3P10 Political Texts – Eight Greats

Tutor/Facilitator Douglas Adeney

When
Date: on/from Wed 7 Oct 2026 to Wed 9 Dec 2026
Frequency: weekly
Class time: 10:00-11:30

Delivered F2F

Where
Betty Day Community Centre, Hall

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Other information

Who should govern, and on what principles?  What is the rightful extent of individual liberty, and of private property?

This course is a brief introduction to eight classic texts in political philosophy, each of which addresses at least some of the above questions:

  • Plato, Republic
  • Aristotle, Politics
  • Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince
  • Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan
  • John Locke, Second Treatise of Government
  • Jean-Jacques Rousseau, The Social Contract
  • Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, The Communist Manifesto
  • John Stuart Mill, On Liberty

In each case a few pages of notes will be provided by email in advance.  They will include excerpts and some brief commentary on key points.

TUTOR: Douglas has Philosophy degrees from Monash University (MA) and the University of St Andrews, Scotland (PhD).  He taught philosophy at Melbourne State College and then for many years at the University of Melbourne.  He has been joyfully involved at U3APP since 2018.

How to Enrol

On-line: after bookings have opened

On-line enrolments are preferred as this significantly reduces the amount of back-office work for our volunteers.

  • Login to the U3APP.org.au website.
  • Go to the Courses & Enrolling page.
  • Scroll down to find the course that you are interested in.
  • Does the course have spaces available?
    • Click on the course name to go to the booking page.
    • Click on “Book for this course or event”.
    • You will receive a confirmation email.  Please check your Junk/Spam folders as these automatically-generated emails often finish up there.
  • OR is the course shown as FULL?
    • Click on WAITLIST.

Paper Enrolment Form: before bookings open for First Semester

  • Obtain a paper Enrolment Form either from the Office or by printing an online copy available here.
  • Complete the paper Enrolment Form and submit it to the Office.

The start date for acceptance of paper Enrolment Forms for first semester is published on the U3APP website and in the e-Bulletin. Enrolment Forms received before this date are treated as though they had been received on the start date (ie there is no advantage to be gained by submitting early). On the start date and thereafter, paper Enrolment Forms are numbered in order of receipt.  Paper Enrolment forms are processed by U3APP volunteers on the same day as on-line bookings.

If your enrolment is successful, you will receive a confirmation email.  Please check your Junk/Spam folders as these automatically-generated emails often finish up there.

If your enrolment is unsuccessful,  you will receive an email telling you that you have been waitlisted.

Via the Office: after bookings have opened

  • Contact the office in person, or by email or phone.