Introduction
The Social Contract Theory forwards the notion that an individual's moral and civil/political obligations are hinged on a contract agreed upon by a group of individuals leading to the creation of a society. Social contracts are said to establish common rules, either implicit or explicit, that would allow members of a society to live harmoniously by choice and without some form of divine instruction. This idea was popularized by modern political thinkers such as Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau.
This WebQuest was designed to introduce students to the concept of Social Contract Theory and help the students to differentiate between its versions by the above-mentioned political thinkers.
Task
Your task is to create a Venn Diagram using any infographic tool (e.g. Canva) comparing the key principles of Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau's versions of the Social Contract Theory.
Process
To complete the task, simply follow the steps below:
Step 1: Visit the links provided in the resources. Read and/or watch the discussions regarding the Social Contract Theory and how each modern political thinker views it.
Step 2: Make an outline of the things you understood from the resources, highlighting differences between the key principles of each political thinker's version of the Social Contract.
Step 3: Create a Venn Diagram that sufficiently portrays how each Social Contract theory differs from each other. The diagram does not have to be comprehensive but make sure to include each theorists' view of the sovereign, citizenship, and the power dynamics between the citizens and the authority. Although, not necessary, you may also add a separate page explaining the diagram. Make sure to keep in mind the rubrics below.
Step 4: The student must submit his/her/their finished work by emailing it to the teacher (please see Teacher Page for contact details). The email subject must be set as "STUDENT'S LAST NAME_Social Contract Diagram_SOCSCI2022".
RESOURCES
(1) Celeste Friend. "Social Contract Theory". Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved from: https://iep.utm.edu/soc-cont/#H2
(2) Korczyk's Class. "Hobbes vs. Locke vs. Rousseau - Social Contract Theories Compared". Youtube. Retrieved from:
Evaluation
| Criteria | Quality | |||
|
Excellent |
Satisfactory | Needs Improvement | No submission (0%) | |
|
Content (70 %) |
The Venn Diagram sufficiently elucidates the differences between the Social Contract theories of the three thinkers and exceeded expectations. 14 pts |
The Venn Diagram portrays most of the differences between the Social Contract theories of the three thinkers. 12 pts |
The Venn Diagram shows some of the differences between the Social Contract theories of the three thinkers but some important details are missing 9 pts |
No submission
0 pts |
|
Clarity (15 %) |
The Venn Diagram provides a clear visualization of the required information. 3 pts |
Most information in the diagram are clearly displayed.
2 pts |
Some parts of the Venn Diagram are confusing.
1 pt |
No submission
0 pts |
|
Creativity (15%) |
The diagram uses creative and novel ways of presenting the information.
3 pts |
The diagram is visually pleasing and used an appropriate design. 2 pts |
The design used can barely compliment the information presented and needs more creativity. 1 pt |
No submission
0 pts |
|
TOTAL POINTS
|
_____ pts |
Conclusion
By the end of this lesson, the students have hopefully been introduced to the Social Contract Theory and are able to compare and distinguish the key principles of the Social Contract theories of Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau. This lesson may be appropriate for High School/Senior High School students of Social Studies or similar subjects and addresses Bloom's 4th level of taxonomy i.e., analyzing.
Credits
Remarks: This WebQuest was done in fulfillment of an assignment/exercise for a course on Educational Technology (Teacher Certificate Program, Iqra Development Academy, Academic Year 2022-2023).