Module POLI1041: IDEAS AND IDEOLOGIES

Department: GOVERNMENT AND INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS (POLITICS)

POLI1041: IDEAS AND IDEOLOGIES

Prerequisites

• None.

Corequisites

• None.

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None.

Aims

• The module will lay the basis for a systematic understanding of the role of key political ideas and ideologies in shaping modern political thought and their role in setting the context of political behaviour and change.
• This will introduce students to the contested nature and boundaries of political ideas and ideologies, offering initial insight into the significance of this contestation for wider human activity.

Content

• The module considers the nature of political theory and some key ideas and ideologies that have been influential in the western political tradition.
• The topics will include the following: What is Political Theory?, Liberty, Equality, Democracy, Power and Authority, Consent, Ideology, Liberalism, Marxism, Democratic Socialism, Conservatism, The New Right, Nationalism.

Learning Outcomes

• Through the module students will gain appropriate knowledge and understanding of:
• principal ideas and ideologies in contemporary political life.
• the contested nature of political concepts and ideological traditions.
• the underpinning traditions of political thought that sustain specific ideas and ideologies.

• The module will introduce important subject specific skills:
• accurate summary and description of appropriate political literature.
• identification of the nature of differences between the ideas and ideologies considered in the module and appreciation of their relative merits.
• appropriate sensitivity to historical context.

• The module begins to develop key skills:
• accessing and effectively utilising information to which they have been directed and using basic research techniques to supplement this.
• planning and writing assignments to specific formats and within time constraints.
• effective communication of information.

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

• Teaching and learning is through a combination of lectures, tutorials and skills sessions.
• The lectures will provide an introduction to each topic and tutorials an opportunity for clarification and discussion.
• Skills sessions will enhance intellectual and practical skills necessary for success at Level 1 and to prepare for more advanced work beyond.
• Summative assessment: examination - demonstrate understanding of the contested nature of, and boundaries between the ideas and ideologies considered in the module within time constraints.
• appropriate planning of work in preparation for the examination and in the examination itself.
• Formative assessment: bibliographic assignment - this will rotate with the two other Level 1 modules.
• It will test the student's ability to research a topic, utilise appropriate methods of scholarly citation, and assess the quality and relevance of sources.
• 2 essays (one when this module hosts the bibliographic assignment) - ability to construct detailed, well-structured arguments on the basis of literature appropriate to level one and awareness of the context of debates and wider traditions of thought.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

Bibliographic exercise (1 year in 3). 2 essays (1500 words), 1 in the year when a bibliographic assignment is required.

■ Attendance at all activities marked with this symbol will be monitored. Students who fail to attend these activities, or to complete the summative or formative assessment specified above, will be subject to the procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University