Philosophy, Politics and the Middle East (V7091E)

15 credits, Level 4

Spring teaching

Contemporary Middle Eastern politics raises many intricate philosophical questions. The aim of this course is to address some of them. Topics to be studied include:

• jihad and just war theory
• liberalism vs Islam
• democracy and freedom of speech
• freedom of belief
• what, if anything, is wrong with extremist beliefs?
• what, if anything, is wrong with conspiracy theories?
• democracy and religion
• patriotism and personal identity
• the ethics of immigration.

Contact hours and workload

This module is approximately 150 hours of work. This breaks down into about 22 hours of contact time and about 128 hours of independent study. The University may make minor variations to the contact hours for operational reasons, including timetabling requirements.

We regularly review our modules to incorporate student feedback, staff expertise, as well as the latest research and teaching methodology. We’re planning to run these modules in the academic year 2026/27. However, there may be changes to these modules in response to feedback, staff availability, student demand or updates to our curriculum.

We’ll make sure to let you know of any material changes to modules at the earliest opportunity.