Politics
POL350 (POL350B – Spring) Analysing Public Policy
15 credits Semester: 6 Timetable: Lec: Friday 11am-12pm
Contact: Professor Wayne Parsons
Overlap: None Prerequisite: POL100 or POL104
The aim of this module is to examine the theory and practice of policy making in modern
liberal democratic political systems. The module explores the way in which public issues
and problems are triggered, defined and constructed, how policy agendas are set, how
decision making takes place, and how policies are implemented. The module is
comparative in scope and focuses primarily on case studies from the UK and USA.
Level: 6
POL215 (POL215A – Atumn, POL215B – Spring) British Political System
30 credits Semester: 3 and 4 Timetable: Lec: Monday 10-11am
Contact: Dr Judith Bara
Overlap: None Prerequisite: POL100
This module will provide you with an advanced knowledge of the British political
system. It is divided into two principal parts: the study of the institutions of British
politics, and the study of political culture, behaviour and participation within those
institutions. Topics covered include: the constitution, Parliament, Prime Minister and the
Cabinet system, civil service devolution, local government, the electoral and party
system, political parties, representation, and electoral behaviour.
Level: 5
POL103 Comparative Government and Politics
30 credits Semester: 1 and 2 Timetable: Lec: Wednesday 10-11am
Contact: Dr Rainbow Murray
Overlap: None Prerequisite: None
This module aims to help you develop a critical understanding of political decisionmaking processes in modern states. In doing so, it seeks to lay the basic foundations,
which will enable more advanced study of political institutions in the second and third
years. The module introduces the major branches of the governmental process backed up
by examples drawn from a variety of countries and examines these through the major
theoretical perspectives that have sought to explain the operation of political institutions.
In particular, we will examine structuralist, cultural/institutionalist and rational choice
approaches. The focus of the material is comparative in nature with examples drawn from
a variety of political contexts.
This module is compulsory for all single honours Politics students and optional for joint
honours students. Joint honours students must take either this module or POL104. Not
open to Associate Students.
Level: 4
POL231 (POL231A – Autumn, POL231B – Spring) The Comparative Politics of the
Middle East
30 credits Semester: 3 and 4 Timetable: Lec: Tuesday 11am-12pm
Contact: Dr Toby Dodge
Overlap: None Prerequisite: POL100 or POL103, POL104
This module is designed to provide an introduction to the politics of the contemporary
Middle East from the end of the First World War until the present day. The module is
structured to build upon the knowledge of political science that you have accumulated
during the first year of your degree and are continuing to develop in their second year.
Each weekly topic will be approached from both a theoretical and empirical angle, with
the required readings reflecting this. The aim is to develop both your knowledge of
comparative political science and your understanding of politics in the Middle East. You
will be expected to deploy the tools of comparative political science to understand the
specific politics of the various countries of the Middle East we will be studying.
Level: 5
POL325 (POL325A – Atumn) Electoral Behaviour
15 credits Semester: 5 Timetable: Lec: Tuesday 12-1pm
Contact: Dr Judith Bara
Overlap: None Prerequisite: POL103 and POL215
The aim of this module is to examine and evaluate major issues and controversies in the
study of elections and voting behaviour in Britain which will also provide a basis for
comparative analysis. The course examines the nature and purpose of elections and
voting in relation to key theoretical approaches. In particular the course will focus on
voter turnout, partisan alignment and dealignment, economic voting and, leadership and
media effects. In the second half of the module students will undertake a pilot survey.
Level: 6
POL330 (POL330A – Autumn, POL330B – Spring) European Integration and the
European Union as a Political System
30 credits Semester: 5 and 6 Timetable: Lec: Monday 12-1pm
Contact: Dr Françoise Boucek
Overlap: None Prerequisite: POL100, POL103 or POL104
European integration is the most far-reaching development of voluntary supranational
governance in world history. The objective of this module is to explore first, the origins,
development, and institutions of the EU. Second, major policies and policy-making
processes are examined (such as agriculture, regional development, environment, social
and employment, asylum, foreign policy, and monetary policy). Finally, the module
focuses on current EU developments, dilemmas, and controversy such as the adoption of
the Euro and the European constitution, and EU enlargement). Students will be
introduced to existing and evolving theoretical approaches for explaining the process of
European integration. They will examine the complex operation of the EU as a political
system and they will analyse the political and economic logic behind different national
perspectives on European integration.
