2016/7 - PPLI4056A GLOBAL POLITICS 1. Autumn Semester, Level 4 module (Maximum 162 Students)

Transcription

1 2016/7 - PPLI4056A GLOBAL POLITICS 1 Autumn Semester, Level 4 module (Maximum 162 Students) Organiser: Timetable Slot:E3, C4/B6/A8/D9 This module introduces students to the core theoretical approaches to understanding the dynamics of global politics, such as Realism, Liberalism, Constructivism and Critical Perspectives. It also introduces a number of core concepts for making sense of global politics, including sovereignty, the balance of power, international law, security and globalization. 2016/7 - PPLI5044A INTRODUCTION TO THE EUROPEAN UNION (Maximum 32 Students) Organiser: Dr Giulio Pagani Timetable Slot:C2,A3,D5*D6/D2*A3 This module examines the development, structure, nature and functions of the European Union and looks at the history and theories of European integration from the 1940s to the present day. The module concentrates on the institutions and processes which run the EU, demystifies its main policies, examines critically the role of the Euro, and assesses the positions of the member-states on the EU's constantly developing agenda. The significance of the European Union in relationship to the rest of the world, its democratic credentials and its importance for understanding politics and governance are also considered. This module is recommended for those students who intend to progress to the European Studies with Brussels Internship module in Year /7 - PPLI5045A INTERNATIONAL POLITICS SINCE 1945 (Maximum 36 Students) Organiser: Mr Michael Bowker Timetable Slot:C6*C1,C7/C8/A9/C2/C3

2 This module provides a brief historical and theoretical review of the cold war. It then goes on to look at some of the key issues of the post-cold war world. How far have international relations changed since the fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989? What are the prospects for peace, stability and prosperity now that the ideological and military struggle between the USSR and the USA is over? Has international terrorism replaced communism as the main threat to the West? 2016/7 - PPLI5057A INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATION AND GLOBAL GOVERNANCE (Maximum 36 Students) Organiser: Mr Lawrence Hardy Few areas of international politics which remain unregulated by international organisations or international norms. This module examines the historical development of international organizations and regimes, including the UN, NATO, European Union, and international financial institutions. It also assesses their design and evolution, and the extent to which their operation reflects underlying power and interest. It critically evaluates the main theories to explain cooperation between states, the role played in security, trade, finance, gender and environmental policy, and asks whether the structure of international organisation amounts to global governance. 2016/7 - PPLI5059A INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS THEORY (Maximum 72 Students) Organiser: Dr Simon Curtis Timetable Slot:C8,A6/A7/A8/A5 This module will give students an essential grounding in International Relations theory, encompassing both the foundational theories of realism and liberalism, and contemporary debates about hegemony, neo-imperialism and post-positivism. The module is structured around the positivist/post-positivist divide and starts with classical realism and neo-realism, and liberalism and neo-liberalism. It then explores the English School and constructivism before turning to more critical theories like post-colonialism, feminism and gender studies, and postmodernism. 2016/7 - PPLI6039A SHIFTING POWERS AFRICA IN THE 21ST CENTURY

3 (Maximum 36 Students) Organiser: Dr Elizabeth Cobbett Timetable Slot:C3,D5*D6 Surveying the relationship between the world s major powers and Africa, this module examines Africa s relation with and position in contemporary global politics. In contrast to the conventional approach of studying how external actors impacted on Africa s international relations, this module seeks to open up a new approach, focusing on the impact of African political actors on international politics. It does this by analysing African agency the degree to which African political actors have room to manoeuvre within the international system and exert influence internationally, and the uses they make of that room for manoeuvre. The module is organised along themes (as opposed to the logic of covering countries) which expose a range of political, social and economic spheres of power at play in international relations. These include Rising Africa, African-Sino relations, Africa s global cities, Africa and the War on Terror, African perspectives on climate change and African foreign policy in the new millennium. 2016/7 - PPLI6041A ETHICS IN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS (Maximum 36 Students) Organiser: Dr Alexandria Innes Timetable Slot:A4,C5*C6/C7*C8 Exam Period:SPR-02 The aim of this module is to help students develop an understanding of how debates, traditions and theories of ethics have applied in international relations. The module will be broken into three main substantive areas. The first will focus on war and ethics, examining Just War theory and its development in modern warfare and humanitarian intervention. We will look at war and non-state actors, the use of drones and remote technology and the ethics of peacekeeping and peacebuilding. The second substantive area explores economics, human rights, and ethics. This will include giving attention to the role of accountability in international development and the global neoliberal political economy. This area will also consider the relationship between economics and human rights, critically examining the difference between economic rights and political rights. The final substantive area is centred around the ethics of belonging, examining authority in international relations, state sovereignty, international legal jurisdictions, human mobility, and the ethics of border controls. Students will gain comprehensive overview of ethical theories and concepts as they have been used and developed in international relations scholarship and practice. 2016/7 - PPLI6069A POWER OVER THE PACIFIC: THE AMERICAN

