Politics and International Relations BA (Hons) module details

Year one

Block 1: Ideas and Change in Politics and International Relations

This module looks at key political ideas that are fundamental to our world today, but also how those ideas have changed, especially with recent contributions in gender studies, postcolonial research and queer theory. Studying this module introduces students to theory – not as a distant, abstract exercise, but as a reflection of contemporary politics. Have big ideas on sovereignty been fundamental to establishing political order, or a tool to justify colonisation? Is John Locke’s theory of property fit to answer questions about who owns our data? Can the tradition of human rights incorporate non-human species? Is gender performative, and how does this represent the struggles of LGBTQ+ communities? Theory can get us thinking more deeply about empirical events, but empirical events can also get us critiquing theories for falling short.

Block 2: Journeys and Places

This module, with its focus on journeys and places, offers an opportunity for you to explore some of the key concepts underpinning your creative writing. You will take a post-disciplinary approach to your studies, using techniques from diverse areas to address key questions related to journeys and places in your creative work.

You will attend interactive lectures with students from across the School of Humanities and Performing Arts. You will have opportunities to apply the concepts addressed in these lectures to your creative writing within subject specific workshops, and through creative writing assessments.

The themes covered during the module may include journeys, spaces and the concept of welcome; (im)mobilities and journeys through time and space; representation and imaginative geographies; gender and placemaking; belonging and place attachment; journeys, places and identities; as well as themes related to sustainability and the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.

Block 3: Global Challenges: Politics and Policy

What are today’s major global challenges? Inequality and poverty, sustainable development, climate change and environmental crisis, rise of authoritarianism, rights struggles, transnational social justice movements? Contemporary politics and international relations are marked by an acceleration of these social and political challenges associated with the pace and nature of capitalist development. This module introduces the material drivers of contemporary challenges, from colonialism and colonial legacies, classed, gendered, racial hierarchies and the role of state. It introduces students to these challenges from a critical political economy perspective. Students learn about different contemporary challenges, as well as constraints and opportunities for their resolution. The students will also be supported in academic writing, reflective thinking, communication and writing skills during the workshops in preparation of the module assessment.

Assessment: portfolio 100% (20% critical reflection (written or audio) and 80% written essay)

Block 4: Comparative Politics and Democracy

There are vivid debates about the health and future of contemporary democracy, which is perceived to be under threat from secular developments in global politics and economics, leading to authoritarianism and declining trust in democratic processes. Different forms of democracy have, however, existed throughout the history of human societies – and democratic governance has been transformed, often in response to social and political crisis and changes in social systems. This module introduces students to the concept of democracy, and examines different forms of democracy, using historical examples to understand the drivers of the expansion and retrenchment of different kinds of democracy. It then considers the contemporary state of democracy, analyses the challenges it faces, and the potential for further democratisation in the 21st century. Students study the potential for the diversification and expansion of democratic processes from the perspective of different theories of democracy, and engage with a variety of contemporary issues, including competing democratic theories, the impact of economic crises, migration and cultural conflict, authoritarian populism and democratic backsliding as well as the impact of new technologies on democracy.

Assessment: portfolio 100% (oral presentation and written report)

Year two

Politics pathway

Block one: Political Theory – Why Big Ideas Matter

Big ideas in politics matter - but which ones? This module examines key political ideas that shape political realities today, but explores what decolonisation and diversification means for those political ideas. Why Big Ideas Matter takes a unique disruptive approach, by creating conversations between two or three important thinkers, within multiple cultural contexts and perspectives. Have big ideas on sovereignty been fundamental to establishing political order, or a tool to justify colonisation? Is John Locke’s theory of property fit to answer questions about who owns our data? Can the tradition of human rights incorporate non-human species? Is gender performative, and how does this represent the struggles of LGBTQ+ communities? Theory can get us thinking more deeply about empirical events, but empirical events can also get us critiquing theories for falling short.

Assessment: Presentation 40% and written report 60%

International Relations Pathway

Contemporary International Relations Theory

The module introduces students to a wide range of approaches to theorizing the international. The module begins by exploring the necessity of theory for understanding and explaining key contemporary issues in international politics. It explores debates over what constitutes ‘the international’ and how it should be studied.

The module covers a wide array of popular contemporary theoretical approaches, from postcolonial, feminist, Marxist and poststructuralist theories. This discussion is complemented by an introduction to International Relations (IR) Theory, its history and ‘traditional’, mainstream approaches, as well as its efforts to incorporate critical theories into its disciplinary framework. The final part of the module explores ‘state of the art’ debates and cutting-edge approaches in international relations theory.

Assessment: portfolio 100% (30% critical reflection (written or audio) and 70% written essay)

Block 2: Exploring Work and Society

This module is designed to prepare and support you towards the pursuit of post-degree pathways. It will focus on the specific skills, capabilities and knowledge needed to adapt and flourish in professional environments and contexts. There will be an emphasis on enhancement of core attributes, competencies and transferable skills as well as developing familiarity with the world and politics of work. The module will prepare you for diverse and dynamic working environments beyond university by introducing reflective practices to support your long-term professional development.