Level: 6
POL351 (POL351B – Spring) European Politics: National Identity and Ethnicity
15 credits Semester: 6 Timetable: Lec: Thursday 2-3pm
Contact: Professor Montserrat Guibernau
Overlap: None Prerequisite: POL100 or POL104
The aim of this module is to study the politics of ethnic and national diversity within the
European Union. The module offers a theoretical introduction to the concepts of nationstate, nation, and ethnic community. It explores different models of governance, and
considers ethnic, regional, national and European layers of identity contributing to
Europe’s diversity. The module also studies the main challenges and questions faced by
Europeans in trying to accommodate ethnic and national diversity within democratic
political institutions such as the EU, its member states and regions.
Level: 6
POL333 (POL333A – Atumn) French Politics
15 credits Semester: 5 Timetable: Lec: Wednesday 9-10am
Contact: Professor Raymond Kuhn
Overlap: None Prerequisite: POL100, POL103 or POL104
This module examines the politics of Fifth Republic France (1958 to the present day).
The module covers the key institutions and political actors, including the core executive
and the main political parties, with an emphasis on the legitimacy and efficacy of the
political system.
Level: 6
POL361 (POL361B – Spring) Gender and Politics
15 credits Semester: 6 Timetable: Lec: Tuesday 11am-12pm
Contact: Dr Rainbow Murray
Overlap: None Prerequisite: POL100 and POL 103 or POL104
This module looks at the theory and practice of politics from a gendered perspective. It
considers feminist debates concerning women’s role in the public and private spheres and
asks whether the political process can be complete without women. It then looks at
women’s current involvement in politics and considers a range of explanations as to why
women are under-represented, and possible solutions. The course then examines
women’s political participation within and beyond electoral politics, and asks what
difference women can make.
Level: 6
POL355 (POL355A – Atumn) Globalisation: Issues and Debates
15 credits Semester: 5 Timetable: Lec: Friday, 3-4 pm.
Contact: Professor Ray Kiely
Overlap: None Prerequisite: POL100, POL 104 and POL235
The module provides students with a detailed examination – and critique – of theories of
globalisation and assessment of contemporary globalising processes. It examines these
influences through detailed analysis of contemporary manifestations of ‘globalisation’,
including the study of global production and commodity chains, state-market relations,
the nature and direction of capital flows, patterns of global inequality, international
institutions and global governance, questions of cultural homogenisation/imperialism, the
US state and globalisation, and East Asia and globalisation, and ‘anti-globalisation’. The
module aims to provide you with a well-rounded understanding of ‘the globalisation
debate’, and how this relates to contemporary international and global political issues.
Level: 6
POL239 (POL239A –Atumn, POL239B – Spring) Global Governance and Civil Society
30 credits Semester: 3 and 4 Timetable: Lec: Tuesday 2-3pm.
Contact: Dr Adam Fagan
Overlap: None Prerequisite: POL100 and POL 104
This new module explores the notion of global governance from the particular
perspective of civil society and Non- Governmental Organisations (NGOs). What we are
essentially concerned with here are, first, the extent to which transnational networks of
power can be said to exist; second, to explore which actors dominate and are empowered
within such networks, which are excluded and why; third, the extent to which it is viable
and appropriate to use the term “global civil society” to describe aspects of social
movement and NGO behaviour; fourthly, whether the concept of global governance helps
us to understand better the interactions between the state, non-state, market and civil
society actors in various locations, regions, policy processes and issue regimes.
Level: 5
POL328 (POL328B – Spring) The History and Politics of
Immigration in Britain
15 credits Semester: 6 Timetable: Lec: Thursday 10-12 pm
Contact: Dr Anne J Kershen
Overlap: None Prerequisite: POL100
This module will take a thematic and chronological direction exploring and analysing the
social and political implications of immigration into Britain over the past three hundred
years, with particular emphasis on London. Amongst themes covered will be theories and
patterns of immigration; debates centring around the impact of globalisation and
transnationalism and the expansion of the EU. Political responses – policy formulation
and implementation – attention will be paid to the most recent government
pronouncements on refugees and asylum seekers.
Level: 6
POL308 (POL308A – Atumn) Ideology and Political Critique
15 credits Semester: 5 Timetable: Lec: Thursday 2pm
Contact: Dr Caroline Williams
Overlap: None Prerequisite: POL100 or POL104 and POL206
This module will examine a number of political thinkers who, in the wake of Marx, have
explored the question of ideology and its profound effect upon our lives. Georg Lukács,
Antonio Gramsci and Louis Althusser all contend that an analysis of ideology affords
insights into the dynamics which shape consciousness and the structure of powerrelations in modern societies. However some claim that its analytical value is long dead
and buried. The course will conclude by exploring the challenge posed to the `end of
ideology' thesis by the work of Michel Foucault and Ernesto Laclau.
