Module POC1003 for 2016/7
- Overview
- Aims and Learning Outcomes
- Module Content
- Indicative Reading List
- Assessment
Undergraduate Module Descriptor
POC1003: British Government and Politics
This module descriptor refers to the 2016/7 academic year.
Please note that this module is only delivered on the Penryn Campus.
Module Aims
This module provides you with an introduction to British politics which is intended to provoke thought and provide foundational concepts for the academic study of this topic. The lectures introduce you to the main institutions and processes of government with contemporary emphasis but historical awareness. The module covers democracy in Britain, electoral politics, executive politics and structures for developing and implementing public policy. A theme of the course will be the changes in the British constitution over the last 20 years or so. A second theme is to stress the new politics of permanent campaigning and direct action in a context where power is shifting upwards (to Europe) and downwards (to the devolved territories).
| On successfully completing the programme you will be able to: | |
|---|---|
| Module-Specific Skills | 1. demonstrate your knowledge of the basic institutions and operation of British politics, recent political history and contrasting perspectives on developments in British politics in written and oral work. 2. evaluate of the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches and perspectives on British politics and anticipate how British politics is likely to evolve over the next five years in written and oral work. |
| Discipline-Specific Skills | 3. place descriptive material within a conceptual and theoretical context and to move from the concrete to the abstract and vice versa, and an ability to assimilate and analyse a wide range of disparate data in written work. 4. deal with theory and evidence about political institutions and processes in written and oral work. |
| Personal and Key Skills | 5. demonstrate essay writing techniques through two written assessments 6. demonstrate seminar presentation skills through one formative presentation and participation in seminar discussions 7. engage in group work through one group-based formative presentation and other spontaneous group activities during seminars |
How this Module is Assessed
In the tables below, you will see reference to 'ILO's. An ILO is an Intended Learning Outcome - see Aims and Learning Outcomes for details of the ILOs for this module.
Formative Assessment
A formative assessment is designed to give you feedback on your understanding of the module content but it will not count towards your mark for the module.
| Form of assessment | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tutorial presentation | 10-15 minutes | 1,2,4,6, 7 | Verbal |
Summative Assessment
A summative assessment counts towards your mark for the module. The table below tells you what percentage of your mark will come from which type of assessment.
| Coursework | Written exams | Practical exams |
|---|---|---|
| 100 | 0 | 0 |
...and this table provides further details on the summative assessments for this module.
| Form of assessment | % of credit | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Short bibliographic exercise | 10 | 1000 words | 1,5 | Written |
| Essay one | 45 | 2000 words | 1-5 | Written |
| Essay two | 45 | 2000 words | 1-5 | Written |
| 0 | ||||
| 0 | ||||
| 0 | ||||
| 0 |
Re-assessment
Re-assessment takes place when the summative assessment has not been completed by the original deadline, and the student has been allowed to refer or defer it to a later date (this only happens following certain criteria and is always subject to exam board approval). For obvious reasons, re-assessments cannot be the same as the original assessment and so these alternatives are set. In cases where the form of assessment is the same, the content will nevertheless be different.
| Original form of assessment | Form of re-assessment | ILOs re-assessed | Timescale for re-assessment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Short bibliographic exercise | 1000 words | 1, 5 | August/September assessment period |
| Essay one | Essay (2,000 words) | 1-5 | August/September assessment period |
| Essay two | Essay (2,000 words) | 1-5 | August/September assessment period |
Indicative Reading List
This reading list is indicative - i.e. it provides an idea of texts that may be useful to you on this module, but it is not considered to be a confirmed or compulsory reading list for this module.
Bill Jones and Philip Norton, Politics UK, Pearson/Longman, 8th edn. 2013
R Heffernan and C Hay, Developments in British Politics 10, Macmillan, London, 2016
Simon Lee and Matt Beech, The Cameron-Clegg Government, Macmillian, London, 2011
Anthony Seldon and Peter Snowdon, Cameron at 10: The Inside Story 2010-2015, London William Collins, 2016
Tim Bale, The Conservative Party from Thatcher to Cameron. 2nd edn Cambridge: Polity, 2016
