POL210 Politics, Identity and the Self (8)

This interdisciplinary subject considers significant social, political, and philosophical questions about the self. The subject first analyses new political identities and their representations. Turning to sociology, the subject analyses public forms of identification such as race, nation, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, class, and culture in organising people's experience of everyday life and politics. Then, drawing on contemporary analytic metaphysics, the subject considers philosophical issues concerning the very nature of the self, including self-deception, the persistence of the self through time, and the relationship between selfhood and moral agency. The subject will conclude with a reflection on contrasting multi-disciplinary perspectives on the self.

Availability

Session 2 (60)
Online
Bathurst Campus

Continuing students should consult the SAL for current offering details: POL210. Where differences exist between the Handbook and the SAL, the SAL should be taken as containing the correct subject offering details.

Subject Information

Grading System

HD/FL

Duration

One session

School

School of Social Work and Arts

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this subject, students should:
  • be able to demonstrate an understanding of the role of identity within political cultures, both Australian and international;
  • be able to demonstrate an understanding of the limits of the category 'identity' and an appreciation of post-identity politics;
  • be able to critically examine the rise of identity politics and the assumed demise of traditional politics and their continuing interrelationships;
  • be able to critically evaluate contemporary philosophical theories about the nature of the self;
  • be able to investigate philosophical puzzles about the self, including how the self persists through time, and how self-deception is possible; and
  • be able to critically evaluate the role of the self in moral agency and interpersonal relations.

Syllabus

This subject will cover the following topics:
  • Part 1: Political and social issues about the self. We will cover topics such as:
  • How selves are shaped by social and cultural power structures.
  • How to understand national, ethnic, and cultural identities: we will focus in particular on whether Australia has national identity.
  • How Indigenous peoples use nationhood to respond to colonialism focussing on the relation between Indigenous constructions of nationhood and Indigenous conceptions of the self.
  • The inter-relations between self and society.
  • Selfhood and the collapse of colonialism: how selves are impacted by the rise of neo-colonialism, feminism, postmodernism, and the re-emergence of identity politics.
  • How norms of gender, sexuality, and race shape our selves: we will evaluate our ability to resist these norms, exploring implications for the fight against sexist and racist power structures.
  • Part 2: Philosophical issues about the self. We will cover topics such as:
  • The relation between one's self and one's body.
  • What we can know about ourselves.
  • The nature and possibility of self-deception.
  • The conditions required for someone to be the same person from one moment to the next.
  • Whether friends or lovers really 'merge' selves.
  • Whether a sense of self is necessary for moral agency.
  • The subject will conclude with a reflection on how the contrasting perspectives of politics, sociology, and philosophy each contribute to the understanding and making the self.

The information contained in the CSU Handbook was accurate at the date of publication: May 2022. The University reserves the right to vary the information at any time without notice.

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