioethics is concerned with topics and debates including:

• Concepts of health and disease

• Disability
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 • Philosophy of psychiatry
• Epistemology of medicine
• Reproductive ethics
• Death and dying
• Consent
• Heath care justice
• Public health
• Medical outcomes

PPR staff with relevant expertise: Rachel Cooper,Garrath Williams, Steve Wilkinson.

General and introductory texts on the philosophy of medicine and bioethics:

• Elizabeth Barnes, The Minority Body: A Theory of Disability (Oxford University Press
2016)
• Havi Carel, Illness: The Cry of the Flesh (revised edn, Acumen 2013)
• Rachel Cooper, Psychiatry and Philosophy of Science (Routledge 2014)
• Angus Dawson ed., Public Health Ethics: Key Concepts and Issues in Policy and
Practice (Cambridge University Press 2011)
• Carl Elliott, A Philosophical Disease: Bioethics, Culture, and Identity (Routledge 1999)
• Jonathan Glover, Causing Death and Saving Lives: The Moral Problems of Abortion,
Infanticide, Suicide, Euthanasia, Capital Punishment, War and Other Life-or-Death
Choices (Penguin 1977)
• Lawrie Reznek, The Nature of Disease (Routledge & Kegan Paul 1987)
• Jennifer Radden ed., The Philosophy of Psychiatry: A Companion (Oxford University
Press 2004)
Philosophy of Mind and Psychology is concerned with topics and debates including:

• Perception
• Metaphysics of mind
• Emotions
• Consciousness
• Intentionality
• Free will
• Artificial intelligence
• Epistemology of mind
• Philosophy of psychology
• Philosophy of psychoanalysis
• Philosophy of psychopathology
PPR staff with relevant expertise: Rachel Cooper, Brian Garvey, Gavin Hyman, Chakravarthi
Ram-Prasad, Cain Todd, Nick Unwin.

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General and introductory texts on the philosophy of mind and psychology:
• David Chalmers, The Conscious Mind: In Search of a Fundamental Theory (Oxford
University Press 1996)
• Paul Churchland, Matter and Consciousness: A Contemporary Introduction to the
Philosophy of Mind (revised edn, MIT Press 1988)
• Andy Clark, Mindware: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Cognitive Science (Oxford
University Press 2001)
• Tim Crane, The Mechanical Mind: A Philosophical Introduction to Minds, Machines,
and Mental Representation (2nd edn, Routledge 2003)
• Daniel C. Dennett, Consciousness Explained (Penguin 1993)
• John R. Searle, Mind: A Brief Introduction (Oxford University Press 2004)
• Daniel Weiskopf & Fred Adams, An Introduction to the Philosophy of
Psychology (Cambridge University Press 2015)
Philosophy of Science is concerned with a range of conceptual or meta-scientific issues
arising from the sciences. Some of these are of a general nature, applying to the sciences as
a whole, but there are also sub-disciplines dealing with specific sciences. Examples of the
former include:

• Distinguishing science from other activities, and from pseudo-science

• The question of whether there is a method common to all the sciences and
characteristic of science as such. Proposed methods include Popper’s ‘conjectures and
refutations’ and inference to the best explanation.
• The theory-ladenness of observation: the ways in which, and the extent to which,
observation is affected by pre-existing beliefs and/or theories, and the implications of
this for scientific method and for the objectivity of science.
• The question of what constitutes a scientific explanation, and of the characteristics
that make for a good explanation.
• The debate between scientific realists and anti-realists: the question of whether we
should we think of the aim of science as being to discover truth, or as something else;
and the question of whether we should think of unobservable entities posited by
science (e.g. quarks, fields) as real. Compromise positions in these debates, such as
entity realism and structural realism.
• The question of whether science makes progress, and in what scientific progress
consists.
• The roles values play in science: whether science can, or should be, value-free; the
ways in which values can distort science, and the ways they can be beneficial to it.
The PPR department has specialists in Philosophy of Biology and Philosophy of Medicine.
Topics in these sub-disciplines include:
• The concept ‘innate’ and whether it can be given a definition

• Whether biological traits, such as the parts of organisms, have a real function or are
just said to have certain functions based on our interests.
• Whether there is a right way to classify living things.

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 • What it means to call something a ‘disease’: whether it is a purely factual matter, or
unavoidably involves values.
• The role of medical diagnosis: whether it is primarily to explain symptoms, or to
prescribe a cure, or something else.
PPR staff with relevant expertise: Rachel Cooper, Brian Garvey, Nick Unwin.

