Module POL3227 for 2019/0
- Overview
- Aims and Learning Outcomes
- Module Content
- Indicative Reading List
- Assessment
Undergraduate Module Descriptor
POL3227: Politics, Elections, and the State in Africa
This module descriptor refers to the 2019/0 academic year.
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:
- Politics, elections, and the state: key concepts
- Colonial legacies and the state in Africa
- Ethnicity in Africa
- Nationalism in Africa
- Politics under authoritarianism/hegemonic party rule
- Politics under multi-party democracy
- Public goods provision, nation-building, and the state in Africa
- Elections and ethnic politics in Africa
- Clientelism and elections in Africa
- Political institutions for Africa’s plural societies: federal and unitary states
- Beyond ethnicity: new social cleavages and politics in Africa
- Challenges to democracy in Africa
- Case studies and student presentations
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 |
...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 | 44 | 22 x 2 hour weekly seminars |
Guided independent study | 80 | Seminar preparation, completion of weekly assigned readings |
Guided independent study | 30 | Presentation preparation |
Guided independent study | 146 | Essay and final paper preparation: reading, researching for, and drafting the essay, paper outline, and final paper for the class. |
Online Resources
This module has online resources available via ELE (the Exeter Learning Environment).
The following websites will be used to complement class readings and discussion:
Democracyinafrica.org
Africasacountry.com
Theelephant.info
Other Learning Resources
Students will be asked to listen to and reflect on at least one episode of BBC series “Focus on Africa”: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/n13xtmgm each week.
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 |
---|---|---|---|
Final paper outline | 1 page (500 words) | 5-9, 11 | Written |
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 |
---|---|---|
80 | 0 | 20 |
...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 |
---|---|---|---|---|
Individual presentation | 20 | 10 minutes + 5 minutes for feedback and questions. | 1-8, 10-11 | Verbal, written |
Final paper | 50 | 5,000 words | 1-9 | Written |
Essay | 30 | 1,000 words | 1-5, 8-9, 11 | Written |
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 |
---|---|---|---|
Presentation | Written assignment, (2,000 words) | 1-9, 11 | August/September reassessment period |
Final paper | Final paper (5,000 words) | 1-9 | August/September reassessment period |
Essay | Essay (1,000 words) | 1-5, 8-9, 11 | August/September reassessment period |