Module SGIA3501: Advanced Topics in International Political Theory

Department: Government and International Affairs

SGIA3501: Advanced Topics in International Political Theory

Prerequisites

• Any level 2 SGIA theory module (SGIA 2131 International Theory, SGIA 2171 Foundations of Western Political Thought, SGIA 2281 Sovereignty, State and Empire, SGIA 2321 Democratic Theory), OR any level 2 SGIA module and either PHIL 2081 or PHIL 2151.

Corequisites

• None

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None

Aims

• The module aims to offer students the opportunity to explore at an advanced level key topics, such as responsibility, recognition and identity, power, and political space, that transgress the disciplinary limits of political theory and international relations.
• The module aims to demonstrate the application of political theory concepts and techniques to non-political theory literature.
• The module aims to develop students’ critical engagement with theory and the ability to question prevailing assumptions about political and international relations theory. The module contributes to students’ wider understanding of how political thought functions as a way of making sense out of a complex world, and encourages students’ to think differently about politics and international relations.

Content

• The module challenges students to think critically and creatively in Political Science, using specific literature within political theory/philosophy to make sense out of empirical problems of normative concern, and then deploy normative arguments as a response.
• The module will make use of current events and link specific debates in the news with key traditions in political thought, with a focus on methodology.
• The module makes use of fiction as a primary source for the examination of key concepts in political thought.
• The module explores select concepts that join Political Theory and International Theory as a means to understanding political life, and to develop alternative ways of understanding and thinking about political possibilities.

Learning Outcomes

• During the module students should develop subject specific knowledge and understanding of:
• Select literatures within Political Theory that concern questions of an international character. Indicative topics include: identity, recognition, responsibility, political space, and power;
• How fiction can help to better understand and possibly even analyse political problems;
• The relevance of methodology for political debate;
• The relevance of Political Theory outside of academic contexts.

• Students in this module will have the opportunity to develop important subject specific skills, such as:
• Effectively describing advanced academic literatures and applying this knowledge to specific problems in politics and international relations;
• Identifying, evaluating and challenging key assumptions in political and international thought;
• Showing an awareness of how theory both limits and enables our understanding of politics and international relations.
• The ability to apply the tools and methods of political theory in other contexts.

• Students should also enhance key skills, including:
• Effective communication of their knowledge, including engaging with, structuring and assessing material;
• Independent learning;
• Confidence building;
• Developing more advanced evaluative techniques;
• Applying and communicating difficult concepts in simple non-academic language.

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 seminars. 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 seminars 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 book review essay gives students practice in advance of a particular type of essay writing, involving description of a key text, with a commentary on that text using minimal external sources. The formative is designed to encourage students to use their own voice and to practice the ability to describe a text in their own words. The length of the formative also encourages students to be economical with their words, and be able to identify the core points of significance quickly, maximizing the effectiveness of their wordcraft. The formative essays also provides students with written feedback on their work, enabling students to develop their writing, reading and analyzing skills. The deadline tests their ability to independently identify, assess and organise resources requiring students to take responsibility for their learning.
• Summative assessment involves two components: The first is either “a letter to the editor” or other related short essay along op-ed lines. At the start of the Epiphany term, each student needs to identify a topic that they want to write about and which pertains to an ongoing news story. The students will be required to write a short piece, between 800 and 1000 words, as a response to this ongoing story, by the end of term. The second, is a 2000 word research essay, due on the last Thursday of Easter term teaching weeks (before the exam period).
• These summative assignments meet the module’s learning outcomes, including in the case of the “letter to the editor” the ability to apply academic-knowledge outside of an academic context, and the development of writing and research skills. The research 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. This essay 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 utilizes 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:

A book review of 1,200 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