Undergraduate Module Descriptor

POL3196: Democracy in the European Union

This module descriptor refers to the 2020/1 academic year.

Module Content

Syllabus Plan

This plan is indicative of the topics to be covered by the module. More details will be given and the plan finalized in the module outline.

The module will look at representation theory in a first step before it moves on to address the main actors involved in democratic representation in the EU – the Council of the EU, the European Council, the European Parliament, Europarties, national parliaments, national parties, interest groups and civil society organisation, as well as citizens. We will also look at some current debates and developments such the democratic deficit debate, the debate on democratic backsliding, the Euro crisis, the UK leaving the EU as well as increasing Euroscepticism.

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 & Teaching activities	44	22 x two-hour seminars. These will be a mix of formal lectures led by the co-ordinator, student presentation and student discussion. The emphasis is on weekly seminar presentations; active seminar participation.
Guided independent study	256	A variety of private study tasks directed by module leader, including reading at least two articles per class, the reading for the oral presentation and its preparation, the preparation of the simulation, the reading for the essay, the conducting of research for it and the writing of the essay. The large bulk of the independent study time will be spent with the weekly reading of key texts and the research for and drafting of 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 plan	Max. of 400 words	1-10	Either oral or in writing

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
Presentation	20	15 minutes	1-13	Written feedback
2 Podcasts in small	20	Each podcast 5-10	1-13	Written feedback
Essay	60	4,000 words	1-10	Written feedback

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	Presentation (15 minutes)	1-13	August/September reassessment period
2 podcasts	Minimum 5 minutes	1-13	August/September reassessment period
Essay	Essay (4,000 words)	1-10	August/September reassessment period