Government and Politics

Course summary

Politics is about how people in societies make decisions, and the power relations between them. It is about how individuals organise themselves in the context of others. In the department, we put the voice of the student at the centre of our learning: our priorities are discussion and debate; the free exchange of views; and the greatest possible understanding of and sensitivity to the world around us. We want students who, in Aristotle’s terms, can entertain a thought without accepting it. Our growth in wisdom lesson-by-lesson is underpinned by the notion that good ideas will overcome bad, and, through our learning and dialogue, we will be renewed as people.