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Teaching Period One:
Description: The aim is that the student acquires knowledge and understanding of key methodological processes in social science research, and, by the end of the module, should be able to apply appropriate selected methods to his/her own research (notably the dissertation).
The student should also learn to use a multi-media VLE environment effectively and confidently in a self-directed (though supervised) way. In addition, students should have familiarized themselves with effective ways of accessing and utilizing bibliographical and archival data from key national resource centres such as the British Library, the UK National Archive (Kew Gardens) and the Bodleian Library Online/Digitalization Project.
Assessment: One essay (3,000 words) discussing the relative merits of two research methods (one qualitative and one quantitative) for a selected Politics or IR research problem, to be submitted on Friday week 25 (40%). Completion of the task-focussed continuous assessment (60%).
Convenor: Nicola Corkin
Description: This course provides an advanced grounding in the key concepts and ideas employed in the analysis of International Relations and International Politics. This will offer you a sense of the identity of International Relations as an academic discipline and also give you a set of conceptual tools, which will better enable you to make sense of international events. International Relations Theory critically examines the nature and the impact of the major schools of thought in International Relations.
Assessment: Class Presentation (15%). Essay (85%) 3,000 words.
Convenor: Dr Uwe Wunderlich
Description: The module provides a comprehensive comparative overview of regions, and forms of regionalism / “minority nationalism” in present-day Europe. The course will focus on (i) constitutional, legal and political arrangements for regions within the EU, including in the recently reformed countries of East-Central Europe; (ii) the EU’s own regional policy-making, (iii) a survey of on-going reform processes of territorial governance in a variety of countries (e.g. UK, Spain, Poland), and (iv) the increased levels of paradiplomacy and cross-border engagement of regional governments and authorities across the EU.
Assessment: Essay (100%), 4,000 words, in English, to be submitted to LSS before 12 noon on Friday week 11. An electronic submission of the same essay will also be required.
Convenor: Dr Jörg Mathias
Description: The module will offer an overview of political and social science approaches to the meaning of globalisation, global governance and regionalism. It will also highlight central issues and debates in the relation to the impact of globalisation on social and political transformation and critically evaluate contending interpretations of the impact of globalisation on social and political change.Students will acquire knowledge of a range of approaches to thinking about the dynamics of globalisation, global governance and regionalism. They will become aware of the main political and social science debates on globalisation, global governance and regionalism and develop their capacity to critically analyse the major approaches to studying the politics of globalisation, global governance and regionalism. Students will also become capable of evaluating their appropriateness in explaining social and political developments in the contemporary world.
Assessment: Essay (85%): about 3,000 words. Presentation (15%): about 20 minutes.
Convenor: Dr Uwe Wunderlich
Description: This course aims to enable students to acquire familiarity with main areas and problems of leadership studies in political science, and with key concepts used in the analysis of political institutions and leadership. This knowledge forms the conceptual, methodological and analytical basis for many of the political and politics-related issues to be studied by MA students. This course aims to enable students to acquire familiarity with main areas and problems of the study of political leaders and leadership, and with key concepts used in their analysis. The development of the students’ specialist knowledge will draw upon the skill gained in earlier modules in politics. Most importantly, this module will help them develop their individual research skills. Generally speaking, a week of lecturer-led lecture/seminar will be followed by a week of student-led seminar, presentation, and discussion.
Assessment: One 5,000 word essay to be handed in by noon on the first day of term after the Christmas vacation.
Convenor: Professor John Gaffney
Description: This module considers key questions in post-Cold War international security. It starts by considering the scope and evolution of Security Studies, and introducing students to key approaches to security, including realism, liberalism and constructivism. Subsequently, students will have the opportunity to examine key concerns of global security by considering issues such as the pattern of global conflict, nuclear proliferation, terrorism, energy security, piracy and the defence trade. We will also consider the changing role of key security actors, such as the UN and NATO.
Assessment: 5,000 word essay (100%)
Convenor: Dr Jelena Obradovic-Wochnik
Description: This module examines how economic policy-making is conducted at EU level on the basis of the legal instruments adopted since the inception of the integration process through to the most recent treaty developments. After reviewing the treaty bases for policy and the legal system that has evolved to give effect to them, including the balance of powers between the institutions, the module examines the key policy areas affecting the European economy as set out in the basic instruments and developed at political level. The module then focuses on two of the most important competences of the EU as regards economic policy, namely EU competition rules and the single market, and compares and contrasts the approaches to law and policy taken at European level in these fields. Finally, the module takes an example of economic regulation at EU level, the liberalisation of utilities, and examines how policy is given effect through specific EU legislation. In so doing, the module aims to provide an insight into the practicalities of the EU legislative process and the interplay between the principal institutions and economic agents involved.
Assessment: 5000-word essay (100%)
Convenor: Mr Peter Rodford
Description: This module aims to provide students with a broad understanding of the important developments within the European polity. In particular, the module analyses the evolution of the EU, the role of European institutions, recent trends in European politics, economics and society, and the impact of European integration at both national and supranational levels.
Assessment: 5,000-word essay to be completed and submitted by the last week of Teaching Period One (Friday, week 11).
Convenor: Dr Carolyn Rowe
Description: The module provides a detailed overview of the interplay between religion and politics in Europe. EU enlargement - to countries in Central and Eastern Europe in 2004, the inclusion of Bulgaria and Romania in 2007, and increasing debates on Turkey's membership - has dramatically transformed the European Union into a multi-religious space. Religious communities are not only shaping identities but are also influential factors in political discourse. This module examines the activities of religious actors in the context of supranational European institutions and the ways in which they have responded to the idea of Europe at local and international levels. It analyses key religious factors in contemporary EU architecture, such as the transformation of religious identities, the role of political and religious leaders, EU legislation on religion, and the activities of religious lobbies.
