Module POL3248 for 2019/0
- Overview
- Aims and Learning Outcomes
- Module Content
- Indicative Reading List
- Assessment
Undergraduate Module Descriptor
POL3248: Marxism(s) and International Relations
This module descriptor refers to the 2019/0 academic year.
Module Aims
The module aims to introduce you to Marxist approaches to International Relations. In so doing it will encourage you to consider: theoretical approaches to IR; the relation between capitalism, imperialism, and western hegemony; the role of the state system in global capitalism; the association between globalising capitalism, gendered forms of labour, and concepts of modernity; and the impact of capitalist globalisation on anti-capitalist resistance.
| On successfully completing the programme you will be able to: | |
|---|---|
| Module-Specific Skills | 1. Critically interrogate the relation between states, the global capitalist economy, and anti-capitalist resistance. 2. Demonstrate a critical understanding of the theoretical debates between Marxism and other approaches to IR. |
| Discipline-Specific Skills | 3. Critically reflect on key elements of debates regarding concepts of the state, tendencies of capital accumulation, class, imperialism, and revolution. 4. Display awareness of a range of conceptual frameworks to understand the complex relation between the state system, world politics, and the global capitalist economy. |
| Personal and Key Skills | 5. Critically interrogate complex and abstract ideas 6. Reflect on contemporary issues of world politics through the lens of theoretical approaches. 7. Study independently and manage time and assessment deadlines effectively. 8. Demonstrate critical and analytical skills through tutorial discussions and module assessments. 9. Demonstrate proficiency in the use of the internet, online journal databases and other IT resources for the purposes of tutorial and assessment preparation. 10. Demonstrate effective academic writing. 11. Demonstrate the ability to work independently, within a limited time frame, and without access to external sources, to complete a specified task. |
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:
- globalising capital and the new international division of labour;
- a new imperialism?;
- conceptualising hegemony;
- the state system and the global circuits of capital;
- capitalist globalisation and ‘modernity’;
- challenging top-down perspectives: social reproduction in a global context;
- the ‘international’ in the 21st century.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| 22 | 128 | 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 & Teaching Activities | 22 | 11 x 2-hour seminars |
| Guided Independent Study | 50 | Private study reading and preparing for seminars |
| Guided Independent Study | 78 | Preparation for essay and exam including researching and collating relevant sources; planning the structure and argument; writing up the essay |
Online Resources
This module has online resources available via ELE (the Exeter Learning Environment).
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Essay outline | 500 words | 1-10 | Discussed in office hours |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| 50 | 50 | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Essay | 50 | 2,000 words | 1-10 | Written |
| Exam | 50 | 1.5 hours/2 questions (unseen) | 1-11 | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Essay | Essay (2000 words) | 1-10 | August/September reassessment period |
| Exam | Exam (1.5 hours) | 1-11 | 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.
Anievas, A. ed. Marxism and World Politics (Routledge, 2010).
Bartolovich, C. and Lazarus, N. ed. Marxism, Modernity, and Post-Colonial Studies (Cambridge University Press, 2002).
Burnham, P. ‘Neo-Gramscian Hegemony and the International Order’, Capital and Class, vol. 15, no. 3, 1991.
Burnham, P. ‘Open Marxism and Vulgar International Political Economy’, Review of International Political Economy, 1:2, 1994.
Callinicos, A. Imperialism and the Global Political Economy (Polity, 2009).
Cox, R. ‘Social Forces and World Orders: Beyond International Relations Theory’, Millennium, vol. 10, no. 2, 1981.
Cox, R. ‘Gramsci, Hegemony and International Relations: An Essay in Method’, Millennium, vol. 12, no. 2, 1983.
Harvey, D. The New Imperialism (Oxford University Press, 2005).
Hardt, M. and Negri, M. Empire (Harvard University Press, 2001).
Luxton, M. ‘Marxist Feminism and Anticapitalism: Reclaiming Our History, Reanimating Our Politics’, Studies in Political Economy, 94:1, 2014
Rupert, M. and Smith, H. Historical Materialism and Globalisation (Routledge, 2002).
