Undergraduate Module Descriptor

POC1003: British Government and Politics

This module descriptor refers to the 2019/0 academic year.

Please note that this module is only delivered on the Penryn Campus.

Module Aims

This module provides you with an introduction to British politics which is intended to provoke thought and provide foundational concepts for the academic study of this topic. The lectures introduce you to the main institutions and processes of government with contemporary emphasis but historical awareness. The module covers democracy in Britain, electoral politics, executive politics and structures for developing and implementing public policy. A theme of the course will be the changes in the British constitution over the last 20 years or so. A second theme is to stress the new politics of permanent campaigning and direct action in a context where power is shifting upwards (to Europe) and downwards (to the devolved territories).

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)
This module's assessment will evaluate your achievement of the ILOs listed here – you will see reference to these ILO numbers in the details of the assessment for this module.
On successfully completing the programme you will be able to:
Module-Specific Skills	1. demonstrate your knowledge of the basic institutions and operation of British politics, recent political history and contrasting perspectives on developments in British politics in written and oral work. 2. evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches and perspectives on British politics and anticipate how British politics is likely to evolve over the next five years in written and oral work.
Discipline-Specific Skills	3. place descriptive material within a conceptual and theoretical context and to move from the concrete to the abstract and vice versa, and an ability to assimilate and analyse a wide range of disparate data in written work. 4. interpret and apply theory and evidence about political institutions and processes in written and oral work.
Personal and Key Skills	5. demonstrate effective essay writing techniques, including the ability to evaluate and synthesise relevant material 6. demonstrate effective seminar presentation skills and engage in seminar discussion 7. engage effectively in group work, including group activities during seminars

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:

-Introduction

-Elections

-Political participation

-Mass media

-Prime Minister, Cabinet, civil service

-Multi-level governance

-The House of Commons and the House of Lords

-Parties and leaders

-Environmental policy and climate change

-Economic Policy

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
26.5	123.5	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 Activity	16.5	Lectures (11 x 1.5 hours)
Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activity	10	Seminars (10 x 1 hours) Every student will be expected to present during the term
Guided independent study	123.5	Reading: 44 hours (1 on text book; 3 on required and recommended, per week). Writing notes from readings: 16.5 (1.5 hours per week). Assignments: 63 hours (6 on bibliographic essay; 28.5 on each essay)

Online Resources

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