4 RELATIONSHIP WITH ASIA (Maximum 32 Students) Organiser: Mr Andrew Patmore Timetable Slot:B3*E4/A3*B4/C7*C8 This module will introduce important themes in the American relationship with East Asia, at a time when the Pacific region has assumed great importance. There will be a particular focus on the important historical periods in the American relationship with China and Japan. An understanding of elements of the trajectory of these relationships will be provided by taking a selection of historical subjects for analysis. While this will address the knowledge of history, and of long-term themes, the latter part of the module will consider contemporary political issues. This will require an understanding of the interaction of the United States with Asia, and China and Japan in particular. 2016/7 - PPLI6070A POWER OVER THE PACIFIC: THE AMERICAN RELATIONSHIP WITH ASIA (Maximum 4 Students) Organiser: Mr Andrew Patmore Timetable Slot:B3*E4/A3*B4/C7*C8 This module is a 20-credit coursework-only version of PPLI6069A POWER OVER THE PACIFIC: THE AMERICAN RELATIONSHIP WITH ASIA and is available only to Visiting, Exchange and Non HUM Students. 2016/7 - PPLM4054A MEDIA, SOCIETY AND POWER Autumn Semester, Level 4 module (Maximum 180 Students) Organiser: Dr Maria Kyriakidou Timetable Slot:C7*C2, C3/D4/D5/D6/A4/A5/A7 This module introduces first year students to the main theories of mass communications and

5 provides them with the key skills of academic reading and writing. Students will reflect on the importance of reading for academic research and learn how to assess and discuss the relevance and impact of milestones in mass communications theory from the nineteenth century to the present. The module explores theoretical approaches to media content, production, regulation and reception, including key themes such as freedom of speech, public sphere and political economy. 2016/7 - PPLM5002A GENDER AND POWER (Maximum 36 Students) Organiser: Dr Helen Warner Timetable Slot:B3, E1*E2/E3*A4/A1*A2 Providing a conceptual overview of feminist research approaches, this module examines contemporary gender and power relations. It examines both the formal and informal power structures that shape the experience of gender. Bringing together the fields of media, sociology, politics and international relations, the module explores a variety of themes and case studies including: gender, representation and the media, feminist methodologies and international relations, gender and IPE. 2016/7 - PPLM5053A NEW MEDIA AND SOCIETY (Maximum 36 Students) Organiser: Dr Michael Skey Timetable Slot:D4,E1*E2/A6*A7 For better or worse, new digital technologies are hyped at having revolutionised society. This module will provide students with an introduction to the ways in which the internet and other digital technologies are (and are not) affecting society from theoretical and empirical perspectives, and how society shapes technology. Topics covered include: the evolution of the internet; the "network society"; regulating new media; the radical internet and terrorism; social networking, blogs and interactivity; culture and identity in the digital age; and how the internet affects politics and the media /7 - PPLM6037A POLITICS AND POPULAR CULTURE (Maximum 32 Students)

6 Organiser: Professor John Street Timetable Slot:A5*A6,A8/D9 Popular culture links to politics in a variety of ways, some obvious, some less obvious. There are the politicians who seek the endorsement of film stars; there are the politicians who were film stars; and there are the rock performers who pretend that they are politicians. And then there are the states that censor popular culture to those that sponsor it and use it as propaganda. This module explores the many ways in which popular culture and politics are linked. It aims to introduce students to competing theories of the politics of popular culture; to look at how popular culture features in political communication; to explore developments in the political economy of popular culture, especially in relation to globalisation, new media and power within the cultural industries; to consider the main debates about the censorship of popular culture and state subsidy of it; and to explore arguments about the value and effect of popular culture, and about its role in personal and collective identity. 2016/7 - PPLM6038A POLITICS AND POPULAR CULTURE (Maximum 4 Students) Organiser: Professor John Street Timetable Slot:A5*A6,A8/D9 IN TAKING THIS MODULE YOU CANNOT TAKE PPLM3A37. This module is a 20 credit version of PPLM3A37 POLITICS AND POPULAR CULTURE. THIS 20 CREDIT VERSION IS ONLY AVAILABLE TO VISITING, EXCHANGE AND NON-HUM STUDENTS. 2016/7 - PPLM6043A INTERNATIONAL MEDIA & COMMUNICATION (Maximum 16 Students) Organiser: Dr Li Zhang and Project Timetable Slot:E2*E3, A4 IN TAKING THIS MODULE YOU CANNOT TAKE PPLM6097A Students are advised that they should ideally have previously taken a media-related module before choosing this

