Module SGIA2191: FOUNDATIONS OF WESTERN POLITICAL THOUGHT - PROJECT

Department: Government and International Affairs

SGIA2191: FOUNDATIONS OF WESTERN POLITICAL THOUGHT - PROJECT

Prerequisites

• Ideas and Ideologies (SGIA1041).

Corequisites

• Foundations of Western Political Thought (SGIA2171).

Excluded Combination of Modules

• Dynamics of Change in International Relations - Project (SGIA2211); Democratic Government - Project (SGIA2201).

Aims

• This module contributes to students' critical engagement with Politics as an academic subject and as an aspect of wider human activity.
• They will gain a more detailed and systematic understanding of a chosen topic in Political Thought and an awareness of the areas of controversy and dispute surrounding the study of that topic.
• They will be expected to identify and apply appropriate theoretical, conceptual and empirical material and methods and to place the topic in its historical and philosophical context.

Content

• Project titles will be drawn from the areas covered in the co-requisite module.

Learning Outcomes

• Detailed knowledge of the specific topic chosen for the project.
• awareness of the contested relationship between the specific topic and appropriate theoretical, methodological and empirical contextual issues.
• important aspects of appropriate political philosophical, political theoretical and/or explanatory frameworks.
• the relevant contestations and interactions involved in the chosen topic.

• Effective selection, description and use of basic and some more advanced academic literature in the field.
• identify and evaluate key areas of dispute, demonstrating reasoned judgement.
• show appreciation for the importance of relevant contextual issues.
• demonstrate a self-critical and self-aware approach to the topic.

• Effective planning and preparation of their own work over an extended period.
• project design and management within a defined template.
• deploy appropriate research techniques and methods with limited guidance.
• identify and utilise appropriate material with limited initial guidance.
• effective written communication.

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

• To enable students to undertake effective and increasingly independent study in preparation of their project.
• Thus the topics available are carefully selected and closely and directly tied to the co-requisite module, ensuring that students gain support for their project from the teaching they receive in that module.
• Additionally, the module will use lectures to set out the formal framework and requirements of the project, both initially and towards the end of the project to assist the final stages of writing-up.
• Workshop sessions will enable students to seek support and assistance from staff and also to engage with one-another, via presentations, to make use of the experiences of others in the development of their projects.
• Using duo in the module also offers students the opportunity to form active discussion groups to exchange ideas about the development and production of their projects.
• The module will also establish a clear template for the production of the project, providing a strongly structured basis for students to work within, assisting them in understanding the requirements of the exercise and appreciating what is expected of the project.
• Within this structure students will be expected to take responsibility for the choice of appropriate methods, the development of an analytical line and the research of the majority of the material.
• Initial guidance will be provided through the co-requisite module reading lists, and additional sources, in print and on-line where appropriate, will be suggested via duo.
• Through these modes of teaching and learning, students should gain insight into the development, research and writing of an extended piece of work within a framework and environment that is more structured and with greater guidance than exists at level 3.
• This experience should make a positive contribution to their final year dissertation.
• The summative assessment of the module will focus on the project report, which will test how effectively students have responded to the aims of the project and fulfilled the learning outcomes.
• Successful projects will demonstrate the ability to organise a sustained research and writing effort within a structured and supported framework, effectively deploying material in a methodologically sound way and developing a reasoned analytical response at length.
• Assessment criteria will be available to students to assist them in understanding the assessment process and the standards that are expected of projects at this level.
• Re-sit opportunities will come through the submission of a revised project that successfully addresses the shortcomings in the initial submission identified on the marking proformas routinely used in all summative assessment in the department.
• Students will be prevented from gaining any benefit through re-submission via the capping of re-sit marks at 40.
• Re-submission is an appropriate method in this case because producing a successful project offers the only way of fulfilling the aims and learning outcomes of the module.
• The setting of examinations or the submission of a shorter piece of work would not fulfil the outcomes of responding to the specific template of the project and the need to be able to write at length on the topic in particular.
• Formative assessment of workshop presentations will offer students feedback on the development of their work at that stage, assisting them in refining and improving the project as it develops.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

One 15 minute workshop presentation on development of project. One 1500 word literature review.

■ 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