Module POL2120 for 2021/2
- Overview
- Aims and Learning Outcomes
- Module Content
- Indicative Reading List
- Assessment
Undergraduate Module Descriptor
POL2120: Democratic Innovations, Deliberation and Public Policy
This module descriptor refers to the 2021/2 academic year.
Module Content
Syllabus Plan
Whilst the precise content may vary from year to year, it is envisaged that the syllabus will cover all or some of the following topics:
- Theoretical Foundations and Roots of Deliberative Democracy and Democratic innovations
- Varieties of democratic innovation
- Deliberation at different levels, local, national, global
- Case Studies from around the world (eg India, Brazil, Ireland, UK, Canada)
- Coupling Deliberation with Representative and Direct Democracy
- What are the aims of deliberation? How to we judge deliberative ‘quality’?
- Inclusivity issues: who speaks during deliberations? Who takes part?
- The balance between consensus and disagreement
- Online Deliberation – synchronous and asynchronous, chat rooms and live sessions
- Critical perspectives: exploring the legitimacy of democratic innovations
- The impact of democratic innovations: policy impact, impact on participants
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Lectures/seminars | 22 | 11 x 2 hours. A combination of lecture and seminar discussion; depending on public health regulations these will be delivered online or offline. |
| Weekly seminar readings & seminar preparation | 53 | This includes reading and note taking, preparing short answers to seminar questions, viewing online deliberations and listening to podcasts, reading presentation slides in advance |
| Self-directed learning for essay (guide independent study) | 35 | Reading, research, database searching, writing, re-drafting and editing |
| Self-directed learning for case study (guide independent study) | 35 | Including independently researching the particular case from web sources and readings, writing up and editing case study |
| Participation in online forum discussions/ deliberations | 5 | ELE forum or similar discussion topics generated by students for class to debate online (asynchronous discussion forum) |
Online Resources
This module has online resources available via ELE (the Exeter Learning Environment).
Other Learning Resources
- Participedia: https://participedia.net/
- Citizen Lab: https://www.citizenlab.co/
- Involve: https://www.involve.org.uk/resources/knowledge-base/what/public-engagement-public-policy-making
- Relevant podcasts and short videos of democratic innovations in practice
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 | 500 words | 1-8 | Written (by email or verbally in office hours according to students preference) |
| Case study abstract | 300 words | 1-8 | Written (by email or verbally in office hours according to students preference) |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Essay | 50 | 2000 words | 1-8 | Written feedback |
| Case Study a detailed investigation and evaluation of a specific democratic innovation as applied in a particular context or contexts | 50 | 2000 words | 1-8 | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Essay | Essay, 2000 words (50%) | 1-8 | August/September Reassessment Period |
| Case study | Case study, 2000 words (50%) | 1-8 | August/September Reassessment Period |
