Saint-Louis University - Bruxelles
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SPOL1214 - Political Doctrines



Credits : 3

Lecturer :
Mode of delivery :
Face-to-face , first term, 30 hours of theory.

Timetable :
First term
Thursday from 09:00 to 11:00 at 43 Botanique 4

Language of instruction :
French

Learning outcomes :
The course adopts a historical perspective and involves the analysis of political ideas. It aims to provide students with a non-exhaustive overview of what we commonly understand as political “doctrines”  and “ideologies”.

Through lectures and recommended readings, the course aims to bring the student to improve his/her note taking, to complete it with excerpts of reference, to develop his/her summarisation capabilities and his/her capacity to link the information and to go into certain issues in depth by reading a book updating a topic of the course.

Prerequisites :
For the Bachelor in History :

For the Bachelor in Information and Communication :

For the Bachelor in Modern Languages and Letters: German, Dutch and English :

For the Bachelor in Philosophy :

For the Bachelor in Economics and Management :

For the Bachelor in Political Sciences: General :

For the Bachelor in Sociology and Anthropology :


Co-requisites :
None

Course contents :
It first identifies the main foundations of modern and contemporary thought since the Antiquity and the invention of the Polis, then moves on to present the main “doctrines of power” up to the 19th century and the critique of industrial society, as well as theories of the state.
It aims to paint a picture of the major schools of thought and legitimating discourses for the political regimes or movements that have marked the 20th century (communism, fascism, and neoliberalism, among others), with a focus on the linkages or, alternatively, breaks with classical doctrines.

The course seeks to provide a clear presentation of the main classical and contemporary political thinkers and their ideas, and, at the same time, identify the links between the conceptual history and the political and social history.

General Introduction: course aims and the perspective adopted

Part 1  : Foundations

1/ Classical philosophy
2/ Comparing & contrasting the Classical and the Modern
3/ Links between politics and religion

Part 2  : the classic political doctrines

1/ Theories of the State and the absolute sovereignty (Machiavel, Bodin and Hobbes)
2/ Locke and the origins of liberalism (Locke)
3/ Rousseau and the popular sovereignty
4/ Reactionary and conservative thought (Burke and de Maistre)
5/ Marx and critiques of 19th century industrial society

Part 3  : the main political ideologies of the 20th century

1/ Socialism and communism
2/ Fascism and national-socialism
3/ Democracy and totalitarianism (Aron et Arendt)
4/ Neoliberalism and the ideology of the end of ideologies (since Hayek)

Conclusion  : the significant missing or the limits of the course


Planned learning activities and teaching methods :
Lecture with complementary readings.

Assessment methods and criteria :
Written examination.

Recommended or required reading :
Pierre Ansart, Les idéologies politiques, Paris, Presses Universitaires de France, 1974.
François Châtelet, Olivier Duhamel et Évelyne Pisier, Dictionnaire des œuvres politiques, Paris, Presses Universitaires de France, 1995 (3ème éd.).
Jean-Marc Ferry et Justine Lacroix, La pensée politique contemporaine, Bruxelles, Bruylant, 2000.
Georges Lescuyer, Histoire des idées politiques, Paris, Dalloz, 2001 (14ème éd.).
Olivier Nay, Histoire des idées politiques, Paris, Dalloz/Armand Colin, 2004.
Olivier Nay, Johann Michel et Antoine Roger, Dictionnaire de la pensée politique, Paris, Armand Colin, 2005.
Pascal Ory (dir.), Nouvelle histoire des idées politiques, Paris, Fayard, coll. «  Pluriel  », 2010.
Lyman T. Sargent, Les idéologies politiques contemporaines, trad., Paris, Economica, 1987.

This selection, which essentially includes readers and analytical publications, will be added to as the course progresses.


Other information :
Detailed course plans and summaries (slides) are made available via the course website as the course progresses. Suggestions for further reading.