Level: 6
POL363 (POL363B – Spring) International Political Theory
15 credits Semester: 6 Timetable: Lec: Tuesday 2-3pm
Contact: Dr Patricia Owens
Overlap: None Prerequisite: POL100, POL 104 and POL235
This module offers students an advanced understanding of non-mainstream approaches to
international political theory. What is the ‘international’ and how, if at all, is it distinct
from politics more generally? We will take a number of different answers to these
questions and assess their strengths and weaknesses. These include historical-sociology,
critical theory, normative theory, ethical realism, post-structuralism, gender theory, postcolonialism, republicanism, and neo-conservativism. We conclude by returning to the
question of the ‘political’ as distinct from the ‘international’ or ‘global’.
Level: 6
POL235 (POL235A – Atumn, POL235B – Spring) International Relations in a
Globalising World
30 credits Semester: 3 and 4 Timetable: Lec: Friday 10-11am
Contact: Dr Richard Saull
Overlap: None Prerequisite: POL100 and POL 104
This module focuses on some of the key issues and themes in the study and practice of
contemporary international relations. It takes as its starting point the distinct political
characteristics of the social space of the ‘international’ defined by the absence of
common political power and the political and economic changes associated with the end
of the Cold War and globalisation. Its purpose is to identify and examine key issues of
concern within contemporary world politics including the changing nature of state
sovereignty, war and violence, global governance and international organisations, the
nature of the world economy, and human rights. Through the study of these issues the
module aims to equip students with the conceptual tools and empirical knowledge to
enable them to acquire a deeper and more nuanced understanding of contemporary
international relations.
Level: 5
POL104 International Relations since 1914
30 credits Semester: 1 and 2 Timetable: Lec: Thursday 12-1pm
Contact: Dr Richard Saull
Overlap: None Prerequisite: None
This module will provide a comprehensive survey of international relations from World
War One to the ‘war on terror’. The module is organised within a framework that is
partly chronological and partly thematic. It aims to equip students with a historical and
conceptual knowledge such that they can account for the major historical developments
in international relations since 1914 and identify and trace the roots of contemporary
issues and problems in international relations. The module will address the major
developments in international relations since 1914 including the two world wars, the
Bolshevik Revolution, Fascism, the origins and evolution of the Cold War – and its
impact on different regions of the world – decolonisation and North-South economic
relations, and the origins of the war on terror. By the end of the module you should not
only have a firm grasp of key events in post-1914 international history, but should be able
to account for the causes and consequences of these historical developments, and also to
distinguish the significance of particular international actors and factors in shaping
international relations since 1914.
Not open to Associate Students.
Level: 4
POL237 (POL237A – Autumn, POL237B – Spring) International Security in the
Contemporary World
30 credits Semester: 3 and 4 Timetable: Lec: Tuesday 10-11am
Contact: Dr Bryan Mabee
Overlap: None Prerequisite: POL100 and POL 104
The module examines the study of security in international relations, through its roots in
Cold War strategic studies to the development of a more broadly focused field today. A
variety of perspectives on the causes of war and peace in order to better examine the roots
of violent conflicts and security problems in the present day. Contemporary problems
with civil war, economic, and identity issues will all be investigated. In Part II the module
offers a broader examination of security in light of the expansion of the field at the end of
the Cold War. Examining international security from a number of different theoretical
perspectives, the course moves on to study a variety of important contemporary issues,
from problems with alliances through the environment as a security problem to
transnational security threats. Overall, the module gives a thorough introduction to
security in contemporary international relations.
Level: 5
POL100 Introduction to Politics
30 credits Semester: 1 and 2 Timetable: Lec: Friday 10-11am
Contact:
Overlap: None Prerequisite: None
This module combines the exploration of modern and contemporary ideologies with the
analysis of key political concepts. It begins by examining conceptions of politics and the
political, with particular attention to what it might mean to approach politics
normatively/critically and through a range of theoretical perspectives. The module
proceeds by introducing modern political ideologies (liberalism, socialism, conservatism,
Marxism, anarchism, nationalism) in the context of their historical development, and go
on to analyse a number of key concepts, including rights, liberty, justice, equality and
power. You will have the opportunity to read a range of key texts and will be encouraged
to explore the ways in which such concepts are used and contested in political debate. In
the latter part of the module we will examine some contemporary ideologies and consider
the ways in which these continue to utilise and re-interpret the concepts studied earlier.
