Module SGIA2161: THE POLITICS OF PACIFIC ASIA

Department: Government and International Affairs

SGIA2161: THE POLITICS OF PACIFIC ASIA

Prerequisites

• Any Level 1 SGIA module

Corequisites

• None.

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None.

Aims

• The module will give students a systematic understanding of the comparative and international politics of Pacific Asia.
• Students will gain specific knowledge of the political systems and international relations of the region with an emphasis on explaining processes of change.
• Students will also gain an understanding of how to apply the theories and concepts of contemporary political science to the regional context helping them to gain an understanding of politics as a contested discipline in cultural terms: do its concepts 'travel'?
• The module is aimed at Level 2 students who wish to understand the complexities of this emerging and important region and who may pursue more specialised options in East Asian politics at Level 3.

Content

• Pacific Asia has emerged in the second half of the 20th century as the most dynamic region of the world.
• Key political concepts and processes are being advanced and contested within the region on a daily basis.
• One term will: define Pacific Asia and its processes of domestic change by reference to key concepts - modernisation, political culture, democratisation; present comparative case studies of the operation of these concepts in several countries in the region.
• The second term will: examine the international history of the region in the Cold and post-Cold War eras; focus on the problems of regionalism and regional leadership, notably the tension between bilateralism and multilateralism.

Learning Outcomes

• Students will gain subject specific knowledge and understanding in order to be able to: define and manipulate the key theories and concepts relevant to the study of the region.
• demonstrate an appreciation of the variety of political interactions characteristic of the region, in terms of both its political systems and its international politics.
• demonstrate knowledge of the contested nature of political science in terms of its study of the region.
• demonstrate awareness of the nature and relative merits of the principal methodologies employed in the study of the region.

• students should be able to:
• describe and apply basic, and in some contexts more advanced, understanding of the academic literature concerning the region.
• identify and evaluate the key areas of dispute in this field of political study.
• demonstrate the ability to reach informed judgements as to the relative merits of the appropriate concepts and methodologies in this field of politics.
• demonstrate a self-critical and self-aware approach to their learning in the module.

• students will develop:
• more advanced techniques in the research and evaluation of academic resources.
• higher and a more diverse range of skills in the preparation and presentation of academic work to the appropriate standards and within the time constraints.
• increased independence in planning and managing their own learning.

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

• The module will be taught by means of 21 one hour lectures and 10 one hour tutorials.
• The module is structured in four blocks of five lectures and a revision, with two tutorials supporting each block, an introductory business meeting and a revision tutorial.
• A handling session and workshop at Durham Oriental Museum near the beginning of the module will introduce students to the history of the region and methods of research-based learning.
• A day of debates based on past exam papers in the Easter term will enable intensive review and revision of the module material in the run-up to the exam.
• Lectures will make the major contribution to subject specific knowledge and understanding, delivering formal instruction in appropriate theories and facts.
• The work of tutorials will aim to develop subject specific skills, notably through research based group presentations: each tutorial will be divided into two study groups, each of which will make two presentations. These will build key collaborative skills.
• The group presentations are to be accompanied by a one A4 page handout. These will be peer assessed.
• The formative submissions will prepare students for their summative assessments and will be responded to by the lecturers in the feedback report.
• Thus each group will make two formative submissions, one in each term prior to the relevant summative assignments.
• Summative assessment will be by means of a 2000 word essay due at the end of the Epiphany Term, and a 1 hour unseen written examination in May/June.
• This is identified in the School's programme specification as being appropriate for the testing of a wide range of subject specific and key skills, including discrimination in the use of sources.
• assessment of competing conceptualisations.
• application of suitable methodologies.
• and demonstration of effective written communication.
• The module demonstrates progression from Level 1 in terms of the new empirical and theoretical knowledge areas with which students must engage.
• Lectures are retained as the best way to transmit this knowledge base to students.
• In tutorials students are encouraged to demonstrate maturity and skill development through collaboration in written and oral work.
• The use of continuous assessment similarly requires progression in research, analytical, and writing skills.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

Formative assessment will be by means of group presentations to the tutorial class and the handouts produced in support of these, together with written assignments to prepare students for their summative assessments. Lecturers will provide the assessment in their feedback reports.

■ 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