You will be introduced to the UN Sustainable Development Goals and invited to engage critically around themes including race, gender, identity, and geopolitical issues, to conceptualize a more equitable society, and environmentally sustainable world, as relevant to your career aspirations.

You will engage with subject-specific workshops to gain greater understanding of worlds of work connected to creative writing and related fields. You will take part in lectures, seminars, group discussion, independent learning, tutorial support and engagement with your peers.

Supported independent learning activities may include responding to real-world briefs, placements/shadowing, engagement with community projects or initiatives, creating proposals for projects or initiatives in a professional setting. These activities will be tailored to your Creative Writing programme.

Block 3: Global Political Economy: Gender, Race, Class

What is the relation between the 2008 Global Financial Crisis and the election of Donald Trump as the president of the USA? Is there any relation between the contemporary manifestations of climate change and prevailing economic paradigms? Was the impact of the Covid pandemic same across different geographies and communities globally; if not, how do we explain the difference? Is politics completely removed from the monetary policy-making of the independent Bank of England?

This module aims to equip students with the knowledge and lens through which to answer questions such as those above and make sense of the complex ways economics and politics interact on a global scale. Rooted in the tradition of political economy and its critique, Global Political Economy can be defined as the study of power and politics (who gets what, when, why and how) in the global economy. Starting with the constitution of global capitalism, students are introduced to both conventional and alternative theories and approaches to global political economy, and examine key topics and issues of contemporary capitalism, including finance, trade, production, social reproduction, environment, work, development, and governance of capitalism. There is a particular emphasis on unevenness and inequalities in contemporary capitalism through the notions of class, race, and gender and the dynamics of Global North-Global South relations

Assessment: Essay 3000 Words (70%) Book Review 1000 Words (30%)

Block 3: Not Westminster

Far too often, we think about politics as a set of remote processes that happens in the corridors of Westminster, far away from our day-to-day life. This module seeks to challenge this, focusing on the ‘everyday’ dimension of politics and assessing how/why local democracy matters.

To achieve this, the module starts with an overview of the key principles of the ‘British political tradition’ and then challenge them by exploring what’s happening beyond ‘the Westminster bubble’ and central/formal institutions/loci of power (e.g. covering key topics and issues such as multi-level governance, devolution, local government, democratic innovations, community power, etc.). The module focuses on the tension between structures and agency, looking at why local democracy matters and what we – through individual, group, and community action – can do to affect and improve in politics.

Students have an opportunity to experience local democracy first-hand, through a range of activities, fieldtrips and engagement with local democracy institutions, groups, activists and practitioners

Assessment: Portfolio 100%, comprising two written and one audio components

Block 4: Political Research in Action

This module critically introduces the approaches and methods that shape the creation of empirical knowledge in politics and international relations. The module advances the significance of the relationship between empirical knowledge and the methods used for investigation. The module provides students with an up-to-date understanding of research methods, and the ways these methods are applied in contemporary politics and international relations research. The module considers the characteristics of quantitative and qualitative approaches, and the comparative strengths and limitations of these approaches. It teaches students practical skills in research methods that can be applied in their future academic and professional work, thereby enhancing their employability.

Assessment: Portfolio 100%

Year three

Politics pathway

Block 1: American Politics

This module takes a thematic approach to the study of politics across the Americas, offering a political, historical, social, cultural and international focus, which enables students to engage and consider government and the governed from a range of perspectives. In particular it seeks to challenge US-centric perceptions of the continent, by drawing on aspects of trans-continental relations as well as UK relations across the Americas.

From bureaucratic corridors of power to activism and street protests, all levels of political participation are discussed via a theoretical and practical lens.

Students are encouraged to consider different and sometimes conflicting participants in the political process: from national leadership at times of foreign policy crisis, to subregional political coalitions, to grassroots and international activism, this module will engage the study of American politics, broadly conceived, to provide students with useful expertise in international politics, and develop a set of key research and presentation skills that will be applicable in their post-graduation careers.

The module affords students the opportunity to participate in and hear from external research experts, politicians and/or practitioners, for example, via University research seminar series and events.

Assessment: Portfolio 100% (presentation and report)

Block 2: Decolonising Politics

This module focuses on the growing canon of work around decolonising politics. The module will address legacies of empire and imperialism and their continued impact on politics today. The module draws on and critically examines the contemporary intersections of colonialism and colonial legacy on the experiences of marginalised communities with increasingly diverse societies, and the bodies of theory associated with these often-politicised lived realities, including queer theory, disability theory, black feminisms and intersectionality, and critical race theory.

The module will continue to draw on common themes throughout the programme, such as the centrality of place in the decolonisation of politics through the explicit focus on national case studies and the ways in which these address the lasting impacts of colonialism both inside and outside of the former colonial metropole. The module also problematises notions of decolonising within the frame of current political, social and cultural debates.