Some indicative classics, books on specific topics or subdisciplines, and anthologies:

• Arthur Caplan, James J. McCartney and Dominic Sisti (ed.) Health, Disease and Illness:
Concepts in Medicine. Georgetown University Press, 2004.
• Havi Carel: Illness: The Cry of the Flesh. Second Edition: Routledge, 2015.
• Nancy Cartwright: How the Laws of Physics Lie. Clarendon, 1983.
• : The Dappled World: A Study of the Boundaries of Science. Cambridge, 1999.
• A.F. Chalmers: What Is This Thing Called Science? Open University Press. Third Edition,
1999.
• Martin Curd and J.A. Cover ed. Philosophy of Science: The Central Issues. Second
Edition: Norton, 2012
• John Dupré: The Disorder of Things: Metaphysical Foundations of the Disunity of
Science. Harvard, 1993.
• Carl Elliott: Better than Well: American Medicine Meets The American Dream. W. W.
Norton & Company, 2003
• Paul Feyerabend: Against Method: Outline of an Anarchistic Theory of
Knowledge. Third edition, Verso, 1993.
• Kevin Elliott: A Tapestry of Values: An Introduction to Values in Science
• Peter Godfrey-Smith: Theory and Reality: An Introduction the Philosophy of
Science. University of Chicago Press, 2003.
• : Philosophy of Biology. Princeton, 2014
• Marjorie Grene and David Depew: The Philosophy of Biology: An Episodic
History. Cambridge, 2004.
• Susan Haack: Defending Science – Within Reason: Between Scientism and
Cynicism. Prometheus, 2007.
• Ian Hacking: Representing and Intervening: Introductory Topics in the Philosophy of
Natural Science. Cambridge, 1983.
• Jan Hilgevoord ed. Physics and our View of the World. Cambridge, 1994.
• David Hull and Michael Ruse (ed.) The Cambridge Companion to the Philosophy of
Biology, Cambridge, 2007
• Thomas Kuhn: The Copernican Revolution: Planetary Astronomy in the Development
of Western Thought. Harvard, 1957.
• : The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. Third edition, Chicago, 1996.
• James Ladyman: Understanding Philosophy of Science. Routledge, 2001

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 • Imre Lakatos and Alan Musgrave (ed.): Criticism and the Growth of
Knowledge. Cambridge, 1970.
• Larry Laudan: Science and Relativism: Some Key Controversies in the Philosophy of
Science. Chicago, 1990.
• Tim Lewens: Darwin. London: Routledge, 2006.
• Peter Lipton: Inference to the Best Explanation. Second edition, Routledge, 2004.
• Karl Popper: The Logic of Scientific Discovery (1934). Routledge, 1959.
• : Conjectures and Refutations: The Growth of Scientific Knowledge. Fifth edition,
Routledge, 1989.
• : Objective Knowledge: An Evolutionary Approach. Revised edition, Routledge,
1979.
• Lawrie Reznek: The Nature of Disease. Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1987.
• Alex Rosenberg and Daniel McShea: Philosophy of Biology: A Contemporary
Introduction Routledge, 2008
• Elliott Sober (ed.) Conceptual Issues in Evolutionary Biology. Third edition, MIT Press,
2006
• Kim Sterelny and Paul Griffiths: Sex and Death. University of Chicago Press, 1999.
• Bas Van Fraassen: The Scientific Image. Harvard, 1980.
Environmental Philosophy consists in specifically philosophical attention to the place
of human beings in the wider natural environment and their various relations to it. As a recent
sub-discipline within academic philosophy, its emergence over the last forty years has
paralleled the growing recognition of these issues as presenting vital social, political and
cultural challenges for the contemporary world. The sub-discipline includes but is not limited
to environmental ethics, which deals with our moral obligations, if any, to treat the non-
human world and/or future (human and other) generations in certain ways. Other important
strands within environmental philosophy raise epistemological, aesthetic, political, decision-
theoretic, theological and feminist issues. Major topics and debates in environmental
philosophy include:

• Environmental value: its nature, extent and assessment.

• Environmental justice (intra- and inter-generational).
• The political legitimacy of possible responses to environmental degradation, pollution
and climate change.
• Can we have binding obligations to future people?
• Do non-human animals, plants and/or ecosystems have moral standing?
• Are there specifically environmental virtues?
• How coherent is the now-dominant paradigm of ‘sustainability’?
• Is the precautionary principle genuinely action-guiding?
• What is technology? How far can it provide solutions to environmental crisis?
• To what extent is ‘nature’ a human construction?
• Are concepts of ‘nature’ inherently gendered?

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On a broad understanding of environmental philosophy as dealing with humans in nature,
many great philosophers have contributed—in particular Aristotle, Kant and Hume. More
recently, relevant work has been done by Mill, Heidegger, Thomas Nagel and Bernard
Williams.

Since the academic sub-discipline emerged, significant figures have included Murray Bookchin,
Baird Callicott, Freya Mathews, Carolyn Merchant, Arne Naess, John Passmore, Tom Regan
and Richard Sylvan.

PPR staff with relevant expertise: Alison Stone, Steve Wilkinson, Garrath Williams.

