Module POL2079 for 2021/2
- Overview
- Aims and Learning Outcomes
- Module Content
- Indicative Reading List
- Assessment
Undergraduate Module Descriptor
POL2079: Contemporary Public Debate in an Age of 'Anti-Politics'
This module descriptor refers to the 2021/2 academic year.
Module Aims
This module aims to provide you with a critical understanding of the ways in which public debate, and the knowledge claims produced therein, shape (or not) democratic politics in Britain. More concretely, you will explore debates about the mediatisation of politics, the politics of knowledge production, and the ideas and practices underlying contemporary modes of representation in the public sphere/civil society. In all cases, we you shall engage in both theoretical and empirical analysis.
| On successfully completing the programme you will be able to: | |
|---|---|
| Module-Specific Skills | 1. demonstrate awareness of key ideas and concepts in the study of contemporary democracy and the public sphere 2. develop, articulate and justify your own theoretically informed ethical and political responses to key issues of contemporary debate |
| Discipline-Specific Skills | 3. examine, critique and analyse both the theoretical and empirical concepts/resources mobilised in debates about the mediatisation of politics, the politics of knowledge production, and the ideas and practices underlying contemporary modes of representation in the public sphere/civil society 4. develop coherent and theoretically informed analyses of several contemporary issues of public contention |
| Personal and Key Skills | 5. collect, analyse and evaluate relevant secondary and primary sources 6. communicate effectively and accurately, orally and in writing demonstrate critical-thinking and effective communication in speech and writing 7. work independently and with peers to meet common research and assessment deadlines effectively 8. 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:
Introduction
1. Theorising the ‘Age of Anti-politics’ :
- Defining the public sphere
- The politics of representation and the media
- The political economy of the media
- The ‘mediatisation’ or ‘stylization’ of democratic politics
- The rise of populism
2.Theorising Knowledge and the Public Sphere
- Exploring Marxist, liberal and feminist perspectives on the sources and types of knowledge and its role in politics
- Examining the role of experts and expertise in political debate
3. Case Studies
Students can choose to research and present one of the following possible topics:
- The politics of climate change
- Austerity vs. anti-austerity
- Public vs private debate regarding the NHS
- Gender Pay Gap
- The benefits and dangers of immigration
- Same-sex marriage
- Renewal of the Trident Missile System
- Membership of the EU and the EU referendum
- Islam and terrorism
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 |
|---|---|---|
| 27.5 | 122.5 | 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 | 27.5 | 11 x 1.5 hour lectures and 11 x 1 seminars |
| Guided independent study | 122.5 | Independent study guided by module leader to include: Reading and seminar preparation (60 hours); Research, analysis and compilation of presentation (10 hours); Preparation and completion of essay (25 hours); Preparation and completion of examination (25 hours); Following module-related political news events (3 hours). |
Online Resources
This module has online resources available via ELE (the Exeter Learning Environment).
vle.exeter.ac.uk
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.
Daase, Christopher Caroline Fehl, Anna Geis and Georgios Kolliarakis (eds.) (2015) Recognition in International Relations,[Online] Available at: http://0-www.palgraveconnect.com.lib.exeter.ac.uk/pc/doifinder/10.1057/9781137464729.0006. (Accessed: 6 January 2016).
Dobson, Andrew (2014) Listening for Democracy: Recognition, Representation, Reconciliation, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Drake, Michael S. (2010) Political Sociology for a Globalizing World , Cambridge: Polity Press.
Dryzek, John, S. (2006) Deliberative Global Politics. Discourse and Democracy in a Divided World , Cambridge: Polity.
Fraser, Nancy and Kate Nash (2014) Transnationalizing the Public Sphere , Cambridge: Polity.
Hardy, Jonathan (2014) Critical Political Economy of the Media. An Introduction, Abingdon: Routledge
Herman, Edward & Noam Chomsky, (2008) Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media , New York: Verso Press.
Saward, Michael (2010) The representative claim , Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Akkerman, Tjitske. (2003) ‘Populism and Democracy: Challenge or Pathology?’ Acta Politica 38 (2), pp. 147-159.
Bale, Tim, Van Kessel, Stijn and Taggart, Paul. (2011) ‘Thrown around with abandon? Popular understandings of populism as conveyed by the print media: a UK case study’, Acta Politica, 46 (2). pp. 111-131
Hall, Stuart. 2006 [1981]. ‘Notes on Deconstructing “the Popular,”’ in Storey, John (ed). Cultural Theory and Popular Culture: A Reader. Harlow: Pearson.
Hay, Colin (2007). Why we Hate Politics. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Jones, Owen (2014) The Establishment: and how they get away with it, London: Allen Lane.
Moffitt, Benjamin and Tormey, Simon. (2014) ‘Rethinking Populism: Politics, Mediatisation and Political Style’, Political Studies 62(2): 381-397.
Dean, Jonathan (2014b). ‘Tales of the Apolitical’. Political Studies 62 (2), 452-467.
Flinders, Matthew. (2012). Defending Politics: Why Democracy Matters in the 21st Century. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Painter, Anthony. (2013) Democratic Stress, the Populist Signal and Extremist Threat: A Call for Mainstream Statecraft and Contact Democracy. London: Policy Network.
Street, John. (2004) ‘Celebrity Politicians: Popular Culture and Political Representation’, British Journal of Political Science and International Relations Vol. 6, No. 4, 435-452.
Mair, Peter. (2013). Ruling the Void: The Hollowing of Western Democracy
Bobbio, N. (1996) Left and Right: The Importance of a Political Distinction. Cambridge: Polity Press.
