Course

Society and the Individual

Faculty
Humanities & Social Sciences
Department
Philosophy
Course code
PHIL 1151
Credits
3.00
Semester length
15 weeks
Max class size
35
Method(s) of instruction
Lecture
Seminar
Course designation
Certificate in Global Competency
Industry designation
None
Typically offered
To be determined

Overview

Course description
This course introduces students to prominent figures and problems in social and political philosophy. The course will cover topics such as: the relationship between self and society, political obligation and liberty, human nature and social construction, social contract theories, Marxism and anarchism, feminism, global perspectives, and Indigenous political thought. Students will be encouraged to develop their own thinking about the issues at stake. This course is recommended to students who want an introduction to fundamental philosophical ideas as part of their education. It will also serve for a foundation for further work in Philosophy.
Course content

Sample Topics in the course may include:

  1. the foundations and limits of political authority;
  2. concepts and critiques of human nature; 
  3. self and society, the citizen and the State; 
  4. institutional power and oppression and social contract theories and critiques;
  5. anti-racist and feminist critiques of social contract;
  6. intersectionality;
  7. disability studies;
  8. Indigenous political thought.

Authors to be examined in the course may include:

Plato, Aristotle, Machiavelli, Rousseau, Hobbes, Locke, Wollstonecraft, Hume, Mill, Marx, Engels, Freud, Kant, Nietzsche, Goldman, Sartre, Beauvoir, Arendt, Marcuse, Pateman, Hooks, Crenshaw, Tremain, Simpson, Coulthard, and Manuel.

     

 

 

Learning activities

The course will employ a variety of instructional methods to accomplish its objectives, including some of the following:

a combination of lecture and seminar; group discussions, student presentations, and projects; use of audio-visual material; analysis of case studies. 

Means of assessment

Evaluation will be based on course objectives and will be carried out in accordance with the Douglas College Evaluation Policy. The instructor will provide a written course outline with specific criteria during the first week of classes.

Assessment will be any combination of the following which equals 100%, with no single evaluation exceeding 40%:

Tests, quizzes and exams             20% - 60%
Essays, long written assignments, class presentations             20% - 60%
Instructor’s general evaluation (e.g., participation and attendance)              0% - 20%

 

 

 

 

Learning outcomes

At the conclusion of the course, successful students will be able to:

  1. Identify and explain historical and contemporary problems of political and social thought;
  2. Develop their own reasoning and reflection on some of the philosophical problems covered in the course;
  3. Contrast and compare the views of various authors and/or schools of thought;
  4. Articulate and discuss critiques of social and political perspectives covered in the course.

 

Textbook materials

Texts will be updated periodically.  Required readings will normally include primary sources in translation. Typical examples of textbooks are:

Biletzki, Anat. (2019). Philosophy of Human Rights: A Systematic Introduction, 1st Edition. Routeledge.

Cahn, Stephen. (2015). Political Philosophy: The Essential Texts, 3rd Edition. OUP.

Christman, John. (2017). Social and Political Philosophy: A Contemporary Introduction, 2nd Edition, Routledge.

Shabani, Omid Payrow & Deveaux, Monique. (2014).  Introduction to Social and Political Philosophy: Texts and Cases. OUP.

Wolff, Jonathan. (2016).  An Introduction to Political Philosophy, 3rd Edition. OUP.

Kimlicka, Will. (2001). Contemporary Political Philosophy: An Introduction. OUP.

 

 

Requisites

Prerequisites

NONE

(Recommended: PHIL 1101, 1102 or 1103)

 

Corequisites

No corequisite courses.

Equivalencies

No equivalent courses.

Course Guidelines

Course Guidelines for previous years are viewable by selecting the version desired. If you took this course and do not see a listing for the starting semester / year of the course, consider the previous version as the applicable version.

(Current)

Course Transfers

These are for current course guidelines only. For a full list of archived courses please see https://www.bctransferguide.ca

Institution Transfer details for PHIL 1151
Camosun College (CAMO) DOUG PHIL 1151 (3) & DOUG PHIL 1152 (3) = CAMO PHIL 100 (3) & CAMO PHIL 102 (3)
Capilano University (CAPU) CAPU PHIL 201 (3)
Kwantlen Polytechnic University (KPU) KPU PHIL 1110 (3)
Langara College (LANG) LANG PHIL 2226 (3)
Okanagan College (OC) OC PHIL 1XX (3)
Simon Fraser University (SFU) SFU POL 210 (3)
Thompson Rivers University (TRU) TRU PHIL 1XXX (3)
Trinity Western University (TWU) TWU PHIL 1XX (3)
University of British Columbia - Okanagan (UBCO) DOUG PHIL 1103 (3) & DOUG PHIL 1151 (3) = UBCO PHIL_O 111 (3) & UBCO PHIL_O 121 (3)
University of British Columbia - Okanagan (UBCO) DOUG PHIL 1151 (3) & DOUG PHIL 1152 (3) = UBCO PHIL_O 111 (3) & UBCO PHIL_O 121 (3)
University of British Columbia - Vancouver (UBCV) Any 2 of DOUG PHIL 1102 (3) or DOUG PHIL 1103 (3) or DOUG PHIL 1151 (3) or DOUG PHIL 1152 (3) or DOUG PHIL 2250 (3) or DOUG PHIL 3300 (3) = UBCV PHIL_V 100 (6)
University of Northern BC (UNBC) UNBC PHIL 1XX (3)
University of the Fraser Valley (UFV) UFV PHIL 110 (3)
University of Victoria (UVIC) UVIC PHIL 1XX (1.5)
University of Victoria (UVIC) DOUG PHIL 1151 (3) & DOUG PHIL 1152 (3) = UVIC PHIL 100 (3)
Vancouver Island University (VIU) VIU PHIL 231 (3)

Course Offerings

Winter 2025