SVKM’s Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies

Name of School - Kirit P. Mehta School of Law

Program: B.A., LL.B. (Hons.) 8101 Semester: II
Module: Western Political Thought Module Code:
Teaching Scheme Evaluation Scheme
Lecture Practical Tutorial Term End
(Hours (Hours (Hours Internal Continuous Examinations (TEE)
Credit Assessment (ICA)
per per per week) (Marks - 50
(Marks - 50)
week) week) in Question Paper)
3 0 1 3 Marks Scaled to 50 Marks Scaled to 50
Pre-requisite: N.A.
Introduction: Governance and political process need to be guided and evaluated by
certain rational principles that could qualify the test of time and space. Political Science is a
stream of academics that incorporates the understanding of ‘what is’ with ‘what ought to be’
both. This course aims to orient learners about the thoughts of important thinkers that
shaped and keep on shaping the understanding of political processes in modern world.
Western and Indian political thought help learner to have the skillset to analyze the political
undercurrents of contemporary times and reflect over it, and also suggest the
alternatives with the help of normative and rational strength of political thought.
Learning Objectives: Students are expected to achieve the following learning objectives;
1- To understand the nuances of Western Political Thought and its relevance.
2- To generate the analytical skillset to apply the understanding of political thought in the real-
life contexts.
3- To reflect over the political contexts that would require the understanding of political
thought.
Course Learning Outcomes (CLOs): After attending this course, students would;
1: Demonstrate the ability to understand the various facets of political thought (Western and
Indian) and its influence on the various nuances of Western Political Thought. (PLOs 1b & 2b).
2: Application of the understanding of Western Political Thought to the real life
circumstances. (PLOs 2b & 4a).
3: Apply the understanding of the subject in bringing about a research oriented new
knowledge of the dynamics of Western Political Thought in shaping the nature India and
the world. (PLOs 2a, 3a & 4b).

Detailed Syllabus: (Session Plan )

Module Description Duration
No.
1. Understanding Political Thought 3 Hrs.
Topic Details: What is Political Thought, Why should we study it
and
What is Hermeneutics?
Reading (Basic): Chapter- 1 of the Text Book I, pp. 3-9.

Reading (Advance): Booth, Ted. "Trapped by His Hermeneutic:

An Apocalyptic Defense of Slavery." Anglican and Episcopal History
87, no. 2 (2018): 159-79
 SVKM’s Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies
Name of School - Kirit P. Mehta School of Law
2. Nature of Greek Political Thought 3 Hrs.
Topic Details: Nature of Pre-Socratic Greek Political Thought,
Significance of Polis, Ethics as the Foundation of Politics, Greek
Theory of Knowledge, Sophist & Stoics.
Reading (Basic): Chapter 3 of the Text Book-I, pp. 35-41.
Reading (Advanced): Holub Grzegorz. “The Philosopher as the
Therapist: A Lesson from the Past.” Roczniki Filozoficzne / Annales De
Philosophie / Annals of Philosophy 68, no. 1 (2020): 33-48.
3. Plato’s Theory of Justice 3 Hrs.
Topic Details: Plato’s Theory of Justice and its critique.
Reading (Basic): Chapter 3 of the Text Book-I, pp. 41-46.
Reading (Advanced): Sansone, David. "Plato, Republic"
Mnemosyne,
Fourth Series, 69, no. 6 (2016): 1029-033.
4. Plato’s Theory of Ideal State and Philosopher King. 3 Hrs.
Topic Details: Plato’s Theory of Ideal State, Philosopher King and
its critique.
Reading (Basic): Chapter-3 of the Text Book-I, pp. 46-49.
Reading (Advanced): Cammack, Daniela. "Plato and Athenian
Justice"
History of Political Thought 36, no. 4 (2015): 611-42.
5. Plato’s Communism and Thoughts on Education 3 Hrs.
Topic Details: Plato’s theory of communism of wives and
property, role of education in shaping citizenship and its critique.
Reading (Basic): Chapter-3 of the Text Book, pp. 49-56.
Reading (Advanced): Guerrière, Daniel. "Social Justice versus
Western Justice." The Independent Review 24, no. 1 (2019): 25-36.
6. Aristotle on Politics and State 3 Hrs.
Topic Details: Aristotle’s political thought on politics and the role
of state and its critique.
Reading (Basic): Chapter 4 of the Text Book-I, pp. 57-60.
Reading (Advanced): Avramenko, Richard, and Michael Promisel.
"When Toleration Becomes a Vice: Naming Aristotle's Third Unnamed
Virtue." American Journal of Political Science 62, no. 4 (2018): 849-60.
7. Aristotle on Family, Private Property and Slavery & Aristotle’s Idea 3 Hrs.
of Citizenship
Topic Details: Aristotle’s political thought on family, private
property and slavery and his idea of citizenship.
Reading (Basic): Chapter- 4 of the Text Book-I, pp. 61-65.
Reading (Advanced): Turner, Christopher. "Trouble in Paradise:
Aristotle’s Ideal Polis & Political Exclusion." Revista Portuguesa De
Filosofia 76, no. 1 (2020): 209-36.
 SVKM’s Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies
Name of School - Kirit P. Mehta School of Law
8. Aristotle’s Theory of Justice and Classification of Constitutions 3 Hrs.
Topic Details: Aristotle’s theory of justice, his classification of
constitutions, idea of a stable constitution and its critique.
Reading (Basic): Chapter-4 of the Text Book-I, pp. 67-69, 71, 74-77.
Reading (Advanced): Guest, James W. "Justice as Lawfulness and
Equity as a Virtue in Aristotle's "Nicomachean Ethics"." The Review
ofPolitics 79, no. 1 (2017): 1-22.
9. Social Contract Theory: Hobbes 3 Hrs.
Topic Details: Understanding the Social Contract Theory
propounded by Thomas Hobbes.
Reading (Basic): Selective portions, relevant to the topics, from
Chapter-8, 9 &10 of the Text Book-I, pp. 125-140.
Reading (Advanced): Ketcham, Ralph. "The First Era of Modern
Thought, Ca. 1600–1750." In The Idea of Democracy in the Modern Era,
30-39. Lawrence, Kansas: University Press of Kansas, 2021.
10. Social Contract Theory: Locke and Rousseau 3 Hrs.
Topic Details: Understanding the Social Contract Theory
propounded by John Locke and J J Rousseau.
Reading (Basic): Selective portions, relevant to the topics, from
Chapter-8, 9 &10 of the Text Book-I, pp. 140-158.
Reading (Advanced): Ketcham, Ralph. "The First Era of Modern
Thought, Ca. 1600–1750." In The Idea of Democracy in the Modern Era,
30-39. Lawrence, Kansas: University Press of Kansas, 2021.
11. John Rawls: A Theory of Justice 3 Hrs.
Topic Details: A Critical understanding of John Rawls’ theory of
Justice, two principles of justice, Original Position and the Veil of
Ignorance.(Discussion/Guest Lecture on “An Idea of Justice” by
Amatya Sen)
Reading (Basic): Chapter-11 of the Text Book-I, pp. 159-166.
Reading (Advanced): Kogelmann, Brian. "Kant, Rawls, and the
Possibility of Autonomy." Social Theory and Practice 45, no. 4 (2019):
613-35.
12. Robert Nozick: Theory of Entitlement 3 Hrs.
Topic Details: A critical understanding of Robert Nozick’s theory
of entitlement.
Reading (Basic): Chapter-12 of the Text Book-I, pp. 167-171.
Reading (Advanced): Block, Walter E. "Crony Capitalism versus Pure
Capitalism." The Independent Review 23, no. 3 (2019): 379-91.
 SVKM’s Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies
Name of School - Kirit P. Mehta School of Law
13. Karl Marx, Marxism and Critique of Capitalist System 3 Hrs.
Topic Details: A critical analysis of Karl Marx’s political thought,
his critique of capitalism.
Reading (Basic): Chapter- 23 of the Text Book-I, pp. 258-264.
Reading (Advanced): Menon, Nivedita. "Marxism, Feminism and
Caste in Contemporary India” In Racism After Apartheid: Challenges
for Marxism and Anti-Racism, edited by Satgar Vishwas, 137-56.
Johannesburg: Wits University Press, 2019. &
Li, Jianping, and Zhenhuang Yang. "The Great Contribution of
Engels to Capital." World Review of Political Economy 11, no. 3 (2020):
286-336.
14. Key Concepts of Marxian Political Thought 3 Hrs.
Topic Details: Understanding Historical Determinism, Capitalism
Class Conflict and Revolution.
Reading (Basic): Chapter-24 of the Text Book-I, pp. 280-290.
Reading (Advanced): Bagchi, Amiya Kumar. "Marx, the Digital
Divide and Hegemony." Social Scientist 47, no. 5/6 (2019): 31-44. &
Fuchs, Christian. "Karl Marx in the Age of Big Data Capitalism." In
Digital Objects, Digital Subjects: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on
Capitalism, Labour and Politics in the Age of Big Data, edited by Fuchs
Christian and Chandler David, 53-72. London: University of
Westminster Press, 2019.
15. Marx and Dictatorship of the Proletariat, Dialectic Materialism, 3 Hrs.
Socialism and Classless Society.
Topic Details: Dictatorship of the Proletariat, Dialectic Materialism,
Socialism and Classless Society.
Reading (Basic): Chapter- 23 of the Text Book-I, pp. 265-275.
Reading (Advanced): Menon, Nivedita. "Marxism, Feminism and
Caste in Contemporary India” In Racism After Apartheid: Challenges
for Marxism and Anti-Racism, edited by Satgar Vishwas, 137-56.
Johannesburg: Wits University Press, 2019. &
Li, Jianping, and Zhenhuang Yang. "The Great Contribution of
Engels to Capital." World Review of Political Economy 11, no. 3 (2020):
286-336.
Total 45 Hrs.
Text Books: (available in Library)
I) Gauba, O.P. 2019. Western Political Thought. N. Delhi: Macmillan. First published in
2012.
Reference Readings:
II) Cohen, Mitchell (Ed.). 2018. Princeton Readings in Political Thought: Essential Texts from
Plato to Populism. Princeton and Oxford: Princeton University Press. Second Edition.
 SVKM’s Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies
Name of School - Kirit P. Mehta School of Law
 El-Ojeilli, Chamsy. 2019. The Utopian Constellation: Future-oriented Social and Political
Thought Today. Wellington: Palgrave-MacMillan.
 Forrester, Katrina & Sophie Smith (Eds.). 2018. Nature, Action and the Future: Political
Thought and the Environment. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
 Jha, Shefali. 2018. Western Political Thought: From the Ancient Greeks to Modern Times.
Chennai: Pearson.
Any other information:
1. The course shall contain 15 hours of in-class tutorials, as per tutorial guidelines.
2. Latest and updated case laws to be incorporated while teaching.

Details of Internal Continuous Assessment (ICA): 50 Marks

Description of ICA Marks

Test 1 20 Marks
Quiz 10 Marks
Group Discussion 10 Marks
Class Participation 10 Marks
Total Marks: 50 Marks

Signature Signature
(Prepared by Dr. Ravi Saxena) (Approved by Dean Dr. Durgambini Patel)