COURSE UNIT TITLE

: WESTERN INTELLECTUAL HISTORY

Description of Individual Course Units

Course Unit Code Course Unit Title Type Of Course D U L ECTS
IMT 4136 WESTERN INTELLECTUAL HISTORY ELECTIVE 3 0 0 4

Offered By

Department of Translation and Interpreting Studies (English)

Level of Course Unit

First Cycle Programmes (Bachelor's Degree)

Course Coordinator

ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR MEHMET BÜYÜKTUNCAY

Offered to

Department of Translation and Interpreting Studies (English)
English Translation and Interpreting

Course Objective

The aim of the course is to introduce the major representatives of political thought and to analyse the emergence of concepts that have shaped the modern political thought and the historical context from ancient Greek political philosophers to 21th century thinkers.

Learning Outcomes of the Course Unit

1   To explain basic concepts, assumptions and ideas of major political thinkers taught in class in order to demonstrate understanding of the central concepts in modern Western political thought.
2   To compare and contrast different approaches to political issues in order to identify the contested nature of political science concepts.
3   To identify the social, political and intellectual context in which each thinker lived in order to comprehend the interrelation of political concepts and everyday political life.
4   To explain the impact of certain thinkers on others and their intellectual legacy to detect their contribution to Western political thought.

Mode of Delivery

Face -to- Face

Prerequisites and Co-requisites

None

Recomended Optional Programme Components

None

Course Contents

Week Subject Description
1 Ancient Greek Philosophers I: Thales, Anaximender, Pyhtogoras, Heraclitos
2 Ancient Greek Philosophers II: Socrates-Plato-Aristotle
3 Roman Philosophers: Stoics, Lucretius, Seneca, Marcus Aurelius
4 Early Christianity: Plotinus (Neo-Platonism), Church Fathers, St. Augustine
5 Thomas Aquinas, Duns Scotus, William of Occam
6 The Renaissance, Reformation and Counter-Reformation: Erasmus
7 Enlightenment I: Bacon, Hobbes, Descartes, Spinoza
8 Enlightenment II: Leibniz, Locke, Hume
9 Enlightenment III: Montesquieu, Voltaire, Burke
10 Idealism: Kant, Fichte, Schelling
11 Kant, Hegel
12 Schopenhauer, Kierkegaard, Nietzsche
13 Feuerbach, Marx, Engels
14 Utilitarianism (Bentham, Mill)
15 Positivism (Comte)
16 Final

Recomended or Required Reading

Boucher, David and Paul Kelly (eds.) (2009) Political Thinkers: From Socrates to the Present, Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Planned Learning Activities and Teaching Methods

1. To take active participation in the classroom.
2. To prepare a presentation

Assessment Methods

SORTING NUMBER SHORT CODE LONG CODE FORMULA
1
2
3
4


Further Notes About Assessment Methods

1. Midterm
2. Presentation
3. Final

Assessment Criteria

The learner will:
1. write clear and coherent explanations of the philosophical systems of major thinkers taught in class.
2. compare and contrast different thinkers with regard to certain common criteria.
3. describe the social and political context in which a thinker lived and how this is reflected in his theory.
4. explain the influence of some thinkers on others and their importance for political philosophy and political science.
5. present and discuss selected learning material in an elaborate and well organized manner, individually or as a group.

Language of Instruction

English

Course Policies and Rules

1. Attendance is must 70 %
2. Students should read the assigned texts before coming to classroom

Contact Details for the Lecturer(s)

fulya.akgul@deu.edu.tr

Office Hours

To be announced.

Work Placement(s)

None

Workload Calculation

Activities Number Time (hours) Total Work Load (hours)
Lectures 15 3 45
Preparations before/after weekly lectures 15 4 60
Preparation for final exam 3 1 3
Final 1 2 2
TOTAL WORKLOAD (hours) 110

Contribution of Learning Outcomes to Programme Outcomes

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