Undergraduate Module Descriptor

POL2026: Political Analysis: Behaviour, Institutions, Ideas

This module descriptor refers to the 2021/2 academic year.

Module Content

Syllabus Plan

Whilst the precise content may vary from year to year, it is envisaged that the syllabus will cover all or some of these main topics:

  • The study of Politics: Explaining, Understanding, Evaluating
  • Rational choice and political action
  • Rational actors or rational fools? Substantive and procedural rationality
  • Collective action and social choice
  • Trust in Politics
  • Social Capital and democratic participation
  • Do Institutions matter?
  • Constructing political reality
  • Feminism and Ideologies
  • Concepts in political language and political analysis
  • Norms and political argument

Learning and Teaching

This table provides an overview of how your hours of study for this module are allocated:

Scheduled Learning and Teaching ActivitiesGuided independent studyPlacement / study abroad
281220

...and this table provides a more detailed breakdown of the hours allocated to various study activities:

CategoryHours of study timeDescription
Scheduled Learning & Teaching activities 18Overview of topics by module convenor in weekly Lectures
Scheduled Learning & Teaching activities 10Small group discussion of key texts in weekly Tutorials
Guided independent study 40Reading and preparation for tutorials
Guided independent study 82Research and writing of essays

Online Resources

This module has online resources available via ELE (the Exeter Learning Environment).