Not open to Associate Students.
Level: 4
POL207 (POL207A – Autumn, POL207B – Spring) Latin American Politics
30 credits Semester: 3 and 4 Timetable: Lec: Friday 3-4pm
Contact: Dr Mariana Jiménez-Huerta
Overlap: None Prerequisite: POL100 or POL104
This module provides an introduction to the political history and analysis of modern
Latin America. Semester one focuses on country case studies, including Mexico, Cuba,
Nicaragua, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Peru and Colombia. Semester two considers the
main political themes of the contemporary period, including military dictatorship,
marginality, guerrilla warfare, US policy and transitions to democracy and neoliberalism.
Level: 5
POL354 (POL354B – Spring) Liberalism, Past and Present
15 credits Semester: 6 Timetable: Monday 10-11am
Contact:
Overlap: None Prerequisite: POL100 and POL206
This module will examine the development of liberalism as a political philosophy from
the seventeenth century to the present day. It will do so by concentrating upon the
analysis of certain key texts in the history of liberalism. These texts will include Locke’s
Second treatise, Montesquieu’s Spirit of the Laws, Constant’s Political Writings,
Tocqueville’s Democracy in America, and JS Mill’s On Liberty. For the twentieth
century attention will be paid to such thinkers as Isaiah Berlin and John Rawls. You will
be expected to read and to comment upon a series of selected extracts.
Level: 6
POL206 (POL206A – Autumn, POL206B – Spring) Modern Political Thought I and II
30 credits Semester: 3 and 4 Timetable: Lec: Thursday 11am-12pm
Contact: Dr Caroline Williams / Dr Madeleine Davis
Overlap: None Prerequisite: POL100
The module offers an introduction to Modern Political Thought by critically examining
the texts and ideas of major political thinkers of the seventeenth to twentieth century.
The first semester this year will consider Machiavelli and the social contract theorists:
Hobbes, Locke & Rousseau. This will enable students to assess the foundations of the
history of political thought. The second semester will focus upon the development of
political thought in the nineteenth century, with special emphasis upon the work of Marx
and Nietzsche. This module is compulsory for single honours Politics and History/Politics
joint honours student.
Level: 5
POL234 (POL234A – Autumn, POL234B – Spring) The Nation in the Global Age
30 credits Semester: 3 and 4 Timetable: Lec: Thursday 9-10am
Contact: Professor Montserrat Guibernau
Overlap: None Prerequisite: POL100 and POL103 or POL104
The aim of this module is to consider current challenges faced by the nation in the global
age. The module studies the concept of nation in classical social theory by examining the
work of Marx, Durkheim and Weber. It then moves on to consider issues of nationalism
and national identity, the politics of recognition and multicultural citizenship. The study
of the nation is closely connected to nationalism and the different types of movements it
has generated in various parts of the world. To assess this, the module focuses on the
concepts of citizenship and identity in Britain, Canada and Spain.
It also examines the impact of globalisation on traditional conceptions of the nation.
Level: 5
POL200 (POL200A –Atumn, POL200B – Spring) Politics and the Mass Media
30 credits Semester: 3 and 4 Timetable: Lec: Tuesday: 12-1pm
Contact: Professor Raymond Kuhn
Overlap: None Prerequisite: POL/100 or POL/104
This module examines key aspects of the interrelationship between politics and the mass
media in Britain. In the Autumn Semester we concentrate on the historical development
of the British media, key media institutions/ players and media policy. In the Spring
Semester we concentrate on political communication, media content and effects.
Level: 5
POL236 (POL236A – Autumn, POL236B – Spring) The Political Economy of Global
Development
30 credits Semester: 3 and 4 Timetable: Lec: Wednesday 12-1pm
Contact: Professor Ray Kiely
Overlap: None Prerequisite: POL100 and POL 104
The module is designed as a critical introduction to some of the key themes and issues in
the political economy of development. It starts by introducing you to the ideas of
development and the ‘Third World’, and then relates these to theoretical understandings
of the divisions between the global ‘north’ and ‘south’, since 1945, and with the advent
of globalisation. The module then examines current debates over globalisation and
development, including poverty, the environment, trade, debt, NGOs and social
movements, international institutions, multinational companies.