7 one. This module explores media and communication at the international level and focuses on the major issues in international communication within the contemporary global society. Combining theory and empirics, it explores how the media address regional and global issues beyond the nation-state, global media infrastructure, international flow of information, global news production, the role of media in international situations of conflict and war, political propaganda, public diplomacy, and the transnational media cultural consumption. By successfully completing this module, students will be able to understand the role of media and communication in global society and critically evaluate the process of international communication in the political, social and cultural aspects of contemporary world. 2016/7 - PPLM6097A INTERNATIONAL MEDIA AND COMMUNICATION (Maximum 2 Students) Organiser: Dr Li Zhang and Project Timetable Slot:E1*E2, A4 IN TAKING THIS MODULE YOU CANNOT TAKE PPLM6043A This module is a 20 credit version of PPLM6043A: International Communication. THIS 20 CREDIT VERSION IS ONLY AVAILABLE TO VISITING, EXCHANGE AND NON-HUM STUDENTS. Students are advised that they should ideally have previously taken a media-related module before choosing this one. 2016/7 - PPLM6101A REGULATION AND POLICY FOR MEDIA AND COMMUNICATION (Maximum 32 Students) Organiser: Dr Sally Broughton Micova Timetable Slot:C3, D5*D6 The aim of this module will be to enable students to understand the dynamics and issues of media and communications policy and how various levels of governance are involved in regulating media and communications industries. It takes as a starting point the assumption that the media and communications sector is special case in terms of public policy because of the role that communication plays in how we govern society, in democratic and other systems. Following background sessions on rationales, models, actors, and norms, this module will make use of case studies from national, European and global level policy debates that will be adapted each year to the current situation. For example that of press regulation or BBC Charter renewal in the UK, data protection or copyright in the EU, spectrum or domain name governance at the international level. Students will also practice professional skills

8 relevant to various types of career, particularly any in fields of advocacy, civil service, media & communications industry, and politics. They will practice doing policy and stakeholder analysis and use evidence to draft policy interventions. 2016/7 - PPLM6102A REGULATION AND POLICY FOR MEDIA AND COMMUNICATION (Maximum 4 Students) Organiser: Dr Sally Broughton Micova Timetable Slot:C3, D5*D6 This module is a 20 credit version of REGULATION AND POLICY FOR MEDIA AND COMMUNICATIONS. THIS 20 CREDIT VERSION IS ONLY AVAILABLE TO VISITING, EXCHANGE AND NON-HUM STUDENTS. 2016/7 - PPLP4061A CLASSIC READINGS IN PHILOSOPHY Autumn Semester, Level 4 module (Maximum 200 Students) Organiser: Professor Catherine Rowett Timetable Slot:B4*B6,U,B8 This introductory module for first year students is designed to invite you into philosophical enquiry by way of a detailed study of some of the most famous books by the founding fathers of Western Philosophy. The set texts typically include a classic work by Plato, from the birth of philosophy in Classical Greece, and a classic work by Descartes, the father of modern philosophy. One or two texts by Aristotle or later Greek and Mediaeval thinkers may also be included. The texts are studied in modern English. No prior knowledge of philosophy is required, and this module is suitable for students from other disciplines who are taking no other philosophy modules. 2016/7 - PPLP4062A PHILOSOPHICAL PROBLEMS Autumn Semester, Level 4 module (Maximum 200 Students) Organiser: Dr Jeremy Goodenough Timetable Slot:E2*C4,U,C8

