Government & Politics

In this course, Professor Jeremy Jennings (King’s College, London) provides an overview of Liberalism from its origins to the present day. In the first module, we provide a broad introduction to liberalism as a political philosophy, focusing in ...

In this course, Dr Mark Garnett (University of Lancaster) introduces the core political idea of conservatism. We begin in the first module by thinking about the origins of conservatism in Edmund Burke’s reaction to the French Revolution. In the...

In this course, Professor Jeremy Jennings (King’s College London) thinks about the history of socialism from its origins to the present day. We begin in the first module with the French Revolution which set the European precedent for political...

In this course, Professor Jeremy Jennings (King’s College, London) explores the history of conservatism as a political philosophy, from its beginnings in the 18th century to election of Boris Johnson as Prime Minister in December 2019. In the two...

In this course, Dr Matt Dawson (Glasgow University) explores the political ideas of Anthony Giddens. We begin with some context on the life and works of Anthony Giddens, before moving on in the second lecture to explore the history of socialism...

This course offers an in-depth exploration of the historical background to the US Constitution, up to and including the Constitutional Convention of 1787. In the first lecture, we consider the US in 1783, at the end of the War of Independence,...

In this course, Dr Simon Griffiths (Goldsmiths, University of London) discuss the ideolog(ies) of the contemporary Conservative party in the UK. We begin in the first lecture by exploring the complex relationship between party and ideology, before...

This course explores the political ideas of Mary Wollstonecraft and may be particularly useful for those studying the Core Political Ideas component of the AQA and Edexcel Government and Politics A Level specifications. While she is best known as...

In this course, Dr Neil Cocks (University of Reading) explores the life, works, and core ideas of Ayn Rand. In the first module, we are introduced to the controversial figure of Ayn Rand and consider her influence on contemporary political life....

In this course, Professor Jeffrey Collins (Queen’s University) explores the political theory of Thomas Hobbes, primarily through his best-known work Leviathan. In the first module, we are introduced to Hobbes’s life and times, and briefly place...

This course picks up just after the proposal of a new US Constitution by the Constitutional Convention held in Philadelphia during the summer of 1787. We begin in the first lecture by exploring the process of state ratification and its...

This course explores the political philosophy of John Locke (1632-1704), oriented around the Liberalism section of the Government and Politics A-Level specification. We begin in the first module by outlining his life and works, before moving on to...

This course explores the political philosophy of John Rawls (1921-2002). We begin with some biographical information on Rawls, highlighting his importance and influence. This is encapsulated by Rawls’s conservative contemporary Robert Nozick’s...

In this course, Dr Emily Jones (University of Manchester) explores the political ideas of Edmund Burke. In the first module, we offer some introductory context for the life and works of Edmund Burke, before in the second module digging deeper into...