Module POL2102 for 2020/1
- Overview
- Aims and Learning Outcomes
- Module Content
- Indicative Reading List
- Assessment
Undergraduate Module Descriptor
POL2102: Explaining Public Policies
This module descriptor refers to the 2020/1 academic year.
Module Content
Syllabus Plan
1. How Do We Explain Policies? What Gives a Theory its Power?
2. Multiple Streams Approach (MSA) and the Role of Luck, Chance and Contingency
3. Multiple Streams Approach (MSA) Case Studies – Global Tobacco Control and Climate Change
4. Punctuated Equilibrium Theory (PET) and Why Policies Change (Sometimes…)
5. Punctuated Equilibrium Theory (PET) Case Studies – Civil Nuclear Power and Capital Punishment in the US
6. Social Construction of Target Populations (SCTP) – How Policy Decisions Construct Citizens and Democracies
7. Social Construction of Target Populations (SCTP) Case Studies – LGBT Citizens Treatment in Law and Artificial Intelligence
8. Policy Learning – Do Policies Ever Improve Over Time?
9. Policy Learning Case Studies – Hormones in Beef Trade War and Brexit
10. Narrative Policy Framework (NPF) and the Persistent of Stories and Myths in Policy
11. Narrative Policy Framework (NPF) Case Studies – Arab Spring and US Gun Control
12. Combining Theories and Module Recap
N.B. Please note these case studies are indicative, some weeks we may branch out to further empirical examples.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| 27.5 | 122.5 | 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 and Teaching Activities | 16.5 | 11 x 1.5 hour lectures |
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | 11 | 11 x 1 hour tutorial. Tutorials are based on lecture topics. |
| Guided Independent Study | 5.5 | Preparation for seminar presentation |
| Guided independent study | 40 | Preparation and writing of essay |
| Guided independent study | 37 | Preparation and revision for examination |
| Guided Independent Study | 40 | Reading for tutorials |
Online Resources
This module has online resources available via ELE (the Exeter Learning Environment).