9 The module offers a problem-focused introduction to philosophy. No prior knowledge of philosophy is required. Students are invited to explore questions from several core areas of philosophy and to acquire and deploy some first techniques for approaching these questions and resolving the puzzles. The issues cover a spectrum of related topics, such as scepticism, the possibility of knowledge, causation, freedom and determinism, the nature of mind and its relation to body, language, morality and issues in political philosophy. By demonstrating the use of various tools and techniques used in philosophy in relation to these issues, the module prepares students for further work in each of these and other contemporary fields. 2016/7 - PPLP4066A PHILOSOPHY AND OTHER SUBJECTS Autumn Semester, Level 4 module (Maximum 108 Students) Organiser: Dr Rupert Read Timetable Slot:C8*D1,A1,A2/D3/B7/B8 This module explores and samples the ways in which philosophy relates to a range of subjects, indeed almost the whole range of other academic disciplines: the ways in which it bleeds into other subjects, learns from them, uses their results, copies their methods, provokes them, comments on them, undermines them, or exposes their methods to critique. In a sequence of ten one week components, students will review (in lectures, workshops and seminars) one or two case studies or issues that bring philosophy into some kind of dialogue with each of ten key subject areas, followed by a week in which the lessons to be learned will be reviewed. This module is designed for single honours philosophy students, to provide a taster of interdisciplinary connections that they may wish to go on to explore later. It is also suitable for students from other subjects, giving them a grasp of the relevance of philosophy for all academic work, including their own major subject. It is assessed by continuous assessment, based on the student s assembled diary/log entries, to include reflections on each topic covered. 2016/7 - PPLP5071A PHILOSOPHY OF RELIGION (Maximum 54 Students) Organiser: Dr Davide Rizza Timetable Slot:B4*B5,B2/B3/E1/E2,B7 IN TAKING THIS MODULE YOU CANNOT TAKE PPLP6007B

10 The module focuses on the claims of theistic religion, and on the nature of religion, including non-theistic religion. It seeks to clarify the concept of God. It also seeks to examine some of the standard arguments for and against the existence of God. In doing this, we see how some central issues in the philosophy of religion are inter-related with questions of epistemology, logic and mind. We will furthermore investigate conceptions of God which bypass the standard arguments for and against God s existence, which takes us close to the claims of Buddhism and other more or less non-theistic religions/philosophies. 2016/7 - PPLP5076A PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY (Maximum 18 Students) Organiser: Dr Thomas Greaves Timetable Slot:B1*B2,C2/C3,D8 IN TAKING THIS MODULE YOU CANNOT TAKE PPLP6106A What is history? Is it just one damn thing after another? Is it, as Macbeth said of life, a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing? Is it reasonable to apply moral criteria to the historical process? In what sense, if any, can we understand history as progressive? On what basis can we divide history into epochs and how should we understand the change from one epoch to the next? Are there laws in history? From the 18th century enlightenment to Marxist historical materialism, strong claims have been made in response to these questions. They have come under severe attack from the later 19th century on to the present, from both existentialist philosophers and philosophers of historical method. The module will examine the arguments and concepts employed in these debates. 2016/7 - PPLP5077A ANCIENT PHILOSOPHY (Maximum 18 Students) Organiser: Professor Catherine Rowett Timetable Slot:C2*D3,C1/D7,B8 IN TAKING THIS MODULE YOU CANNOT TAKE PPLP6107A This module provides an opportunity to explore a theme or selection of key texts from the swathe of great work produced between the 6th Century BC and the 6th century A.D. The choice of theme will be governed by the current research interests of the lecturer, but the module will provide a secure foundation for further detailed work on particular thinkers or periods in dissertations or special subject modules in the final year. Works are studied in modern English translations.

