Module SGIA3471: POWER AND POLITICAL SPACE IN JEWISH POLITICS

Department: Government and International Affairs

SGIA3471: POWER AND POLITICAL SPACE IN JEWISH POLITICS

Prerequisites

• Any Level 2 SGIA module

Corequisites

• None.

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None.

Aims

• The module aims to introduce students to the central literature on power and political space, respectively, and to apply this knowledge in regard to Jewish politics.
• The module aims to introduce key debates about Jewish politics in the 20th and 21st Centuries.
• The module aims to develop students' critical engagement with theory including the application of theory for understanding particular political problems.
• The module also aims to support critical reading skills, and uses fiction to help encourage the development of this skill.

Content

• The module challenges students to think critically about power and political space, and applies these theoretical discourses in regard to Jewish politics in the Diaspora and in Israel.
• Incorporates select political and social theory texts on power and political space.
• Offers students the opportunity to use Jewish literature (fiction) in exploring political issues.
• Introduce students to central Jewish debates about Zionism, assimilation and integration.

Learning Outcomes

• During the module students should develop subject specific knowledge and understanding of:
• Some of the central debates about power;
• How space functions as a political category;
• The scope of Jewish debate surrounding Jewish political life in the 20th and 21st Centuries;
• How Diaspora and Zionism have shaped Jewish thought and practice.

• Students should also develop important subject specific skills, such as:
• Effectively describing advanced (theoretical) academic literatures and applying this knowledge to specific problems in politics;
• Identifying the central issues in Jewish debate about political life.

• Students should also enhance key skills, including:
• Effective communication of their knowledge, including engaging with, structuring and assessing material;
• Independent learning;
• Confidence building;
• Critical reading skills;
• Developing more advanced evaluative techniques.

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

• Teaching and learning are via lectures and smaller-group tutorials. Lectures provide for the delivery of subject specific knowledge and enable staff to highlight key areas of dispute in the field, including the role of methodological disputes. Smaller-group tutorials enable students to explore the subject in more depth and discuss competing evaluations and assessments of the theories and debates covered in the module. They also offer an opportunity for students to structure and communicate their knowledge in response to the dynamics of the class.
• Formative assessment in the format of a 1000 word book review essay gives students practice in advance of summative assessment in setting out their knowledge of the field in order to develop and defend in a suitably structured and rigorous fashion a response to a set question. Formative assessment via an essay offers students an opportunity to practice the kind of skills necessary for exams without the associated time pressure and receive feedback on the development of their knowledge and understanding, and their subject specific skills. In particular, the formative essay contributes to the students’ ability to develop new skills in exploratory research. The formative essays also provides students with written feedback on their work, enable students to develop their writing, reading and research skills. Achieving this also tests their ability to independently identify, assess and organise resources in support of a consistent academic argument, by a deadline and to a word-limit (1000 words), requiring students to take responsibility for their learning. The presentation and written outline will provide preparation for the summative essay.
• Summative assessment in the form of a 3000 word research essay. The essay provides the opportunity to develop research skills beyond the reading list and in analysing and applying a wide-range of knowledge to produce a critical assessment of a theory or theoretical issue. It tests the ability to plan a more substantial piece of work, identifying and retrieving sources and selecting and displaying appropriate subject specific knowledge and understanding. It tests the ability to develop an extended discussion which utilises concepts and examines competing interpretation and analysis. It also develops key skills in sustaining effective written communication and information presentation to high scholarly standards.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

Two formative assignments: A 1000 word essay on the following question: “In light of the academic boycott of Israeli institutions and academics, explore the argument that Zionism is racist.” One presentation based on their summative essay, with submission of a written essay outline.

■ 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