Module POL3180 for 2016/7
- Overview
- Aims and Learning Outcomes
- Module Content
- Indicative Reading List
- Assessment
Undergraduate Module Descriptor
POL3180: Latin American Parties, Politics and Elections
This module descriptor refers to the 2016/7 academic year.
Module Aims
Besides serving as an introduction for those who are unfamiliar with the history, politics, and socio-economic structure of the region, the course seeks to expose you to relevant topics, problems and current debates regarding Latin American politics and to encourage you to think critically about some of the most important challenges faced by democracies in the region.
| On successfully completing the programme you will be able to: | |
|---|---|
| Module-Specific Skills | 1. participate in informed discussions about the political history of Latin America; 2. critically evaluate current political developments in the region; 3. critically analyse concepts and contexts of Latin American politics; 4. identify common trends as well as differences between Latin American democracies; |
| Discipline-Specific Skills | 5. identify and discuss key concepts in the literature on democracy, democratisation and democratic quality, applying them to empirical case studies; 6. critically assess whether - and to what extent - theoretical arguments and methodological approaches used to analyse Western democracies can be extrapolated to other political contexts; 7. use and analyse a range of sources and materials commonly employed in political science research, including historical studies, public opinion data and news sources; |
| Personal and Key Skills | 8. convey ideas precisely and concisely, both orally and in writing; 9. present and defend your work in an effective and convincing manner in front of an audience; 10. work independently and with peers to achieve goals; 11. analyse and interpret empirical data. |
Module Content
Syllabus Plan
Whilst the module's precise content may vary from year to year, it is envisaged that the syllabus will cover some or all of the following topics:
1) The idea and emergence of democracy
2) State formation and authoritarian constraints
3) Latin America and the 3rd wave of democratization
4) Democratic transformation and transition
5) Democratic transitions from above and from below
6) Parties, electoral politics and party systems
7) Latin America's 'left turn', 'right turn', or sticking to the middle?
8) Exclusive-legislative relations and governability
9) Populism versus party systems?
10) Populist political projects, right and left
11) Understanding the quality of democracy
12) The imperfect rule of law
13) Inequality, social exclusion and legitimacy
14) Citizenship rights and social mobilization
15) Economic development and comparative democratic performance
16) Constitutional design and attempts to re-found the republic
17) The accountability deficit
Learning and Teaching
This table provides an overview of how your hours of study for this module are allocated:
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | Guided independent study | Placement / study abroad |
|---|---|---|
| 44 | 256 | 0 |
...and this table provides a more detailed breakdown of the hours allocated to various study activities:
| Category | Hours of study time | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Scheduled Learning & Teaching activities | 44 | 2 hour seminars facilitated by the lecturer. The seminar will comprise of elcture led sessions, group work and whole class discussion and student led presentations. |
| Guided independent study | 155 | Reading and preparation for seminars and presentations |
| Guided independent study | 55 | Writing up 2 essays and a preparation for the two presentations |
| Guided independent study | 46 | Web-based activities - preparation for seminars and presentations |
Online Resources
This module has online resources available via ELE (the Exeter Learning Environment).
- ELE – http://vle.exeter.ac.uk/
- BBC News – Latin America & Caribbean: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world/latin_america/
- Latinamerica Press: http://www.lapress.org/
- MercoPress: http://en.mercopress.com/
- Buenos Aires Herald: http://www.buenosairesherald.com/
- LatinoBarometro: http://www.latinobarometro.org/latino/latinobarometro.jsp
- Latin American Public Opinion Project: http://www.vanderbilt.edu/lapop/
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Assessment based on individual class presentation | One 15-minute class presentation | 2-4, 8-10 | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Essay 1 | 45 | 3,000 words | 1-4,5-7,8,11 | August/September re-assessment period |
| Essay 2 based on one of the country case studies mentioned in the syllabus | 45 | 3,000 words | 1-4,5-7,8,11 | August/September re-assessment period |
| Presentation | 10 | Two 15 minute individual presentations | 2-4, 8 | August/September re-assessment period |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Essay 1 | Essay 1 (3,000 words) | 1-4,5-7,8,11 | August/September re-assessment period |
| Essay 2 based on one of the country case studies mentioned in the syllabus | Essay 2 based on one of the country case studies mentioned in the syllabus (3,000 words) | 1-4,5-7,8,11 | August/September re-assessment period |
| Presentation | Written summary of presentation (1000 words) | 2-4, 8 | August/September re-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.
Peter Kingstone and Deborah Yashar (2012) Routledge Handbook of Latin American Politics contains detailed essays on a series of big topics (many of them covered in this module).
Thomas Skidmore, Peter Smith and James Green (2013) Modern Latin America 8th edition (OUP)
John Peeler (2009) Building Democracy in Latin America 3rd edition (Lynne Rienner)
Peter H. Smith (2005) Democracy in Latin America: Political Change in Comparative Perspective (OUP)
Joe Foweraker et al. (2003) Governing Latin America (Polity)
Barry Clarke and Joe Foweraker eds. (2001) Encyclopedia of Democratic Thought (Routledge
Robert Dahl (1998) On Democracy (Yale University Press).
R. Dahl, I. Shapiro and J. A. Cheibub (2002) Democracy Sourcebook (MIT Press).