11 2016/7 - PPLP5087A LANGUAGE AND REALITY (Maximum 18 Students) Organiser: Professor John Collins Timetable Slot:A7*A8,A1/A2/D3,B6*B7 Twentieth century philosophy is characterised by a preoccupation with language. This attention involved a great deal of reflection on language itself and also on the possibility that traditional philosophical problems might be resolved or dissolved by thinking about the language in which the problems are posed. The period also witnessed great upheavals, with the rise and fall of logical positivism and ordinary language philosophy, the development of formal theories of meaning, and the eventual resurgence of pragmaticism and metaphysics. The module will explore these major themes through consideration of the work of major thinkers from the last fifty years, including Quine, Davidson, Putnam, and Kripke. 2016/7 - PPLP5166A THE PHILOSOPHY OF WITTGENSTEIN (Maximum 18 Students) Organiser: Dr Oskari Kuusela Timetable Slot:D5*D6,E2/E3,A3 IN TAKING THIS MODULE YOU CANNOT TAKE PPLP6125A Ludwig Wittgenstein was arguably the most brilliant philosopher of the 20th century, yet at the same time he is one of the most underappreciated thinkers. Students at UEA are uniquely fortunate in having the chance to do serious work on this enigmatic man and his revolutionary methods and approaches, because UEA is one of the most important centres in the world for research on his legacy. His thought is conventionally divided into early and later periods, and this module will explore both including both the famous Tractatus Logic- Philosophicus (a notoriously puzzling text) and the later works such as the Philosophical Investigations. Does the later work challenge the position he took in the early work, or develop it? How are they related? Does Wittgenstein solve philosophical problems or are there no problems left to solve once we have read his work? 2016/7 - PPLP6102A DISSERTATION OR SPECIAL SUBJECT I (Maximum 999 Students)

12 Organiser: Professor Catherine Rowett Module Type: Project Timetable Slot:U This module is open only to students who have achieved an overall average of 60% or above in their second year assessment. When enrolling you MUST include a second choice on your enrolment form, so that if your marks are below 60% you can transfer smoothly to another module. Students are enrolled either on a one-to-one supervised dissertation (for which you must submit the relevant form to the module organiser for approval) or on one of the group study programmes ( special subjects ) advertised at the module enrolment event and in the philosophy module booklet. Students who have not identified themselves with one of these groups or with a supervised dissertation will be removed from this module. NB Students may not take more than one supervised dissertation on any degree, but you may take up to two of these philosophy modules as group study programmes (Special Subjects). Students from other Schools should contact the module organiser for details. The assessment project is a dissertation of up to 10,000 words. Teaching arrangements will be settled after enrolments are known. 2016/7 - PPLP6103A PHILOSOPHY OF SOCIAL SCIENCE (Maximum 5 Students) Organiser: Dr Davide Rizza Module Type: Project Timetable Slot:A2*A6,A7,A9 This module examines different approaches to understanding the social world, tracing their philosophical presuppositions and their implications for the study of economics and politics. It focuses on two contrasts: between the positivist and the hermeneutic approaches, and between individualistic and holistic styles of explanation. This module is designed for PPE students and is also open to SSF and Science students, and students on degrees in the LCS sector of PPL. STUDENTS IN THE PHI & PSI SECTOR OF PPL SHOULD TAKE PPLP6128A, WHICH IS A 30 CREDIT VERSION THAT RUNS ALONGSIDE. 2016/7 - PPLP6106A ADVANCED THEMES IN THE PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY (Maximum 18 Students) Organiser: Dr Thomas Greaves Module Type: Project

13 IN TAKING THIS MODULE YOU CANNOT TAKE PPLP5076A What is history? Is it just one damn thing after another? Is it, as Macbeth said of life, a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing? Is it reasonable to apply moral criteria to the historical process? In what sense, if any, can we understand history as progressive? On what basis can we divide history into epochs and how should we understand the change from one epoch to the next? Are there laws in history? From the 18th century enlightenment to Marxist historical materialism, strong claims have been made in response to these questions. They have come under severe attack from the later 19th century on to the present, from both existentialist philosophers and philosophers of historical method. The module will examine the arguments and concepts employed in these debates. 2016/7 - PPLP6107A ANCIENT PHILOSOPHY (Maximum 18 Students) Organiser: Professor Catherine Rowett Module Type: Project IN TAKING THIS MODULE YOU CANNOT TAKE PPLP5077A This module provides an opportunity to explore a theme or selection of key texts from the swathe of great work produced between the 6th Century BC and the 6th century A.D. The choice of theme will be governed by the current research interests of the lecturer, but the module will provide a secure foundation for further detailed work on particular thinkers or periods in dissertations or special subject modules in the final year. Works are studied in modern English translations. 2016/7 - PPLP6125A THE PHILOSOPHY OF WITTGENSTEIN (ADVANCED THEMES) (Maximum 999 Students) Organiser: Dr Oskari Kuusela Module Type: Project IN TAKING THIS MODULE YOU CANNOT TAKE PPLP5166A Ludwig Wittgenstein was arguably the most brilliant philosopher of the 20th century, yet at the same time he is one of the most underappreciated thinkers. Students at UEA are uniquely fortunate in having the chance to do serious work on this enigmatic man and his revolutionary methods and approaches, because UEA is one of the most important centres in the world for research on his legacy. His thought is conventionally divided into early and later periods, and this module will explore both including both the famous Tractatus Logic-

