| CODE | PHI5020 | |||||||||
| TITLE | Radical Political Philosophy: Rancière, Badiou and Žižek | |||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 05 - Postgraduate Modular Diploma or Degree Course | |||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 7 | |||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 5 | |||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Philosophy | |||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | This study-unit examines a number of key theorists who can be considered as 'radical' in their approach to politics in the light of the new technologies of information. While the information age has been much lauded as the defining feature of contemporary society, the gathering and collection of information for its use by the state or private companies is all-too-often overlooked. Study-Unit Aims: The overall objective of the study-unit is to demonstrate an alternative way of thinking the political from the perspective of Jacques Rancière, Alain Badiou and Slavoy Žižek. These philosophers are widely known for providing a vision of society that goes beyond the platitudes frequently promoted by other political discourses, a vision that some might consider 'radical'. The unit aims to introduce students to the key ideas of three theorists who bring different and controversial ideas to debates in political theory: from Rancière, we learn the virtue of disagreement that he calls, contra Habermas, 'dissensus'; from Badiou, we learn – in the spirit of Maoist thinking – of the need to work within situations at hand so as to disrupt the neoliberal capitalist establishment; from Zizek, we learn of the need to return to the revolutionary values of Trotsky and the claim that it is truth – irrespective of the majority – that calls out for revolution. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - analyze the philosophical underpinnings of contemporary political discourses; - explore the different philosophical visions of Rancière, Badiou and Žižek; - investigate the similarities in their political projects; - examine the potential for change provided by the aforementioned theorists. 2. Skills: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - analyze and evaluate the political theories of Rancière, Badiou and Žižek discussed throughout the unit in a written assignment; - critique or defend their political visions through a written assignment; - creatively synthesize their various political positions into a unified theory in a written assignment; - apply their positions to situations in the contemporary world in a written assignment. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: Main Texts: - Badiou, A. A New Dawn for Politics (U.K.: Polity Press: 2022). - Rancière, J. Dissensus: On Politics and Aesthetics (U.K.: Bloosmbury Press: 2015). - Žižek S. Like a Thief in Broad Daylight: Power in the Era of Post-Human Capitalism (U.K.: Seven Stories Press: 2019). Supplementary Readings: - Feltham, O. Badiou: Live Theory (U.K.: Continuum: 2008). - Butler, R. Žižek: Live Theory (U.K.: Continuum: 2005). - Tanke, J. T. An Introduction to Jacques Rancière (U.K.:Bloosmbury 2011). |
|||||||||
| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture and Tutorial | |||||||||
| METHOD OF ASSESSMENT |
|
|||||||||
| LECTURER/S | ||||||||||
|
The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2023/4. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
||||||||||