Module SGIA3881: The Dark Side of Liberal International Order

Department: Government and International Affairs

SGIA3881: The Dark Side of Liberal International Order

Prerequisites

• Any Level 2 SGIA Module

Corequisites

• None

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None

Aims

• The module aims to extend students’ theoretical, conceptual, and empirical knowledge of the liberal international order, with particular attention to practices of violence and exclusion. It will help students to:
• develop their ability to use an appropriate range of skills, including collecting and critically assessing diverse sources of information;
• evaluate theoretical and conceptual knowledge of liberal international order through critical empirical investigation and case-based learning; effectively and creatively communicating positions, findings, and arguments in relation to violence and liberal international ordering.

Content

• This module advances students’ understanding of the creation of liberal international order (LIO) by critically evaluating its relationship with forms of political exclusion and violence. It pays particular attention to key moments in the history of international law, drawing upon an interdisciplinary literature that theoretically and empirically assesses how liberal practices of global ordering are constituted through violence.

Learning Outcomes

• Through the module students will gain an understanding of:
• Important elements such as the core concepts, arguments and debates in the literature on violence and liberal international order;
• The centrality of international order to the regulation of violence and political exclusion;
• The nature, historical significance, and contestation of international institutions, laws, practices, and norms.

• Students will also develop some subject specific skills, such as:
• Critically evaluating a range of theoretical approaches to violence and international order;
• Placing the functions of liberal international order in historical context.

• Students will also develop some important key skills, suitable for underpinning study at this and subsequent levels, such as:
• Communicating complex ideas and arguments in creative and reflective formats;
• Using C&IT in effective ways for the retrieval, analysis and presentation of information.

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

• Teaching and learning are through digital learning platforms, lectures, seminars, and workshops.
• Digital learning platforms, such as a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE), provide core materials (e.g. podcasts, videos, images, text) that introduce themes and central ideas to be further explored in the classroom, including lecture recordings; curated on-line resources linked to specific learning sessions; multi-media and open educational resources.
• These will support conveying core theories, concepts, methods and empirical material linked to the historical evolution and function of liberal international order in advance of classroom sessions and support subsequent reflections as well as workshop and assessment preparation.
• Lectures will provide delivery of subject specific knowledge. They are also opportunities for students to engage with collaborative and flipped learning where they receive informal feedback from peers and staff that allows students to reflect on their own learning.
• These will help to review core material and to initiate and facilitate active learning by highlighting and illustrating key debates about, and methodological approaches to, the critical study of liberal international order.
• They will also provide an opportunity to situate the subject in historical context and introduce relevant legal frameworks, cases, and empirical examples to stimulate discussion and foster students’ critical thinking. Workshops are practical sessions designed to prepare students for summative assessments. They are focused on an interactive, interdisciplinary, critical, and reflective exploration of key arguments and empirical material.
• During workshops, students will be introduced to creative ways to engage with, research, and present theoretically and historically informed arguments about the nature of violence in liberal international order (e.g. storytelling and podcasting).
• They enable students to analyse and assess theories, concepts, and empirical cases through discussion-based learning. They allow students to communicate complex ideas and receive feedback from peers and staff.
• These will help gain greater understanding of the contestation of liberal international order by assessing different forms of evidence and sources and supporting students in communicating findings in creative and reflective ways
• Summative assessment for this module is via a project proposal and reflective portfolio.
• Component 1: The project proposal requires students to demonstrate knowledge of key concepts, theoretical approaches, and debates in the literature through conceptualising a project-based output.
• Component 2: The reflective portfolio builds upon the project proposal. The portfolio consists of two components: project-based outputs and reflective prose that contextualises the project outputs and demonstrates how students’ thinking has developed, sharpened, or fundamentally changed. Students are expected in the portfolio to demonstrate theoretical and historical knowledge and skills.
• Students taking this module should therefore expect to be assessed in unfamiliar and challenging ways in line with the learning outcomes.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

Formative assessment in the form of regular formative feedback occurring through seminars and workshops.

■ 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.