Brunel University: Modern Political Thought

MA in Modern Political Thought: Violence and Revolution

New Masters degree in the Department of Politics and History at Brunel University:

MA in MODERN POLITICAL THOUGHT: VIOLENCE AND REVOLUTION

‘Violence is the midwife of every old society, pregnant with a new one’.

The concepts of violence and revolution stand at the centre of our understanding of political modernity. This MA programme introduces students to a range of theoretical perspectives on the concepts on violence and revolution in modern political thought, from the crisis of the Renaissance, through the long seventeenth century and the Enlightenment, to the critique of political economy and theories of revolution and counter-revolution in the twentieth century.

The programme focuses in particular on the importance of historical context for understanding the transformation and reformulation of classic themes in modern political thought. The MA also provides students with the research skills, methodologies and historical understanding required for analysing and assessing key texts.

Students will join a thriving and expanding research environment, including a regular research seminar series in social and political thought with national and international guest speakers. The core teaching staff on the MA programme have expertise in themes of violence and revolution across the full spectrum of modern political thought.

Filippo Del Lucchese, author of Conflict, Power and Multitude in Machiavelli and Spinoza (2009).

Mark Neocleous, author of The Monstrous and the Dead: Burke, Marx, Fascism (2005) and five other books on political theory.

Peter D. Thomas, author of The Gramscian Moment: Philosophy, Hegemony and Marxism (2009).


Students will take four modules of intensive guided study in small groups focused on the classical theorists of modern political thought. Modules include:

Violence and Revolution in Early Modern Thought;
Enlightenment and Revolution;
Capitalism and Revolution in the Nineteenth Century;
Revolution and Counter-revolution in the Twentieth Century.
Students also complete a dissertation on a topic or thinker of their own choice.


Apply now for 2011 entry:

Visit the Brunel Social and Political Thought Research Group website: