Universität Wien

210116 SE M3: Political Theories and Research on Theory (2022S)

Modern Revolutionary Tradition: Hopes, Disappointments and Unfulfilled Promises

9.00 ECTS (2.00 SWS), SPL 21 - Politikwissenschaft
Continuous assessment of course work

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Registration/Deregistration

Note: The time of your registration within the registration period has no effect on the allocation of places (no first come, first served).

Details

max. 50 participants
Language: English

Lecturers

Classes (iCal) - next class is marked with N

Mondays, from 07.03.2022 to 27.06.2022 11.30-13.00. The course will start digitally and then switch to an in-person format, once that is deemed possible (depending on the number of students and the University regulations).

  • Monday 07.03. 11:30 - 13:00 Hörsaal 2 (H2), NIG 2.Stock
  • Monday 21.03. 11:30 - 13:00 Hörsaal 2 (H2), NIG 2.Stock
  • Monday 28.03. 11:30 - 13:00 Hörsaal 2 (H2), NIG 2.Stock
  • Monday 04.04. 11:30 - 13:00 Hörsaal 2 (H2), NIG 2.Stock
  • Monday 25.04. 11:30 - 13:00 Hörsaal 2 (H2), NIG 2.Stock
  • Monday 02.05. 11:30 - 13:00 Hörsaal 2 (H2), NIG 2.Stock
  • Monday 09.05. 11:30 - 13:00 Hörsaal 2 (H2), NIG 2.Stock
  • Monday 16.05. 11:30 - 13:00 Hörsaal 2 (H2), NIG 2.Stock
  • Monday 23.05. 11:30 - 13:00 Hörsaal 2 (H2), NIG 2.Stock
  • Monday 30.05. 11:30 - 13:00 Hörsaal 2 (H2), NIG 2.Stock
  • Thursday 09.06. 16:45 - 18:15 Hörsaal 32 Hauptgebäude, 1.Stock, Stiege 9
  • Monday 13.06. 11:30 - 13:00 Hörsaal 2 (H2), NIG 2.Stock
  • Monday 20.06. 11:30 - 13:00 Hörsaal 2 (H2), NIG 2.Stock
  • Monday 27.06. 11:30 - 13:00 Hörsaal 2 (H2), NIG 2.Stock

Information

Aims, contents and method of the course

Have modern revolutionary aspirations reached an impasse? The collapse of the Berlin Wall and the dissolution of the Soviet Union have called into question the twentieth-century narratives of universal human emancipation, the inevitable progress in history and the possibility of total revolution. This course employs the lens of political theory to critically examine the legacies of the modern revolutionary tradition. The examples we will engage with include the Haitian Revolution, the Russian Revolution, the Spanish Civil War, the Algerian independence struggle, the complex transition in South Africa, and the Arab Spring in Egypt. We will interrogate the hopes, disappointments and unfulfilled promises engendered by past revolutionary projects, and discuss how they speak to the revolutionary aspirations in the present. The course is interdisciplinary in scope, drawing on philosophical texts, political, sociological, and historical writings, as well as relevant examples from literature.

Teaching methods
- Weekly 90 minutes’ seminar sessions
The seminars will inspire students to critically engage with the course material and recognize the practical import of different theoretical arguments. The seminars will also provide an opportunity to develop the skills of communication, argumentation, and collegial debate.

Assessment and permitted materials

Assessment

Seminar attendance and participation: 20%
The students are expected to read the required readings prior to seminars, come prepared with relevant questions and engage in debate over theoretical arguments. Maximum three absences are permitted.

Presentation on one of the weeks’ topics: 20%
Each student will be expected to prepare a short presentation on one of the weeks’ topics. The presentation should cover the historical context of the revolution discussed in the given week. The presentation should be no more than 10 minutes long. The students will have to submit an outline of the presentation two days before the session.

Outline for the final seminar paper: 20%
Students will be expected to submit a 1-page outline of their final seminar papers, which should include their research question, their argument, and the structure of the paper.

Final seminar paper: 40%
In their final seminar paper, students will select a topic and a research question of their own choice pertaining to the topics explored in the course. The goal is to give students the opportunity to explore and critically evaluate issues/questions that are of particular interest to them. Students will be expected to engage closely with the relevant texts, while supporting their discussion meaningfully with debates in secondary literature. The seminar paper should be approximately 5000 words long.

Minimum requirements and assessment criteria

The minimum requirements are 1) submission of a seminar paper; 2) submission of the seminar paper outline; 3) short presentation on one of the weeks’ topics; and 4) weekly attendance and active participation in the seminars (max. three absences are permitted).

Examination topics

On completion of this course, the students will be able to:
- Grasp the hopes, disappointments and unfulfilled promises engendered by past revolutionary projects, and interrogate how they speak to the revolutionary aspirations in the present;
- Demonstrate a close familiarity with a variety of texts, thinkers and theoretical positions on the revolutionary traditions and projects explored in the course;
- Critically evaluate the theoretical assumptions underpinning different arguments on the themes covered in the course;
- Use the acquired theoretical tools to analyse past and present examples of revolution;
- Command a range of research and transferable skills necessary to write a seminar paper and participate in class discussions.

Reading list

- Arendt, Hannah. 2006. On Revolution. London: Penguin.
- Djebar, Assia. 1999. Women of Algiers in Their Apartment. University of Virginia Press.
- Fanon, Frantz. 1963. The Wretched of the Earth. New York: Grove Press.
- Frantz Fanon. 1965. A Dying Colonialism. New York: Grove Press.
- Govender, Pregs. 2007. Love and Courage. Auckland Park: Jacana Media.
- Hafez, Sherine. 2019. Women of the Midan: The Untold Stories of Egypt’s Revolutionaries, Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
- James, C. L. R. 2001. The Black Jacobins. London: Penguin.
- Luxemburg, Rosa. 2004. The Rosa Luxemburg Reader, edited by Peter Hudis and Kevin B. Anderson, 281–310. New York: Monthly Review Press.
- Orwell, George. 2000. Homage to Catalonia. New York: Penguin Books.
- Scott, David. 2004. Conscripts of Modernity: The Tragedy of Colonial Enlightenment. Durham: Duke University Press.

Association in the course directory

Last modified: Th 03.03.2022 16:08