Module POL3222 for 2018/9
- Overview
- Aims and Learning Outcomes
- Module Content
- Indicative Reading List
- Assessment
Undergraduate Module Descriptor
POL3222: Biopolitics in Practice
This module descriptor refers to the 2018/9 academic year.
Module Aims
This module will introduce you to historical and contemporary ideas about biopolitics (as biology of politics/politics of biology), but with the ultimate aim of asking whether this binary can be overcome to create more productive debates into the future. In so doing, it will introduce key scientific, philosophical and theoretical debates about politics and the life sciences in the broadest sense, working through a series of case studies drawn from across the world since the early 20th century. The module will enable you to understand, explore and evaluate how interfaces between biology and politics become articulated, debated and campaigned for in policy contexts and the wider public sphere.
| On successfully completing the programme you will be able to: | |
|---|---|
| Module-Specific Skills | 1. Articulate the multiple meanings of biopolitics and understand how and why these interpretations have been so politically contested. 2. Identify and critically evaluate one or more case studies of biopolitical debates across a range of domains |
| Discipline-Specific Skills | 3. Deploy key theoretical ideas about biopolitics in the contexts of contemporary and historical debates over human nature; environmental politics; biomedicine; and technological futures. 4. Think critically, analyse debates and present coherent arguments about the broader political issues raised by developments in the life sciences. |
| Personal and Key Skills | 5. Present written material in a coherent and accessible manner; evaluate ideas and debates. 6. Demonstrate critical media literacy skills search for, contextualize and evaluate mass media content 7. Produce a public presentation and policy briefing; engage constructively in discussion and evaluate others performance. |
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:
- Key ideas and theories of biopolitics from the early 20th century to today
- Evolution and questions of ‘human nature’ (e.g. Darwin and his opponents; eugenics; sociobiology; cognitive science)
- Environments, society and agriculture (e.g. food and food production; environmental politics; human/animal relations)
- Health and medicine (e.g. ethical debates over life and suffering; infectious diseases and biosecurity)
- New technologies and futures (e.g. GM foods; gene editing; reproductive technologies; posthumanism; network societies)
- Thinking through the dynamics and dilemmas of interactions between scientists, policymakers and politicians.
- Following today’s biopolitical debates as they unfold in the media.
In addition, a dedicated ELE site will provide students with links to key texts and lecture materials.
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 and Teaching Activities | 44 | 22x 2 hour seminars |
| Guided Independent Study | 150 | seminar preparation |
| Guided Independent Study | 106 | course work |
Online Resources
This module has online resources available via ELE (the Exeter Learning Environment).
Somatosphere– Science, medicine, anthropology, bioethics: http://somatosphere.net/
Contagion– Historical views of diseases and epidemics: http://ocp.hul.harvard.edu/contagion/
Making Science Public– science and society, biosciences: http://blogs.nottingham.ac.uk/makingsciencepublic/
This View of Life– evolutionary perspectives: https://evolution-institute.org/this-view-of-life/
If you have any further questions please consult the Library staff.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Biopolitics of the Week seminar introductions | 10 minutes, approximately once per term | 1-4; 6 | Oral |
| Biopolitics news scrapbook & class discussion of news | Throughout course assessed via oral contribution. Students will be asked to submit their scrapbooks as an appendix to summative assessments. | 1-4; 6 | Oral |
| Contributions to class discussion | Throughout module | 1-4; 6 | Oral |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Case study research project | 60 | 5,000 word essay report | 1-5 | Written Comments |
| Policy briefing: oral presentation + written paper + media article | 40 | 10 min talk + 1500 word policy brief + 500 word article (80% of credit weighting on the written policy brief) | 1-7 | Written and oral comments |
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Case study research project | 5,000 word essay report | 1-5 | August/September reassessment period |
| Policy briefing: poster presentation, written paper + media article | 1500 word briefing + 500 word article + poster presentation | 1-6 | August/September reassessment 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.
Core Texts: specific readings for each week will be available on ELE
Lemke, T. (2011). Biopolitics: An Advanced Introduction. NYU Press
Sismondo, S. (2010). An Introduction to Science and Technology Studies. Wiley-Blackwell
Theme One: Human? Nature?
Bowler, Peter (2003) Evolution: The History of an Idea (Berkeley University Press).
Milam, Erika, Looking for a Few Good Males: Female Choice in Evolutionary Biology (Baltimore, 2010).
Ruse, M. (2001). The Evolution Wars: A Guide to the Debates. Rutgers University Press.
Theme Two: Friends and Neighbours
Connelly, J., Smith, G., Benson, D. & Saunders, C. (2012) Politics and the Environment. Routledge, Oxford.
Demillo, M (2012) Animals and society: an introduction to human-animal studies. New York: Columbia University Press
Jorgensen, D., Jorgensen, F.A. & Pritchard, S., 2014. New Natures. University of Pittsburgh Press
Theme Three: Health and Care
Lupton, D., 2012. Medicine as culture: Illness, disease and the body. London: Sage.
Mol, A (2008) The logic of care: health and the problem of patient choice. London: Routledge
Rose, N. (2007). The Politics of Life Itself. Princeton University Press.
Wilson, D. (2014). The Making of British Bioethics. Manchester, UK: Manchester University Press.
Theme Four: Futures
Bijker, W.E. and Hughes T. P. (eds) (2012). The Social Construction of Technological Systems. MIT Press
Mahon, P. (2017). Posthumanism: a guide for the perplexed. London: Bloomsbury Academic.
Nerlich, B., Hartley, Raman, S & Smith, A (eds.). (2018). Science and the Politics of Openness: Here be Monsters. Manchester University Press. OA Ebook, retrieved from http://www.manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk/9781526106469/
Stapleton, P. and Byers, A. (eds) (2015) Biopolitics and Utopia: an interdisciplinary reader. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan
The College has produced a fantastic resource to support library and research skills, including Politics specific material: http://vle.exeter.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=3611
Journals and many other electronic resources can be accessed through the library’s main search portal: https://as.exeter.ac.uk/library/
Web of Knowledge – for searching academic journals: http://wok.mimas.ac.uk/
Google Scholar - particularly useful for finding open access copies of material not available through the library: http://scholar.google.co.uk
