Politics and International Relations
BA (Hons)

What is Politics? (Core)

What makes a topic, theory or decision a political one? Who should care about political events, and about the academic study of politics? What methods or approaches are used to study politics? This module introduces you to key questions, theories and concepts in the study of politics at undergraduate level. You will investigate a selection of central political concepts from a range of perspectives.

Introduction to Political Economy (Core)

Political economy examines the role and particular ensemble of policies, structures, and institutions, as well as how they are regulated, within a specified economy. If standard economics is about what individuals do, then political economy is about social classes, states, and correlations of social forces. The module introduces you to the major concepts and traditions in political economy, and applies them to contemporary debates, national and international case studies, including some recent financial crises.

British Politics (Core)

This module is concerned with what might be called the political identity of Britain and British society. This module introduces you to the key institutions and mechanisms of British parliamentary democracy; broad trends in British politics from the post-war years to the present; changes in British politics and society over that period; and it considers what we might expect from the coming decade or so, in terms of challenges and developments. The module covers key theoretical frameworks, which you will be encouraged to apply to specific cases.

Comparative Politics (Core)

This module aims to highlight and analyse key differences between the political systems and institutions of a variety of regions and time periods. You will gain insight into how and why the political landscape differs from one case to the next, and begin to apply this knowledge in understanding particular cases.

Introduction to International Relations (Core)

International relations is the academic discipline that tries to provide a theoretical and conceptual framework for understanding and analysing international politics. This module will familiarise you with the origins and evolution of the discipline and show how different schools of thought have emerged, and how they can help us understand the nature of the international system.

Art and Power (Optional)

On this module, you will explore how and why art and architecture have been used by individuals, states and groups to justify their claims to authority. It explores the role that these art objects play in legitimising narratives.

It focuses on how portraits, posters, performances, wall art, buildings, gardens and other artistic objects have promoted or contested the power of particular groups or individuals. The module also considers the way in which art and architecture help to construct or imagine group identities. Lastly, it will explore how art is used by various groups to challenge hegemonic discourse, colonial occupation and oppression, as well as dominant state institutions and elites.

Revolutions and Rebellions (Optional)

In this module you will examine a series of world revolutions and major rebellions against political authority. The module’s content covers two principal fields – different ways of conceptualising revolutions and rebellion, and specific examples of revolutions and rebellions that have occurred across four continents. The module begins by examining ideas and ideologies of revolutions, providing you with a vocabulary and conceptual repertoire that you can use to discuss revolutionary activities throughout the remainder of the module. The specific examples of revolutions and rebellions that we cover are located in a period that runs from the mid-18th to the early 21st Centuries.

Entrepreneurship and Professionalism (Core)

On this module, you will gain the necessary knowledge and practical skills to enter the world of work (e.g. freelancing, self-employment and small business start-ups in the creative industries). This will include: the legal processes of setting up a small production company; preparing business plans and financial forecasts for investors; bidding for creative projects; and resource management and developing entrepreneurial skills. By the end of the module, you will have gained valuable commercial awareness and experience in business management, both of which are vital for employability.

Theory, Practice and History of Diplomacy (Core)

Diplomacy is the way in which the representatives of states interact with one another. This module provides an outline of how diplomacy emerged. It shows how diplomacy can be traced back to the very earliest phases of human development, long before the emergence of modern states as we know them. It then outlines the development of diplomatic practice through the Medieval world, before looking at how diplomacy evolved in the modern era. It also explores the ways in which diplomacy is carried out in contemporary international affairs, and how diplomacy fits into the big picture of foreign policy. You will analyse the roles of specific diplomatic institutions, such as foreign ministries and embassies. Finally, the rules that shape diplomatic practice are analysed, as well as the different types of diplomacy, including the increasingly important role of public diplomacy.

Political Economy of Global Development (Core)

The module examines the global politics of development and of developing states, and various social, economic and environmental themes surrounding post-war attempts to promote development. The course will consider both development theory and practice in the context of globalisation, and provide an overview of the history of global development from economic miracles to failed states. A range of contemporary development debates and issues are addressed.

Research Methods in the Social Sciences (Core)

This module aims to provide you with a broad knowledge and understanding of research methods in the social sciences, focusing on the main qualitative research methods used in politics and communications, and some data analysis. The module will also equip you with the necessary skills to undertake a small scale piece of research. You are expected to have a critical awareness of research paradigms and the strengths and limitations of the methods and methodologies commonly used.

Political Ideologies (Core)

The module considers what political ideologies are, what function they serve to both societies and political science. It starts by assessing how ideology is an essentially contested term and can have various scopes of study. The module then looks in some depth at the major political ideologies (e.g. liberalism, conservatism, socialism, anarchism, nationalism, populism, ecologism, feminism, religious fundamentalism) and assesses the relationship between theory and practice of ideologies, but also the relationship between ideologies, using a variety of historical and contemporary examples.

