Module SGIA3671: The Politics of Inequality

Department: Government and International Affairs

SGIA3671: The Politics of Inequality

Prerequisites

• Any Level 2 SGIA module

Corequisites

• None.

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None.

Aims

• To understand how inequality is observed empirically, both within national communities and between nations
• To learn both about the methods used to study inequality and the debates within social science about the strengths and weaknesses of different measures
• To gain knowledge of the theoretical and conceptual approaches common in International Relations, International Political Economy, Political Science and neighbouring disciplines on issues of inequality and poverty

Content

• Indicative content of the module includes:
• Empirical examples of manifestations of inequality related to factors of production: labour, land and capital
• Introductions to theoretical explanations of inequality, such as liberalism, Marxism, feminism, dependency theory, critical race theory and more;
• Theory-based case studies of identity-driven inequality, such as class, gender, race, and nationality.
• Analysis of political and social projects to combat inequality, such as trade unions, wealth taxes, philanthropy and welfare benefits

Learning Outcomes

• Through the module students will gain an understanding of:
• The major theoretical approaches to the study of the political economy of inequality;
• Some of the more significant empirical examples of material inequality and poverty, of the more significant empirical examples of material inequality and poverty, locally, internationally and globally;
• The intersections of material (e.g. wages, housing, finance) and ideological (e.g. racism, sexism, jingoism) drivers of inequality.

• Students will also develop some subject specific skills, such as:
• Advanced ability to identify and engage with the principal theoretical approaches of International Political Economy on the subject of inequality;
• Effectively communicate and advocate for solutions from an evidence-based perspective in relation to specific drivers of inequality.

• Students will also develop some important key skills, suitable for underpinning study at this and subsequent levels, such as:
• Independent thought and critical thinking in analysing and critiquing existing scholarship on the subject area and in evaluating its contribution;
• Advanced essay-writing skills and the ability to work to a deadline;
• Effective oral communication of research applications, including emotional intelligence and judgement when crafting an argument to persuade others.

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

• Teaching and learning are through a series of one-hour lectures and two-hour seminars.
• The lectures provide subject specific theories and concepts from International Political Economy and related political studies scholarship applied to empirical examples of relevant themes.
• The seminars offer students a setting to practice the application of theory on key themes from the module, through group work, individual written tasks, class debates and other interactive methods of analysing empirical evidence.
• Assessment will be through one pre-recorded presentation and one essay.
• The pre-recorded presentation (fifteen minutes) is an individual oral presentation. The presentation will assess a student’s ability to make a clear, concise argument orally based on independent thinking about one of the empirical examples discussed in the seminars about debates in the field on drivers of inequality using recording and presentation software. All students will be required to structure their presentation with core components: theory, empirical evidence, implications and conclusion. This will test student’s ability to make an effective argument verbally, drawing on skills of emotional intelligence and judgement to persuade others.
• The essay (3,000) words will require students to choose a relevant case study outside of examples given in class to answer a broad question about synthesizing theory and empirical evidence to show the drivers of key themes of the module. This assignment requires independent thought and critical thinking, identifying a relevant case study on their own initiative and applying subject-specific knowledge in the analysis of the empirical evidence. Distinct from the presentation, this assessment will test written communication and advanced essay writing skills.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

A formative essay of 1,500 words.

■ Students who do not attend monitored activities shown under Teaching Methods and Learning Hours, or who fail to complete the summative or formative assessment(s) specified above, may be subject to the Academic Progress procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University.