14 Philosophicus (a notoriously puzzling text) and the later works such as the Philosophical Investigations. Does the later work challenge the position he took in the early work, or develop it? How are they related? Does Wittgenstein solve philosophical problems or are there no problems left to solve once we have read his work? 2016/7 - PPLP6128A PHILOSOPHY OF SOCIAL SCIENCE (Maximum 31 Students) Organiser: Dr Davide Rizza Module Type: Project Timetable Slot:A2*A6,A8,A9 This module examines different approaches to understanding the social world, tracing their philosophical presuppositions and their implications for the study of economics and politics. It focuses on two contrasts: between the positivist and the hermeneutic approaches, and between individualistic and holistic styles of explanation. This 30 credit version of the module is suitable for PHI students and for those from other HUM Schools. A 20 credit version is also available. 2016/7 - PPLP6136A LANGUAGE AND REALITY (ADVANCED THEMES) (Maximum 18 Students) Organiser: Professor John Collins Module Type: Project Timetable Slot:C3*D4,A8,C4 Twentieth century philosophy is characterised by a preoccupation with language. This attention involved a great deal of reflection on language itself and also on the possibility that traditional philosophical problems might be resolved or dissolved by thinking about the language in which the problems are posed. The period also witnessed great upheavals, with the rise and fall of logical positivism and ordinary language philosophy, the development of formal theories of meaning, and the eventual resurgence of pragmaticism and metaphysics. The module will explore these major themes through consideration of the work of major thinkers from the last fifty years, including Quine, Davidson, Putnam, and Kripke. 2016/7 - PPLX4051A SOCIAL AND POLITICAL THEORY Autumn Semester, Level 4 module (Maximum 306 Students) Organiser: Professor Alan Finlayson

15 Timetable Slot:E4*C6,D1/D2/B4/E1/E2/E3/A4/A5/A6/ This module explores the ways in which a variety of thinkers have sought to understand modern society, culture and politics. You will learn to grapple with fascinating and challenging theories of contemporary life by reading the work of writers such as Rousseau and Kant, Marx and Weber, Freud and Foucault. Is modern life shaped by capitalism or bureaucracy? Are we freer than ever before, or slaves to the market and the state? Are we truly individuals or does society shape our identity? What is power and who has it? These are the kinds of question you will debate in class as you learn to think deeply about what drives the world today. 2016/7 - PPLX4052A INTRODUCTION TO CONTEMPORARY POLITICS Autumn Semester, Level 4 module (Maximum 306 Students) Organiser: Dr Michael Gough This module introduces students to some of the key contemporary debates and issues in the disciplines of Politics and International Relations. The central theme of the module is liberal democracy, its nature, scope and potential strengths and weaknesses. We consider forces which have had an impact upon western liberal democracy such as globalisation and the media and examine case studies which illustrate the success and failure of liberal democracy in practice. The case studies change from year to year, but currently include Weimar Germany, Northern Ireland, Britain and the Middle East, and the US. 2016/7 - PPLX5047A METHODS OF SOCIAL RESEARCH (Maximum 56 Students) Organiser: Dr Michael Gough Timetable Slot:A5/A6/B5/E9,A7*A8/B7*B8 Students acquire knowledge of the theory and practice of a range of quantitative and qualitative research methods. A variety of skills can be acquired - interviewing, observation, focus groups, taking fieldwork notes, computerised data analysis, report writing, etc. Assessment is via two individual research reports, one quantitative and one qualitative, the

