Politics BA (Hons)

This module examines power shifts in the international system and their implications for global order as the centre of gravity in global politics increasingly shifts away from the United States and Europe to so-called emerging powers such as China, India, Brazil and South Africa. 

Compulsory

This module focuses on the rise of far-right political parties in West European countries. We will consider the different explanations put forwards for their success or failure to acquire electoral support, their influence on the behaviour of mainstream political parties and politics in general in the case study countries. 

Compulsory

This student-led project module introduces you to research methods and practices in humanities disciplines. You will design and produce a piece of independent research of your own devising, on a topic relevant to your course. The module will be orientated around key employability and research skills, such as problem-solving, designing research questions, identifying and locating research materials, research methodologies, media production and producing research outputs. These will develop independent working competencies commensurate with sound employability skills.

Compulsory

This module introduces the history of modern political thought. It examines some of the key political ideas and theories developed by major Western political thinkers from Machiavelli to Marx - ideas and theories that have accompanied various stages in the development of the modern state. 

Compulsory

This module examines the system of government in Britain, with special emphasis on whether these institutions are appropriate for British society in the 21st century. We will look at recent debates, issues and topics arising within contemporary British political life. 

Compulsory

The aim of this module is to explore the major social, cultural, and political forces which led to the emergence of the United States. It will pay particular attention to the ways in which race, class, and gender have shaped the country’s history, from the colonial period to its rise as a global superpower.  

Compulsory

This module² provides you with an opportunity to reflect upon and gain experience for an approved placement undertaken during your programme. A placement should usually be at least 26 weeks or equivalent; however, each placement will be considered on its own merits, having regard to the ability to achieve the learning outcomes. 

Optional

This module² provides you with an opportunity to reflect upon and gain experience for an approved international study/work placement undertaken during your programme. A work/study placement should usually be at least 26 weeks or equivalent; however, each placement will be considered on its own merits, having regard to the ability to achieve the learning outcomes. 

Optional

This module encourages you to develop, enhance and put into practice the research and analytical skills acquired in your previous years of study. This enables you to pursue an in-depth analysis of a subject of your own choosing within the context of your programme of study. This can take the form of an extended piece of writing, or a media project such as a documentary film. 

Optional

This module examines the shifting attitudes towards sexuality and critically evaluates the role discourse has played in these changes. It explores the relationship between sex, sexuality and political and moral definitions of crime and deviance. You will examine a range of issues from the viewpoint of both victim and perpetrator.  

Optional

This module provides opportunities to study the politics and foreign relations of several African states. It introduces you to the legacies of colonialism, looking at the transformations African states have undergone since their independence and the various political, economic and social challenges they face.

Optional

This module considers the emergence of the modern environmental movement from the 1960s to the most recent climate change activism of Greta Thunberg and Extinction Rebellion as well as identifying the emergence and impact of climate change denial. It will demonstrate possible sustainable futures with an appraisal of alternative ways of living.

Optional

This module highlights the system of government in the United States. It places special emphasis on the political institutions that have evolved from the US constitution and considers whether these institutions are appropriate for American society in the 21st century. 

Optional

This module introduces you to the political challenges facing the countries of Central and Eastern Europe since the end of communism, especially the unresolved clash between liberal democratic and ethnic nationalist norms. You will be introduced to key debates in theories of nationalism and theories of democratisation as well as particular events and case study countries. 

Optional

This module examines the major political ideologies of the 20th century in Britain, Europe, North America and the Third World. It provides an in-depth understanding of the main intellectual and political debates within influential ideological currents Examples includes conservatism, Christian Democracy, far-right populism/neo-fascism, liberalism, socialism, the New Left, feminism, ecologism, political Islam and anti-colonialism. 

Optional

This module introduces you to the contemporary history, politics and international relations of the Middle East since 1948. Topics include the process of European decolonisation since the 1940s, the rise of Zionism and national independence movements, the emergence of the Palestinian question, the revival of political Islam, the Western Wars against Iraq in 1991 and 2003, and the Arab Spring Revolutions of 2010-11. 

Optional