Module SGIA1041: IDEAS AND IDEOLOGIES

Department: Government and International Affairs

SGIA1041: 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.
• working effectively in groups

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 discussion board sessions.
• The lectures will provide an introduction to each topic and tutorials an opportunity for clarification and discussion.
• Discussion Board sessions will provide further opportunities for clarification and discussion between tutorials and with the lecturers on the module.
• Summative assessment: this is primarily by two hour unseen written examination tests students' acquisition and retention of subject specific knowledge and their skills of description and summary. Examinations are also a test of key skill acquisition through demonstrating suitable breadth and depth of knowledge gained via guided and independent research, deployment of appropriate resources and effective planning, writing and communication within a structured framework. Further summative assessment is by a group presentation delivered by three to four students. Each contributor will submit a summary of the group's deliberations on one side of A4 (500-550 words) no later than two weeks after the presentation or in the first tutorial of the following term if a vacation intervenes. Assessment is on a pass-fail basis. This assessment tests the ability to work effectively in groups.
• Formative assessment: one 1,500 word essay and presentations gives students an opportunity to practice written and oral communication, receiving feedback and testing the student's ability to research a topic, utilise appropriate methods of scholarly citation, and assess the quality and relevance of sources.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

Two essays of 1,500 words each submitted in Michaelmas and Epiphany Terms

■ 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