Module SGIA2351: CLASS, NATION AND BRITISH POLITICS

Department: Government and International Affairs

SGIA2351: CLASS, NATION AND BRITISH POLITICS

Prerequisites

• Any Level 1 SGIA module

Corequisites

• None.

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None.

Aims

• To enable students to gain a detailed empirical knowledge of the changing nature of the British political system.
• To familiarize students with debates about the relationship between identities and the politics in Britain.
• To provide an empirical and theoretical basis for the further study of both British politics and the relationship between identities and political action at level 3

Content

• One vision of the British political system over the past century is that it has been structured around rival identities of class and nation. This module will examine the major debates about these themes as a way of understanding the nature and development of the British democracy. In this offers a carefully structured analysis of the British political system over a substantial period of time which will enable students to appreciate the inter-relationships between long-run economic, social and political change. The module will include analysis of debates such as those about:
• The decline of the Liberal Party and the 'Forward March of Labour'.
• The place of empire in British politics
• The relationship between political thought and political practice.
• The nature of extremist challenges to British democracy.
• The changing basis of electoral politics in Britain.

Learning Outcomes

• Key episodes in recent British political history.
• Theoretical debates about political identities and the character of the British political system.
• The main sources of evidence used to develop arguments in the study of British politics.
• The relationship between forms of analysis in political science and adjacent disciplines such as history.

• Accurately and effectively describe alternative theoretical positions.
• Select appropriate empirical material to support argumentation.
• Apply frameworks from theoretical debates to structure detailed empirical discussion.
• Evaluate rival theories and interpretations with reference to factual evidence.

• Retrieve and utilize in written form resources they have been directed to
• Assess the suitability and quality of resources for research purposes
• Review, reinforce and integrate their knowledge independently in preparation for an examination
• Demonstrate these and the above acquisitions in written form under pressure of time and without supporting materials

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

• Teaching will take the form of 19 substantive lectures plus one introductory, one concluding and one essay feedback lecture (in total 22 lectures), in addition to 9 substantive tutorials plus one introductory meeting. The lectures provide the spine of the module content introducing students to basic factual material, the structure of debates in the academic literature and the forms of evidence used to support them. Tutorials will be based around student-led class discussion, helping consolidate knowledge and developing argumentative and critical ability. Formative essays will provide practice in the organization of material acquired through lectures, tutorials and research in response to a specific question. The examination will promote the ability to organize learned material independently and to bring it to bear in answers to specific questions under time constraint.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

Two essays of 2,000 words.

■ 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