16 data being either provided to students or collected by them as part of a collaborative piece of primary research. This module is compulsory for students taking degrees in Politics and Society, Culture and Media. These two group of students will be taught in separate streams, and the material in each will be tailored to their subject-specific needs. 2016/7 - PPLX5048A TOPICS IN BRITISH POLITICS (Maximum 36 Students) Organiser: Mr Lawrence Hardy Timetable Slot:A5*A4,A2/A6 Some people are arguing that British politics is in crisis - tumbling electoral turnouts, decline of political parties, cynicism about the political class, high levels of apathy etc. We examine and make sense of this problem (if it is a problem), by examining in depth three or four topics. Recently these have included: changing patterns of electoral behaviour and campaigning; the issue of electoral reform; the evolving role of political parties in the face of social and technological change. 2016/7 - PPLX5064A WESTERN POLITICAL THOUGHT (Maximum 54 Students) Organiser: Dr Michael Gough Timetable Slot:B5*B8,B6/B7 This level 5 module examines in depth the works of selected thinkers who are seminal to the Western tradition of political thought, including Plato, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Mill and Machiavelli. Their work will also be compared thematically, with a focus on themes such as the natural law and social contract traditions, and other schools of thought which have been influenced by these traditions.the module will be based on the study and interpretation of key texts and will enable students to develop skills of textual analysis and critique. It will also provide some of the historical background necessary to study more contemporary political theory at level 6, as well as building substantially on some of the political theories encountered on Social and Political Theory at level /7 - PPLX5160A BUILDING BLOCKS OF POLITICAL SCIENCE (Maximum 72 Students)

17 Organiser: Dr John Turnpenny Timetable Slot:C1, C6/C7/C8/C2/C3/D4 The aim of this module is to introduce students to the key theoretical issues and debates that underpin the discipline of political science so that students understand the main methodological and ideological approaches to political science. It will also be of relevance to international relations students. The module will provide important foundations for the remainder of the politics major degree. It will be one of two compulsory modules for single honours Politics students. The first part of the module will focus on understanding basic political concepts ( building blocks ) such as a rational choice, culture, and institutions, and critically examine these concepts and their application, linking to key empirical debates in political science about power, representation, accountability and policy making in western democracies. The second part focuses on meta-theoretical concerns such as how to compare political phenomena and systems, ideas and material explanation, structure and agency, epistemology and ontology. 2016/7 - PPLX5164A POLITICS IN THE USA (Maximum 36 Students) Organiser: Mr Andrew Patmore Timetable Slot:D4, D6/D7/D8 Virtually alone among the world's modern democratic nations, the US does not have parliamentary government. This module is an introduction to the American system, in which power is divided between state and federal authorities, and further among legislative, executive and judicial branches. Does this open-textured system encourage democratic participation? Has it become so chaotic that sound policy making is discouraged? 2016/7 - PPLX6041A BETTER WORLDS? UTOPIAS AND DYSTOPIAS (Maximum 16 Students) Organiser: Mr Bob Stillwell Timetable Slot:E4,C7/C8 Exam Period:SPR-02

18 Would an ideal society have no more crime? Who would be wealthy? Would politics be outlawed? Do utopians wish to impose their views on the rest of us? This module explores questions such as these, which are central to political and social theory, through the prism of selected utopian and dystopian novels and other utopian texts ranging from Thomas More s Utopia (1516) to the present. It focuses on themes such as property, social control, gender, work, the environment and politics. A major question which the module addresses is the political significance and effects of utopian ideas often derided as frivolous or impractical in their own time - and the historical role of utopian ideas in political theory and social reform. 2016/7 - PPLX6066A BETTER WORLDS? UTOPIAS AND DYSTOPIAS (Maximum 2 Students) Organiser: Mr Bob Stillwell Timetable Slot:E4,C7/C8 Exam Period:SPR-02 This module is a 20-credit version of PPLX6041A Better Worlds? Utopias and Dystopias. THIS 20 CREDIT VERSION IS ONLY AVAILABLE TO VISITING, EXCHANGE AND NON HUM STUDENTS. 2016/7 - PPLX6086A RHETORIC: DEMOCRACY AND THE POLITICS OF PERSUASION (Maximum 18 Students) Organiser: Professor Alan Finlayson Timetable Slot:C2, A3*B4 Political activity involves a lot of talking, discussing and debating, speechifying, speaking and listening. In Parliaments, from public platforms and through many forms of media people try to persuade others to see things their way, to take their side and to adopt their proposals. Naturally, therefore, the form, function and implications of different forms of public argument are an important concern of political theorists and scientists. This course will explore some contemporary theorists who, in different ways, help us think through the politics of public speech and persuasion (Arendt, Dryzek, Laclau, Ranciere and others). It will also introduce you to the rhetorical tradition. Rhetoric, according to Aristotle, is the ability to identify in any given case the available means of persuasion". In studying political rhetoric we learn about the different ways in which political arguments may be made and about how we might try to persuade particular people, about particular things at particular

19 times.