25 Apr On the Political

Last week I wrote a few posts related to a talk I was asked to give to the Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW). The talk was inspired in part by a book by Chantal Mouffe (2005) called On the Political: Thinking in Action that I have been teaching this period in the course People, Policy and Resources in Comparative Perspective.
The book challenges the trend towards a post-political society wherein we restrict or even deny differences and passions that Mouffe argues (and I agree) cannot be ignored. She makes use a conservative thinker to challenge contemporary liberal approaches to deliberative democracy and consensus building.
I like the book for teaching because it posits a fundamental challenge to values most students hold dear and take for granted. It is a nice book to begin a critical reflection on contemporary politics.
However, some students do find it quite challenging and so to support their reading, learning and reflecting, I developed a mind-map of key terms and some of their interconnections.
Sharing it here in case it if of use to anyone out there. I would also be curious to connect with any other teachers who make use of Mouffe in their courses.

Mind map of key terms from Mouffe (2005) “On the Political”