Level: 5
POL344 (POL344A – Atumn) The Politics of the New Left: Ideas, Practice and Legacy
15 credits Semester: 5 Timetable: Lec: Friday 12-1pm
Contact: Dr Madeleine Davis
Overlap: None Prerequisite: POL/100 or POL/104
A one semester module exploring the history, politics and thought of the New Left in
Britain and elsewhere. Topics will include; origins of the New Left, the "revolutionary
moment" of 1968 and its legacy, the rise of new social movements and their impact. We
will look at the relationship of the New Left to Marxism and to political practice, and at
the creation of a radicalised intellectual culture. The aim is to broaden students'
conception of politics by developing an understanding of New Left currents as alternative
forms of political organisation outside traditional Parliamentary/party structures.
Level: 6
POL360 (POL360A – Atumn) Political Parties and Party Systems
15 credits Semester: 5 Timetable: Lec: Tuesday 11-12pm
Contact: Dr Rainbow Murray
Overlap: None Prerequisite: POL100 and POL 103 or POL104
This module looks at the role of political parties in modern democracies. It examines how
parties can be classified according to their ideology and organisation, and shows how
these traits influence party competition. It also looks at party systems, accounting for
differences between countries and considering how party systems affect party behaviour.
The module then moves on to look at how parties treat their members and select electoral
candidates, before using more detailed case studies to illustrate the core themes of the
module.
Level: 6
POL337 (POL337A – Atumn) The Politics of Economic Ideas:
Key Texts in Modern Political Economy
15 credits Semester: 6 Timetable: Lec: Monday 3-4pm
Contact: Dr Mark Pennington
Overlap: None Prerequisite: POL100
This module aims to introduce students to the relationship between economic ideas and
political/policy argument. You will study key texts in political economy, including
Keynes, Hayek and recent contributions from public choice theorists. The module will
consider the impact of economic ideas on contemporary policy-making in the context of
the continuing search for a middle way in political economy (primarily in the UK and
USA).
Level: 6
POL310 The Politics Research Project
30 credits Semester: 5 and 6 (Workshops held in Semester 5 only) Timetable: Lec:
Thursday 10am-12pm
Contact: Dr Catherine Needham
Overlap: None Prerequisite: POL100
The project is now a compulsory module for all single honours Politics students. It is
designed to give students the opportunity of studying an agreed topic under supervision
on an individual basis and to a greater depth than is possible within existing modules.
Students must fill in the pre-registration form and should undertake a programme of
preparatory work during the long vacation. A programme of research workshops will be
provided in the first semester and each student will have an opportunity to present their
research to a small group in the second semester. Assessment is on the basis of two
coursework assignments and a dissertation of 12,000 words. For more details, please read
below.
Level: 6
POL359 (POL359B – Spring) Resistance, Revolutionary Change and World Politics
15 credits Semester: 6 Timetable: Thursday 2-4pm
Contact: Dr Richard Saull
Overlap: None Prerequisite: POL100, POL 104 and POL235
This module offers students an advanced understanding of the theory and practice of the
international politics of radical and revolutionary movements. Its main focus is on the
historical experience of communist forms of revolutionary politics – across the world - in
the period after 1917, but it will also address new the forms of resistance that have
emerged after the Cold War. The course is concerned with exploring the way in which
revolutionary political movements are shaped by international structures and processes
and the extent to which these movements have realised meaningful international political
change. The module aims to provide students with a sophisticated understanding of the
character of radical and revolutionary forms of political agency in the context of the Cold
War, as well as equipping them with a theoretical and empirical knowledge to explain the
emergence and nature of the new forms of resistance in world politics.
Level: 6
POL352 (POL352A – Atumn) Select Topics in British Politics I
15 credits Semester: 5 Timetable: Lec: Thursday 12-1pm
Contact: Dr Catherine Needham
Overlap: None Prerequisite: POL/215
This module builds on the second year British Political System module and gives
students an in-depth understanding of a key topic in British government and politics. By
studying a topic in depth it allows students to gain a detailed knowledge of a particular
aspect of British politics and thus facilitates a broader understanding of British
government and politics. The topics chosen change year to year. This semester the topic
will be Political Communication in Britain. The module can be taken in conjunction with
Select Topics in British Politics 2 or on its own.
Level: 6
POL353 ( POL353B – Spring) Select Topics in British Politics II
15 credits Semester: 6 Timetable: Lec: Thursday 12-1pm
Contact: Dr Catherine Needham
Overlap: None Prerequisite: POL/215
This module builds on the second year British Political System module and gives
students an in-depth understanding of a key topic in British government and politics. By
studying a topic in depth it allows students to gain a detailed knowledge of a particular
aspect of British politics and thus facilitates a broader understanding of British
government and politics. The topics chosen change year to year. This semester the topic
will be Understanding New Labour. The module can be taken in conjunction with Select
Topics in British Politics I or on its own.
