Module POL3054 for 2021/2
- Overview
- Aims and Learning Outcomes
- Module Content
- Indicative Reading List
- Assessment
Undergraduate Module Descriptor
POL3054: Nuclear Weapons in International Relations
This module descriptor refers to the 2021/2 academic year.
Module Aims
This module will provide you with:
- A grasp of the history of nuclear weapons over three ‘Ages’ from monopoly to Cold War to the 21st Century;
- The opportunity to evaluate competing visions of how nuclear weapons should be understood;
- A critical understanding of debates around what drives proliferation and disarmament;
- A vital context for judging the validity of competing theoretical approaches to International Relations
On successfully completing the programme you will be able to: | |
---|---|
Module-Specific Skills | 1. demonstrate knowledge and understanding of key issues revolving around nuclear weapons and international security; 2. apply this awareness to contemporary problems of proliferation and counter-proliferation; |
Discipline-Specific Skills | 3. display an understanding of the evolution of strategic theory and international relations theory, and their utility for contemporary decision-making; 4. exercise informed judgement about change and continuity in international relations; |
Personal and Key Skills | 5. conduct independent research, exercise critical judgement and write clearly and persuasively; 6. demonstrate the ability to analyse complex and fast-changing problems and to have the confidence individually and as part of a group to design and advocate workable strategic solutions; and 7. 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
The module is structured in three parts. 1) Following an introductory seminar, the module tracks the history of nuclear weapons since World War Two; 2) it examines a range of highly contested analytical and normative problems created in the nuclearized era; and 3) finally, it examines competing arguments for how states should approach and manage nuclear weapons in our time.
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 |
...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 Activities | 22 | Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities |
Guided Independent Study | 50 | Private study reading and preparing for seminars |
Guided Independent Study | 78 | Preparation for essay including researching and collating relevant sources; planning the structure and argument; writing up the essay. Exam revision. |
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 feedback | Over Term 2 | 1-6 | Oral |
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 |
---|---|---|---|---|
Examination | 50 | 1.5 hours | 1-7 | Written comments |
Essay | 50 | 3,000 word essay | 1-6 | Written comments |
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 |
---|---|---|---|
Examination | 1.5 hour examination | 1-7 | August-September re-assessment period |
Essay | 3,000 word essay | 1-6 | August-September re-assessment period |