School of Law, HILSR

Jamia Hamdard, New Delhi

Course Syllabus

Course Overview

Course Title: Political Science- I

Course Code: BALLB- 102

Semester: First

Credits: 4

Medium of Instruction/Assessment: English

Objectives of the Course:

Politics pervades our everyday life. We consciously or unconsciously are involved in political
activities in our day to day lives. The study of political sciences enables us to answer plethora
of questions that confront not only our daily lives but also the framing and implementation of
laws. Hence the aim of this course is to make the students understand the nature of politics as
a separate academic discipline as well as its intimate connection with law. Accordingly the
syllabus of this paper has been framed with the objective to familiarize students both with the
theoretical and legal contours of the discipline of political science. Attempts in this direction
will be undertaken by focusing on contemporary legal and political debates and issues mainly
surrounding the questions of justice, liberty, equality and rights.

Learning Outcome

It is expected that after the successful completion of this course the students will be able to
articulate their own positions in a clear, coherent and logical manner on various legal and
moral issues.

Assessment and Evaluation

The course has a weightage of 100 marks. 75% of marks will be covered by the End Semester
Examination; while 25% will account for the internal assessment to be conducted by the
instructor.

(A) End Semester Examination: There shall be ten questions in the Question paper
with two from each unit. Students shall have to answer five questions, selecting one
from each unit.
 (B) Internal Assessment: The students will be assessed and evaluated by the teacher
during the entire semester at regular intervals. Such evaluation may take such forms
as written test, term paper, presentation etc. Attendance of students in the class may
also be taken into account while making such evaluation.

Course Outline

The course is based on five units.

Contents of the Syllabus

Unit 1- Approaches to the Study of Politics

Nature of Politics: Different Views and Perspectives

Traditional Approaches: Philosophical, Historical, Legal and Institutional

Contemporary Approaches: Behaviouralism and Post-Behaviouralism, Systems Analysis,

Structural Functionalism

Unit 2- Major Political Ideologies

Liberalism: Major Trends

Socialism and Marxism

Feminism

Unit 3- Key Concepts of Political Theory

Sovereignty: Monist and Pluralist Views

Liberty: Positive and Negative

Justice and Equality: Utilitarian view, John Rawls, Robert Nozick and Amartya Sen

Unit 4- Political Sociology

The Concept of Power: Elitist and Pluralist Theories

Civil Society: Hegel and Gramsci

Political Culture and Political Socialization

Political Development and Political Modernization

Unit 5- Contemporary Political Debates and Theories: An Overview

Liberalism vs. Communitarianism Debate

Multiculturalism

Post-Modernism
Recommended Readings:

Adam Swift, Political Philosophy: A Beginners Guide for Student’s and Politicians
(Cambridge: Polity Press)
Amal Kumar Mukhopadhyay, Western Political Thought: From Plato to Marx (Calcutta:
K.P. Bagchi)
Andrew Heywood, Political Ideologies: An Introduction (London: Palgrave Macmillan)
Andrew Heywood, Politics (London: Palgrave Macmillan)
Andrew Heywood, Political Theory (London: Palgrave Macmillan)

Andrew Vincent, The Nature of Political Theory (New York: Oxford University Press)
Antonio Gramsci, Quintin Hoare and Geoffrey Nowell-Smith. Selections from the Prison
Notebooks of Antonio Gramsci (New York: International Publishers)
Ben Fine and Alfredo Saad- Filho, Marx’s Capital (London: Pluto)

C.E.M Joad, Introduction to Modern Political Theory (Oxford: Clarendon Press)

Clyde W. Barrow, Critical Theories of the State Marxist, Neo-Marxist, Post-Marxist

(Madison: The University of Wisconsin Press)
Chandran Kukathas and Philip Pettit, Rawls: A Theory of Justice and its Critics (Stanford:
Stanford University Press)
Colin Hay, Michael Lister and David Marsh (eds.), The State: Theories and Issues (New
York: Palgrave Macmillan).

David Held, Political Theory and the Modern State (Cambridge: Polity Press)
David Marsh and Gerry Stoker, Theory and Methods in Political Science (Macmillan:
London)
David McLellan, The Thought of Karl Marx (London: Macmillan)

David McLellan, Marx before Marxism (London: Macmillan)

David McLellan, Marxism after Marx (London: Macmillan)
David McLellan, Karl Marx: His Life and Thought (London: Macmillan)
Eddy Asirvatham and K.K Mishra, Political Theory (New Delhi: S. Chand)
Gabriel A. Almond and G.B. Powell, Comparative Politics Today: A World View (New
Delhi: Pearson Education)
Gerard Delanty and Stephen P. Turner (eds.), Routledge International Handbook of
Contemporary Social and Political Theory (London: Routledge)
George Ritzer, Sociological Theory (New York: McGraw-Hill)
G.H. Sabine and T.L. Thorson, A History of Political Theory (New Delhi: Oxford & IBH
Publishing Co.)

Jonathan Wolff, An Introduction to Political Philosophy (London: Routledge)

John Gray, Liberalism (Minnesota: University of Minnesota Press)
John Gray, Post Liberalism (London: Routledge)
John Hoffman and Paul Graham, Introduction to Political Theory (London: Routledge)
John S .Dryzek, Bonnie Honig and Anne Phillips (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Political
Theory (Oxford: Oxford University Press)
Kate Nash and Alan Scott, The Blackwell Companion to Political Sociology (Oxford:
Blackwell)

Margaret Walters, Feminism: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford: Oxford University Press)
Norman P. Barry, Introduction to Modern Political Theory (Macmillan: London)
O.P. Gauba, An Introduction to Political Theory (Macmillan: Delhi)
Peter Singer, Hegel: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford: Oxford University Press)
Rajeev Bhargava and Ashok Acharya (eds.), Political Theory: An Introduction (Noida:
Pearson).

Rakhahari Chatterjee, Introduction to Comparative Political Analysis (Kolkata: Sarat Book

House)
Richard Bellamy and Andrew Mason (eds.), Political Concepts (Manchester: Manchester
University Press)
Robert E. Goodin, Philip Pettit and Thomas Pogge (eds.), A Companion to Contemporary
Political Philosophy (Oxford: Blackwell)

Shlomo Avineri, Karl Marx: Social and Political Thought (New Delhi: S. Chand)

S.N. Ray, Modern Comparative Politics – Approaches, Methods and Issues (New Delhi:
PHI)

S.P. Verma, Modern Political Theory (Vikas: New Delhi)

Sushila Ramaswamy, Political Theory: Ideas and Concepts (New Delhi: Macmillan India)

Terence Ball and Richard Bellamy (eds.), The Cambridge History of Twentieth Century
Political Thought (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press).

Tom Bottomore, Political Sociology (New Delhi: B. I. Pub.)

Will Kymlicka, Contemporary Political Philosophy (New Delhi: Oxford University Press)