Level: 6
POL347 (POL347A – Atumn) Themes and Issues in The Comparative Politics of the
Middle East
15 credits Semester: 5 Timetable: Lec: Wednesday 11am-12pm
Contact: Dr Toby Dodge
Overlap: None Prerequisite: POL100 and POL231
This module focuses on specific issues in Middle Eastern politics and studies them in a
comparative way across the region and beyond that across the developing word as a
whole. Its purpose is to identify and then examine the different units of analysis used in
the academic study of the politics of the Middle East. It will examine these units of
analysis, assess their strengths and weaknesses and then seek to apply them to a series of
case studies in the different countries of the region. The module will include the study of
sectarianism and communalism, understandings of tribalism and gender, Islamic ideas of
legitimacy and ideologies that have had influence in the region.
Level: 6
POL345 (POL345B – Spring) Theory and Practice in Environmental Politics
15 credits Semester: 6 Timetable: Lec: Monday 3-4pm
Contact: Dr Mark Pennington
Overlap: None Prerequisite: POL100 or POL104
This module provides an introduction to the core concepts of environmental politics. Its
purpose is to explore the ideologies and attitudes, which influence contemporary
environmental debate and the people, movements and organisations that form and
implement the policies which result. The module examines different conceptions of the
relationship between human beings and the natural world and relates these to the major
philosophical traditions within modern political thought. These concepts are then
deployed to explore the formulation and implementation of environmental policy and the
role of individuals, interest groups and government agencies within the policy process.
Level: 6
POL326 (POL326B – Spring) Theories of Self
15 credits Semester: 6 Timetable: Lec: Wednesday 11-12am
Contact: Dr Caroline Williams
Overlap: None Prerequisite: POL100, POL104, and POL 206
This module will examine a range of philosophical, political and psychoanalytical
perspectives on the self and consider the ways in which its formation as a stable, unitary
being has been called into question. Is there a true self, an essential self that we can come
to know, or is the idea of a centred self a fiction? Does self-knowledge bring certainty, or
is it always fragile and contestable? Is the self socially constructed? What is the
unconscious and how does it influence the conscious life of the self? How are our
identities constructed and transformed? The module will consider the ways in which early
modern, modern and contemporary thinkers have reflected upon the self and responded to
questions regarding the uncertainty of its formulation. Thinkers covered will include
Descartes, Spinoza, Nietzsche, Freud, Arendt, Foucault and Butler.
Level: 6
POL358 (POL358A – Atumn) US Foreign Policy
15 credits Semester: 5 Timetable: Lec: Friday 10-11am
Contact: Dr. Bryan Mabee
Overlap: None Prerequisite: POL100, POL 104 and POL235
The United States occupies a fundamental place in contemporary international relations.
Therefore understanding its place in the international system and how its foreign policy is
made are of crucial importance for every student of international relations. The module
focuses on two elements of US foreign policy: how it is made, and important
contemporary policy issues. Knowledge of these areas will give a solid overview and
understanding of US foreign policy in the contemporary world.
Level: 6
POL349 (POL349A – Atumn) Visions of Capitalism: Adam Smith
and Karl Marx
15 credits Semester: 5 Timetable: Lec: Monday 10-11am
Contact:
Overlap: None Prerequisite: POL100 and POL206
The module is designed to act as an introduction to the history of thought in political
economy by focusing upon the two major theorists identified with the analysis of
capitalism: Adam Smith and Karl Marx. By closely examining the writings of both
authors the module will enable you to become familiar with the ideas that have shaped
our thinking about how markets work and the benefits or otherwise that they produce.
Beyond this the texts under examination will raise issues relating to broader issues of
political theory and practice.
Level: 6
POL362 (POL362A – Atumn) War in World Politics
15 credits Semester: 5 Timetable: Lec: Tuesday 2-3pm
Contact: Dr Patricia Owens
Overlap: None Prerequisite: POL100, POL 104 and POL237
This module offers students an advanced understanding of the place of war in world
politics and society. We will begin by asking what war is and then investigate its relation
to the fields of ethics, law, society and gender. We will look at the question of combat
motivation (why solders fight) and specific forms of warfare such as genocide, guerrilla
warfare, and counter-insurgency. The module concludes by addressing anti-war activism
and related forms of strategic non-violence.
Level: 6