KISII UNIVERSITY

SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SOCIAL SCIENCES

SOBE/SASS/SIST

CORSE TITLE: GOVERNANT AND SOCIETY

CODE: PHL 105
No of credits: 3
Lecturer’s Name: Eric Thomas Ogwora
Contact: [email protected]
Cellphone: 0721927421
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
The course will consist primarily in introducing student to the; definition and
concepts in philosophy and governance, the political techniques and theories
that have been used to deploy and limit public power so as to maintain
survival and enhance human survival.. Being a critical and normative study,
the course endeavors to offer students with intellectual discipline so as to set
standards of judgment and define constructive purposes for the use of public
power. The course will handle topics like; definition and concepts in
governance and society, aims of governments, historical perspective of
political thought, grounds of political obligation, individual right and state, the
basis of sovereignty, relation between executive and legislature, national and
sub national political system and its development, property and economic
rights, liberty and social justice among others,

PURPOSE:
The course aims at introducing students to the major concepts and historical
perspectives in philosophy and governance and show how helpful they are in
understanding ancient and modern political systems and governance.

OBJECTIVES
At the end of the course the student should be able to
 understand and competently discuss various theme in political
philosophy.
 show the relevance of political thought to governance and leadership.
 appreciate the role and contribution of political philosophy to the social
economic and political life of the society.
 Develop a mature and sound intellectual standards in political
judgments.

TEACHING METHODOLOGY
 virtual Lectures and demonstration
 eLearning through LMS
 Research paper by students,
 Virtual group discussion and presentation.
 Student short activities and exercises

WEEK 1 INTRODUCTION &

MEANING AND SCOPE OF GOVERNANCE AND SOCIETY

 Introduction
 Definition of terms
 Formal and material object of study
 Forms of societies
 Political thought as the basis of a society
 Distinction between political thought and political science

GOVERNMENT, STATE AND NATION

WEEK 2
 Introduction
 Government and its components
 State and nation
 Theories of state functions
 Forms of states-good and bad
 Principles of good governance

CHAPTER THREE: ANCIENT POLITICAL SYSTEMS

WEEK 3  Socrates
 Plato
 Aristotle
 Cicero and the stoics

WEEK 4 MEDIEVAL POLITICAL SYSTME – CHURCH AND STATE

 St Augustine
 John of Salisbury
 Thomas Aquinas
 Dante

WEEK 5 MODERN POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY

 Niccolo Machiavelli
 John Locke
 Thomas Hobbes
 Jean Jacques Rousseau
  Spinoza de Benedict
 Richard hooker’s

LAW, MORALITY AND SOCIETY

WEEK 6  Introduction
 Law and morality
 Distinction between Law and Morality
 Justice and the law
 Forms of justice and implication
 Theories of justice

CONTINOUS ASSESSMENT 1 LESSON

WEEK 7 CONSTITUTION AND ITS FUNDAMENTAL

 Definition of the constitution
 Historical development of constitution
 Types of constitution, Codified, Uncodified, Flexible and
Inflexible, Monarchical, Republican Constitutions,
Presidential and Parliamentary Constitutions, Federal and
Unitary Constitutions, Political and Legal Constitutions.
 Fundamental principles of the constitution
 Theories of constitution

WEEK 8
CONTEMPORATY FORMS OF GOVERNMENT

 Contemporary forms of government

- monarchy, -meritocracy, -technocracy
-sultanates, -theocracy, -republic, -demorchy
-dictatorship, -oligarchy, -constitutional government
-DEOMOCRACY-historical development, types of democracy-
principles of democracy,

WEEK 9 DEVELOPMENT AND CHANGE IN POLITICAL SYSTEMS

 Causes of stability and unstability
 Types of political change
 Electoral process
 Functions of election
 Types of election
 Voting practices
 Participation in election
 Influence on direction of voting

WEEK 10 HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF HUMAN RIGHTS

  Introduction
 Historical antecedents
- Ancient, Medieval
- Medieval times
-Modern period
-world wars experience
 UN-1945
 Categorization and generation of rights
-First generation of human rights
-Second generation of human rights
-Third generation of human rights
-fundamental principles of human rights
- human rights contemporary critical issues
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