Module POL2100 for 2021/2
- Overview
- Aims and Learning Outcomes
- Module Content
- Indicative Reading List
- Assessment
Undergraduate Module Descriptor
POL2100: Political Conflicts in Europe
This module descriptor refers to the 2021/2 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:
Party political conflict
- Party systems and party families in Eastern and Western Europe
- The rise of right-wing populism in Western and Northern Europe
- Economic hardship and political conflict (case studies from Southern Europe)
The rise and fall of democracy
- The promotion of democracy and EU enlargement (case studies: Eastern European countries, Balkan)
- The quality of democracy (e.g. Poland and Hungary)
- Political culture: trust and mistrust in political institutions in the East and West
- Elite-mass linkages in a time of ‘post-factual’ politics
Globalisation and European integration
- European identity: threat or unifying force?
- Globalisation and immigration as a conflict at the national level
- The nature of political conflict at the European level
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 lectures with a mix of lecture, collective discussion, and presentations |
| Guided Independent Study | 78 | Preparation and completion of course assignments (50 hours essay, 14 hours presentation, 14 hours reaction paper) |
| Guided Independent Study | 50 | Reading for seminars |
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 | 400 words, to be discussed with peers | 1-6 | Verbal peer feedback |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| 85 | 0 | 15 |
...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 | 60 | 2,500 words | 1-6 | Written feedback |
| Group Presentation | 15 | 4 minutes per student (assessment based on individual presentation) | 1-7 | Verbal feedback |
| Reaction to reading | 25 | 900 words - reaction to a reading posted online on ELE before the session (so they can inform in-class discussions) | 1-6 | Verbal feedback |
| 0 | ||||
| 0 | ||||
| 0 |
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 (2,500 words) | 1-6 | August/September reassessment period |
| Presentation | 1,000 word report covering the topic of the presentation | 1-6 | August/September reassessment period |
| Reactions to readings | 1,000 word reaction paper | 1-6 | 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.
Basic reading:
Ferrin, M., and H. Kriesi (2016). How Europeans view and evaluate democracy. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Flynn, D., B. Nyhan and J. Reifler (2017). The nature and origins of misperceptions: understanding false and unsupported beliefs about politics. Political Psychology 38 (S1): 127–150.
Hooghe, L., and G. Marks (2017). Europe’s Crises and Political Contestation. Journal of European Public Policy, unassigned.
Hutter, S., E. Grande and H. Kriesi (eds) (2016). Politicising Europe: Integration and Mass Politics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Mudde, C. (2013). Three decades of populist radical right parties in Western Europe: So what?. European Journal of Political Research 52.1: 1-19.
Jost, J. T., P. Barberá, R Bonneau, M Langer, M Metzger, J Nagler, J Sterling, and J A. Tucker (2018). How Social Media Facilitates Political Protest: Information, Motivation, and Social Networks. Political Psychology 39 (2018): 85-118.
Norris, P. and R. Inglehart, 2018. Cultural Backlash: Trump, Brexit, and the Rise of Authoritarian Populism. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Risse, T. (2010). A Community of Europeans? Ithaca: Cornell University Press.
Vachudova, M. (2014). EU leverage and national interests in the Balkans: The puzzles of enlargement ten years on. JCMS: Journal of Common Market Studies 52.1: 122-138.
Vachudova, M. A. (2005). Europe undivided: democracy, leverage, and integration after communism. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