Additionally, the module invites students to develop critical understandings of the ways in which colonial legacies impact political representation of minorities and policies around minoritized communities across a range of political settings, both at the structural and interpersonal level.

The module links to 51吃瓜app initiatives such as Decolonising 51吃瓜app, EDI groups and the extracurricular student-led anti-racist reading group. The module will afford students the opportunity to speak with leading scholarly experts and practitioners in the field of decolonising politics.

Assessment: Presentation 40% and Essay 60%

Block 3: Sustainable Futures

This module explores the most urgent challenge facing humanity: the transformation of our economic, political and social systems to ensure long-term sustainability. It focuses on how we understand the politics of such transformations, how environmental problems are managed (or not) through the political system and the ways in which alternative perspectives are articulated, advocated and accommodated.

The module begins by exploring the challenges of the transition and transformation towards sustainable living. It then engages students in the critical evaluation of alternative approaches to sustainability, exposing competing models of the politics of transition, alternative visions of the public good, and indeed different perspectives on our relations with nature and other species. It then moves to examine how we build just and progressive coalitions for change, investigating current debates on contemporary environmental issues such as transport and mobility, food production, health and air pollution, energy futures, biodiversity and the commons, and alternative forms of consumption. Students are encouraged to critically reflect on the extent to which current policies and alternatives move the sustainability agenda forward.

The module affords students the opportunity to participate in and hear from external research experts, politicians and/or practitioners, for example, via university research seminar series and events. It also operates in conjunction with the UN SDG Hub.

Assessment: portfolio (100%)

Block 4: Politics and IR Project

This module offers a capstone experience, culminating in an individual final year project. It comprises an extended piece of work conventionally seen as a dissertation. Other forms of extended coursework could be applied, for example, a politics or international relations real-life project. Students are encouraged to work with a supervisor to develop, negotiate and agree on an area of focus and project feasibility. This relationship and scoping work develop during Block 3 and culminates in the final project delivery in Block 4. Students wishing to pursue a traditional dissertation are required to undertake a research project, which may form the basis of an extended essay, or include primary research, subject to ethical approval. Other options for real-life learning projects are possible on the module. These also need to be informed by academic literature and evidence. This final module is the culmination of the degree and offers opportunities to support students in their next steps beyond the qualification, for example, further study and/or working in politics and international relations careers.

Assessment: Coursework 10% and Dissertation 90%

International Relations pathway

Block 1: Global Inequalities

This module focuses on the global dynamics of inequality in different countries and regions across the world, as well as on the structuring conditions of global politics and the global economy. It focuses on inequality in specific world regions, for example, Latin America and the Middle East and North Africa where levels of inequality are very high. It also focuses on thematic areas and comparisons including, but not limited to, racial capitalism, global labour and social movements, migration, poverty, social reproduction and the global politics of care, and global politics of development.

The emphasis of this module is on the ways that the global constitutes the entry point for our understanding of contemporary inequalities and on identifying transformative pathways beyond them. It provides students the opportunity to engage with different theoretical perspectives on inequality – including Smith, Ricardo, Marx, Gramsci, Wallerstein, Milanovic, feminist theory, racial capitalism perspectives and more – to understand different worldviews on the causes, consequences, and solutions to global inequalities.

Assessment: Essay 3000 words (60%) and Policy Paper 2000 words (40%)

Block 2: Security, Peace and Conflict

Security is considered as a human need operating at varying levels of analysis – global, international, regional, national, societal and individual – with each having a set of specific concerns. The module explores the transformation of war in the contemporary era due to the disintegration of the state’s monopoly on organised political violence. Students on the module examine a diverse assortment of conflict constellations, including civil wars, counterinsurgencies and counterterrorist campaigns, along with information, cyber and hybrid warfare. What is the relationship between changes in military technology and the way particular wars are fought and justified, or conflicts managed and pacified? How do we measure violence and conflict? Who has a responsibility to protect, and for whom are peace and security for? ‘Humanising security’ is also considered on the module.

Assessment: Discussant paper (70%), Presentation (30%)

Block 3: Tackling Global Crises

This module provides students with an opportunity to apply learning from across the International Relations pathway, developing collective policy proposals through negotiation and collaboration to resolve a range of contemporary international crises. Focusing on issues that may include global development, international trade, corruption, global conflict and (in)security, migration, and the environment, students are provided with a series of simulation exercises in which they play the role of different stakeholders within a relevant international institution. Learning activities focus on introducing students to key practices and structures of these institutions, while they undertake independent, collaborative research on their assigned stakeholder role and interests to develop policy positions for negotiation in the roleplay scenario.

Assessment: Policy paper (50%), Policy Paper (50%)

Block 4: Politics and IR Project (year-long)

Assessment: Coursework 10% and Dissertation 90%

^{Note: Once you have selected a specialism pathway, you cannot switch to an alternative pathway for the remainder of the course. All modules are indicative and based on the current academic session. Course information is correct at the time of publication and is subject to review. Exact modules may, therefore, vary for your intake in order to keep content current. If there are changes to your course we will, where reasonable, take steps to inform you as appropriate.}