Undergraduate Module Descriptor

POL2102: Explaining Public Policies

This module descriptor refers to the 2024/5 academic year.

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:

How Do We Explain Policies? What Gives a Theory its Power? How Do Policy Theories Matter for Policymakers?
Multiple Streams Approach (MSA) and the Role of Luck, Chance and Contingency
Multiple Streams Approach (MSA) Case Studies – Tobacco Control and Alcohol Pricing
Punctuated Equilibrium Theory (PET) and Why Attention Matters
Punctuated Equilibrium Theory (PET) Case Studies – Civil Nuclear Power and Capital Punishment
Assessment Workshop – Writing Position Papers and Policy Essays
Social Construction of Target Populations (SCTP) – How Policy Decisions Construct Citizens and Democracies
Social Construction of Target Populations (SCTP) Case Studies – LGBT Citizens in the UK and US ‘Welfare Queens’
Narrative Policy Framework (NPF) and the Persistent of Stories and Myths in Policy
Narrative Policy Framework (NPF) Case Studies – Arab Spring, Climate Change and US Gun Control

N.B. Please note these case studies are indicative, some weeks we may branch out to further empirical examples.

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	82.5	Preparation and writing of essay and position paper
Guided Independent Study	40	Reading for tutorials

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

ELE – vle.exeter.ac.uk/