Assessment: 5,000-word essay to be completed and submitted by the last week of Teaching Period One.
Convenor: Dr Lucian Leustean
Description: This unit focuses on the process of European Political and Economic Cooperation up to the present day and beyond; particularly, Europe’s growing role as an international actor. Within this framework, issues looked at will include the European Union’s Common Foreign and Security Policy and its role as mediator in international conflicts such as the Gulf War, Middle East, and the former Yugoslavia, with a particular emphasis on the war on terrorism, Iraq, and intelligence co-operation, as well as the Union’s positioning vis-à-vis the United States, particularly since the latest EU enlargement. Another area to be looked at is Europe as an economic power and her relations with its immediate neighbours, its major partners such as the US, Japan and South-East Asia, particularly in the age of the euro, and its role in Third World development and global environmental issues. While analysing these issues we will evaluate what the trends appear to be, in the context of globalisation and world developments.
Assessment: 5,000-word essay to be completed and submitted by the last week of Teaching Period Two.
Convenor: Dr Uwe Wunderlich
Description: This module focuses on the evolution of security and defence policies in the European Union. It will start by considering the origins of security cooperation in Europe before going to consider the evolution of EU’s Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) and European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP). The module will then examine the broader issues of European security by looking at several case studies starting with European involvement in former Yugoslavia and moving onto more recent ESDP missions, including EUFOR Chad, EUPOL Afghanistan and EULEX Kosovo. By focusing on ESDP case studies, the module aims to explore wider issues concerning EU’s security policies such as its unique approaches to crisis management, military capacity and civilian-military dimensions of conflict intervention and state-building.
Assessment: 5,000-word essay to be completed and submitted by the last week of Teaching Period Two.
Module convenor: Dr Jelena Obradovic-Wochnik
Description: This is a policy-relevant module that distinguishes students as highly informed and engaged thinkers in the political arena. It engages students in the practical issues of political communication and information delivery. Touching on aspects of political strategy and campaigning, the module offers a multidisciplinary understanding of contemporary international political communications with a core focus on the EU. It offers students an opportunity to develop a deeper, theoretically informed understanding of communications, their role in contemporary politics, current and likely future developments, and their impact for citizens, governments and culture. Students are invited to critically explore the nature and effectiveness of systematic communications techniques in contemporary mediated politics. The module analyses communication strategies employed by governments, political parties, pressure groups and NGOs in the EU.
Assessment: One campaign portfolio due the Monday of week 23 (25% of overall grade) , and one 5,000-word essay to be completed and submitted by the last week of Teaching Period Two (Friday, week 25).
Convenor: Dr Carolyn Rowe
Description: The course aims to provide a link between the fields of ‘European Studies' and 'Comparative European Politics'. It is intended to assess the impact of European integration on politics, policies and polities within Europe. The first part of the course is designed to provide a contemporary study of the impact of Europe on party politics. Specific topics cover the impact of Europe on parties, party systems as well as party-based Euroscepticism. The second part focuses on public attitudes to European integration. It includes major topics in the field such as European Parliamentary Elections, Public Opinion on European integration, Popular Mobilisation and EU Referendums.
Assessment: The assessment is divided into two parts: a class presentation, preparation and involvement (15%) and a 4,000 word essay (85%) to be completed and submitted by the last week of Teaching Period Two.
Convenor: Sofia Vasilopoulou
Description: This course aims to enable students to acquire familiarity with main areas and problems of leadership studies in political science, and with key concepts used in the analysis of political institutions and leadership. This knowledge forms the conceptual, methodological and analytical basis for many of the political and politics-related issues to be studied by MA students. This course aims to enable students to acquire familiarity with main areas and problems of the study of political leaders and leadership, and with key concepts used in their analysis. The development of the students’ specialist knowledge will draw upon the skill gained in earlier modules in politics. Most importantly, this module will help them develop their individual research skills. Generally speaking, a week of lecturer-led lecture/seminar will be followed by a week of student-led seminar, presentation, and discussion.
Assessment: One 5,000 word essay to be handed in by noon on the first day after the Easter vacation.
Convenor: Professor John Gaffney
Description: The module will be an advanced level course comparing the EU with East Asian visions of regionalism and analysing the political, economic and social relations between the EU, its member-states with East Asia (here defined as the ASEAN 10 plus Japan, North and South Korea, China and Taiwan). It is an interdisciplinary module and students will be exposed to the wide and diverse perspectives on international and interregional relations. The module will draw from history, area studies, international relations, sociology, business and economics and comparative regionalism. It will also call upon the participation of a variety of external experts.
Assessment: Portfolio (including class presentation handouts and a 2,500 word briefing paper) 75% of total. Exam (2 hours) 25% of total, to be sat at end of term.
Convenor: Dr Uwe Wunderlich
Description: This module considers the new spatial geography of the global economic order, and considers the implications of the resulting power shifts. Through an analysis of the revolutions ushered in by the development of a knowledge economy, this module will consider the broader implications of the decoupling of economic production and spatial location. We consider fully the new global inter-governmental order which now struggles to regulate an increasingly fluid economic system.
Assessment: 5,000 word Essay (100%)
Convenor: Dr Carolyn Rowe
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