Some general and introductory texts on aspects of environmental philosophy:

• Elliot, Robert and Arran Gare (eds.) Environmental Philosophy: A Collection of
Readings (Milton Keynes: Open University Press, 1983)
• Foster, John After Sustainability: Denial, Hope, Retrieval (Abingdon: Routledge, 2015)
• Gardner, Stephen and Allen Thompson (eds.) The Oxford Handbook of Environmental
Ethics (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2017)
• Jonas, Hans The imperative of responsibility : in search of an ethics for the
technological age (Chicago, Ill. : University of Chicago Press, 1984.
• Merchant, Carolyn The Death of Nature : Women, Ecology, and the Scientific
Revolution (London: Wildwood House, 1982)
• O’Neill, John Ecology, Policy and Politics: Human Well-being and the Natural World,
(London: Routledge, 1993)
• Passmore, John Man's Responsibility for Nature; Ecological Problems and Western
Traditions (London: Duckworth, 1974)
• Regan, Tom The Case for Animal Rights, (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2nd
ed., 1983/2004).
• Sandler, Ronald, and Philip Cafaro (eds). Environmental Virtue Ethics, (New York and
Oxford: Rowman & Littlefield, 2005).
• Scruton, Roger Green Philosophy: How to Think Seriously About the Planet (London:
Atlantic Books, 2013)
• Soper, Kate What Is Nature?: Culture, Politics and the non-Human (Oxford: Blackwell,
1995)
Political Philosophy/Theory is the systematic theoretical study of questions of politics:
the nature of the political, what our domestic and international institutions ought to look like,
and the history of our attempts to engage with these questions. Topics, debates, and figures
in political philosophy/theory include:

• The political ideologies and their foundations: liberalism, conservatism,

communitarianism, socialism, anarchism, libertarianism, feminism, etc.
• Normative and theoretical questions about the nature and justification of political
power.
• The theories of recent political thinkers: Rawls, Arendt, Nozick, Foucault, Raz, Berlin,
MacIntyre, etc.

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 • The work of major historical political thinkers: Plato, Hobbes, Locke, Marx, Mill, etc.
• Methodological issues surrounding the attempt to theorise about politics.
• The relation between political philosophy/theory and moral philosophy and the social
sciences.
• Questions of justice and rights, and of the relations between the public and private
• The application of all of the above to particular questions of policy, including for
example climate change, migration, privacy, inequality.
PPR staff with relevant expertise: Patrick Bishop, Sam Clark, Chris Macleod, Garrath Williams.

Some indicative classics, methodological texts, and introductions:

• T. Hobbes, Leviathan (Oxford University Press, 2008)
• J.S. Mill, On Liberty and Other Writings (Cambridge University Press, 1989)
• J. Rawls, Theory of Justice (Harvard University Press, 1971)
• R. Nozick, Anarchy, State, and Utopia (Basic Books, 1974)
• A. McIntyre, After Virtue (University of Notre Dame Press, 1981)
• H. Arendt, Eichmann in Jerusalem (Penguin, 2006)
• Q. Skinner, Visions of Politics, vol. 1 (Cambridge University Press, 2002)
• D. Miller, Justice for Earthlings (Cambridge University Press, 2013)
• W. Kymlica, Contemporary Political Philosophy: An Introduction 3rd ed. (Oxford
University Press, 2002)
• J. Wolff, An Introduction to Political Philosophy 3rd ed. (Oxford University Press, 2015)
Post-Kantian European Philosophy encompasses a range of nineteenth- and
twentieth-century thinkers and branches of thought, including:

• Hegel and German Idealism

• Kierkegaard
• Nietzsche
• Phenomenology including Husserl, Heidegger, Merleau-Ponty
• Existentialism including Sartre, Camus, Beauvoir, Fanon
• Political thought including Arendt, Foucault
• Critical theory including Adorno, Habermas, and others
• Post-structuralism including Derrida and others
• Continental feminist philosophy including Irigaray, Kristeva, and others
• Deleuze
• Recent theorists such as Zizek, Butler, and Badiou
In addition, the field includes works of interpretation and critical analysis of, and engagement
with, the above approaches and the ideas of individual thinkers contributing to them.
Examples of authors engaging in this kind of interpretation and critical engagement include

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Tina Chanter, Maudemarie Clark, Steven Crowell, Sebastian Gardner, Lewis Gordon,
Alexander Nehamas, Robert Pippin, and Bernard Williams.

The field also covers debates on topics arising out of these streams of thought and their
interpretation. For example, debates about the nature of genealogy; the nature of critique;
the sources of normative standards of social criticism; subjectivity, freedom, and
responsibility; the body.

PPR staff with relevant expertise: Laurence Hemming, Gavin Hyman, Chakravarthi Ram-
Prasad, Alison Stone, Garrath Williams.

General and introductory texts on post-Kantian European Philosophy and its sub-branches:
• Simon Critchley, Continental Philosophy: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford University
Press 2001)
• Simon Critchley and William Schroeder eds, A Companion to Continental
Philosophy (Blackwell 1999)
• Simon Glendinning, The Idea of Continental Philosophy (Edinburgh University Press
2006)
• Brian Leiter and Michael Rosen eds, The Oxford Handbook of Continental
Philosophy (Oxford University Press 2008)
• John Ó Maoilearca and Beth Lord eds, The Bloomsbury Companion to Continental
Philosophy (Bloomsbury 2013)
• Alan Schrift ed., The History of Continental Philosophy, 8 vols. (University of Chicago
Press 2010)

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