Module LAW46915: CURRENT ISSUES IN INTERNATIONAL LAW AND GOVERNANCE

Department: Law

LAW46915: CURRENT ISSUES IN INTERNATIONAL LAW AND GOVERNANCE

Prerequisites

• None

Corequisites

• None

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None

Aims

• The aim of this course is to give students a chance to engage with cutting edge research in international law and governance. By attendance at and engagement with academic seminars from faculty and visiting scholars students will gain valuable insights in to current trends, issues and themes in international law and governance.

Content

• The content will vary depending on which speakers are invited, but can be expected to cover a wide range of doctrinal and theoretical questions in international law and governance.

Learning Outcomes

• have an understanding of contemporary concerns in international law and governance research;
• have an understanding of the role international law scholars play in international society;
• synthesize and critically analyse the new research ideas in the context of the general course of international law and governance.

• be able to explain and critique a new idea, research question or theory;
• be able to identify the key issues in international law and governance;
• be able to recognise international legal problems and be able to construct arguments as to how these problems may be resolved;
• be able to interpret, critically analyse, and synthesise relevant legal materials and literature;
• be able to demonstrate knowledge of the methods by which international law is understood and implemented

• Students will be able to demonstrate developed research and writing skills, including the ability to work independently and to take responsibility for their own learning;
• Students will be able to research questions of international law using the entire range of sources recognised within the international legal system. They will be able to find and use materials to construct valid international legal arguments. They will be able to construct written arguments. They will be able to work independently and think critically.

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

• Students will learn through attendance at and engagement with academic seminars organised through Law and Global Justice Durham; each academic seminar will then be followed by an hour to discuss the seminar within the class;
• To support student learning, there will be one lecture in each term, and one assessment support lecture in term 2;
• Each academic seminar will be accompanied by a dedicated online discussion board to which students and staff will contribute to discuss the seminar and responses to it;
• Assessment is in two parts, first through completion of blogs/journals recording and responding to the seminars attended, and second through a reflective essay;
• Every student is required to submit four 500 word journal entries responding to an academic seminar, one formative, three summative.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

Formative blog 500 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