EU Politics and Policy (Optional)

The EU plays a crucial role across a wide range of policy areas. However, as recent debates have shown, few people understand how the EU operates. This module will provide you with a comprehensive overview of the origins and development of the EU, its primary structures and its decision-making procedures. The module will start by examining the origins and development of the EU, considering the importance of key treaties, such as Maastricht and Lisbon. It will then explore the role of the various EU institutions – including the Commission, Council, Parliament and Court of Justice – in the policy-making process. It will analyse how the EU makes policy over a range of areas, and finally its relationships with other non-EU countries.

Race and Ethnicity in the US (Optional)

This module will introduce you to the ways in which race and ethnicity have been defined in the US, and how these designations shaped political and social experiences from the late 18th to the early 20th centuries.

The module’s content brings together different ways of conceptualising race and ethnicity and examines specific details about how this shaped the politics, culture and society in the USA from the revolution until World War II. The module equips you with the necessary vocabulary and theoretical framework to understand how difference has been historically and culturally defined, which will allow you to explore specific case studies in some depth.

The module seeks to go beyond the ‘race binary’, and examines the way ideas about race and ethnicity contributed to political and social inequality structures, influenced public policy, mobilized protest and revolt, and shaped personal and group identity.

Religion and Reason (Optional)

This module will introduce you to the study of religion from the perspective of natural reason. The difference between natural theology and revealed theology will be explained. Key arguments both for and against the existence of God will be explored and you will learn how to critique and evaluate each argument.

Political Communication (Core)

This module examines the central role of political communication in contemporary politics. It explores the art of communication in the public sphere in theory and in practice, using a variety of case studies from the UK and beyond. It encourages you to reflect on the ethical dimension of the various means used to persuade audiences.

Global and Social Economic Trends (Core)

This module examines the latest social and economic trends around the world - why is the global context so relevant? What can we learn from other countries and cultures? This course asks critical questions about the world around us; about dominant ideologies, economic and environmental change, globalisation and the political divisions shaping our world today.

International Organisations (Core)

This module provides a comprehensive overview of how international and regional organisations shape and enhance political, economic, security and others forms of cooperation in the contemporary international system. It also examines the main criticisms levelled against them and the arguments for reform.

Independent Research Project (Core option)

You will engage in an extended research project on a topic of your choice, utilising the skills and subject expertise you have gained through the rest of your course. Independent research is supported through one-to-one tutorials with a member of staff over a period of months, and writing and editing workshops.

Capstone Project (Core option)

Module description coming soon.

The Enterprising Workplace (Optional)

This module provides you with the opportunity to gain experience in the workplace whilst reflecting on, identifying and improving your own skills, knowledge and professional identity. You will be introduced to the concepts of enterprise, entrepreneurship and intrapreneurship and will explore how these exist within organisations.

Counter Radicalisation and Terrorism (Optional)

This module will enable you to develop your knowledge of the concepts of terrorism, violent extremism, radicalisation and counter-terrorism practices. It will introduce disciplinary and inter-disciplinary approaches to the study of terrorism and violent extremism from sociology, criminology, law, history and other relevant disciplines.

Modern Slavery, Trafficking and Organised Crime (Optional)

This module will enable you to develop your knowledge of international slavery from historical perspectives up to more recent accounts of modern slavery. It will introduce you to various disciplinary and inter-disciplinary approaches to the study of trafficking and slavery from sociology, criminology, law, economics, media and other relevant viewpoints. You will examine a range of sources including academic research, policy documents and statistical information to engage critically with received ideas and popular and policy discourses. Other representations of slavery and human trafficking will be examined and critiqued such as film texts, media reports and contemporary writings.

Nations and Nationalisms (Optional)

Although we live in an age of globalisation, nation states and nationalist movements continue to shape our societies and our politics. This means that understanding nationalism is not only of historical importance, but vital to those considering careers in law, politics and government, journalism and the media, since it touches on anyone involved in advocacy, policy and media roles.

On this module, you will examine the nature of nationalism, considering the extent to which it should be considered a ‘modern phenomenon’, the difference between ‘civic’ and ‘ethnic’ nationalism, and the relationship between nationalism and other ideologies.

Historical case studies will then allow you to examine the political consequences of nationalist movements from the French Revolution to the present day, as well as the ways in which nationalism interacts with social class, gender, religion and the state. Although the focus will be primarily on Europe, some non-European material will be considered, especially in relation to decolonisation and the end of empire.

Civil Rights in the US (Optional)

This module encourages you to explore the origins, events and legacies of the Civil Rights movement in the US, from the Second World War through to the early 1990s. For the purposes of this module, the phrase ‘civil rights’ will be interpreted in the broadest sense, incorporating stories of radical labour activism, non-violent resistance, and militant challenges to the status quo of racial injustice.

The content of the module will be oriented around a series of autobiographies written by activists in the Civil Rights period. You will therefore read first-hand accounts alongside key historiographical debates, and will consider the ways in which life-writing shapes historical narratives.