GOVT3664: Key Concepts in Political Thought

2026 unit information

What enables us as political animals to live together in political communities This unit examines key concepts underpinning our contemporary political life handed down to us through centuries of political thought; from the Athenian city-state to contemporary reflections on identity. Some of the concepts and problematiques explored may include: the state; sovereignty; the political; liberty; property; the citizen vs. the subject, reasons vs. the passions.

Unit details and rules

Managing faculty or University school:

Arts and Social Sciences

Details

Study level	Undergraduate
Academic unit	Government and International Relations
Credit points	6

Enrolment rules

Prerequisites: ?	12 credit points at 2000 level in International Relations or 12 credit points at 2000 level in Politics or 12 credit points at 2000 level in Philosophy or 12 credit points at 2000 level in History and Philosophy of Science or 12 credit points at 2000 or 3000-level from Government and International Relations
Corequisites: ?	None
Prohibitions: ?	GOVT2616
Assumed knowledge: ?	None

Learning outcomes

At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:

LO1. demonstrate an in-depth, philosophical and historical knowledge of the origins and evolution of our modern polities; thereby laying down solid, life-long foundations for further political analysis, whether undertaken as graduate studies, or for developing the practical, policy-making skills to navigate in and further build these polities
LO2. demonstrate a profound understanding and appreciation of the centrality of primary texts to the method of political theory, of the importance of argumentation to thought more broadly, by developing the skills to engage with these texts critically, autonomously, and from a deep understanding of their historical contexts
LO3. acquire the meta-language and conceptual tools that will enable them to continue to build autonomously upon their theoretical knowledge; notably by being able map their ways around the ontologies and epistemologies of political and IR theories they will encounter ulteriorly (on their own or in further studies)
LO4. engage with the course material autonomously and critically by formulate your own questions and to address them, by mobilising key concepts and a deep understanding of political theorists.

Unit availability

This section lists the session, attendance modes and locations the unit is available in. There is a unit outline for each of the unit availabilities, which gives you information about the unit including assessment details and a schedule of weekly activities.

The outline is published 2 weeks before the first day of teaching. You can look at previous outlines for a guide to the details of a unit.

There are no availabilities for this year.

Session	MoA ?	Location	Outline ?
Semester 2 2026	Normal day	Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney	Outline unavailable

There are no availabilities for previous years.

Find your current year census dates

Modes of attendance (MoA)

This refers to the Mode of attendance (MoA) for the unit as it appears when you’re selecting your units in Sydney Student. Find more information about modes of attendance on our website.