Information Package / Course Catalogue
Contemporary Political Theories and Debates
Course Code: FLSF657
Course Type: Area Elective
Couse Group: Third Cycle (Doctorate Degree)
Education Language: Turkish
Work Placement: N/A
Theory: 3
Prt.: 0
Credit: 3
Lab: 0
ECTS: 5
Objectives of the Course

To be able to comprehend the basic concepts and problems of political philosophy as a philosophical discipline from a historical perspective.

Course Content

The main problems of political philosophy, social and political organization models, and forms of philosophical inquiry about the state will be discussed. Political administrations will be handled periodically, starting from the antiquity, in the form of the Middle Ages, the modern age, the new age and the modern age; contemporary political administrations and understandings will be discussed in detail.

Name of Lecturer(s)
Prof. Onur KARTAL
Learning Outcomes
1.To grasp the distinction between classical and modern political philosophies.
2.To reveal the distinction between politics, the political and political philosophy.
3.To comprehend the historical transformation of the basic concepts and problems of political philosophy.
4.To reveal the distinction between social problem and political problem.
5.To have an idea about contemporary democracy.
Recommended or Required Reading
1.Platon, Devlet, çev. S. Eyüboğlu, A. Erhat, İstanbul: Remzi Kitabevi, 1996
2.Aristoteles, Politika, çev. Mete Tunçay, İstanbul: Remzi Kitabevi
3.Carl Schmitt, Siyasal Kavramı
4.Machiavelli, Prens
5.Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan, çev. Semih Lim, İstanbul: YKY
Weekly Detailed Course Contents
Week 1 - Theoretical
What is political philosophy?
Week 2 - Theoretical
Contemporary debates on political philosophy.
Week 3 - Theoretical
Basic concepts of classical political philosophy.
Week 4 - Theoretical
Plato's political philosophy.
Week 5 - Theoretical
Aristotle's political philosophy.
Week 6 - Theoretical
The Stoa: The Birth of the Social.
Week 7 - Theoretical
Thomas Hobbes and Machiavelli
Week 8 - Intermediate Exam
Mid-term Exam
Week 9 - Theoretical
Modern contract understanding.
Week 10 - Theoretical
Contract in Hobbes, Locke, and Spinoza.
Week 11 - Theoretical
Contract in Hobbes, Locke, and Spinoza.
Week 12 - Theoretical
Rousseau and Kant: the rebirth of the political question.
Week 13 - Theoretical
Policy conceptualizations in contemporary philosophy.
Week 14 - Theoretical
Contemporary political philosophy and the public sphere.
Week 15 - Theoretical
Controversial conceptions of democracy.
Assessment Methods and Criteria
Type of AssessmentCountPercent
Midterm Examination1%40
Final Examination1%60
Workload Calculation
ActivitiesCountPreparationTimeTotal Work Load (hours)
Lecture - Theory140342
Reading130226
Midterm Examination120121
Final Examination130131
TOTAL WORKLOAD (hours)120
Contribution of Learning Outcomes to Programme Outcomes
PÇ-1
PÇ-2
PÇ-3
PÇ-4
PÇ-5
OÇ-1
3
OÇ-2
3
OÇ-3
2
OÇ-4
2
OÇ-5
2
Adnan Menderes University - Information Package / Course Catalogue
2026