Module POL3194 for 2021/2
- Overview
- Aims and Learning Outcomes
- Module Content
- Indicative Reading List
- Assessment
Undergraduate Module Descriptor
POL3194: Rethinking the Politics of Communities
This module descriptor refers to the 2021/2 academic year.
Module Aims
This module will:
- Familiarise you with the history of critical perspectives on the political theory of communities
- Introduce you to a series of ways in which the theory of communities has been radicalised in recent political theory
- Introduce you by way of a series of case studies to concrete examples of how the concept of community is functioning in contemporary political practices
- Reflect on the role the concept of community is likely to play in future developments of political theory
| On successfully completing the programme you will be able to: | |
|---|---|
| Module-Specific Skills | 1. Articulate what is distinctively political about the concept of community 2. Identify and critically evaluate one or more case studies of how theory and/or practice of community is informing contemporary political activities |
| Discipline-Specific Skills | 3. Deploy political theory to assess the significance and import of contemporary theorising of community for politics and public/social policy 4. Evaluate the relative insightfulness of competing theoretical interpretations of political phenomena |
| Personal and Key Skills | 5. Engage in constructive peer-evaluation 6. Work effectively in collaboration with peers |
Module Content
Syllabus Plan
The sequence of seminars may vary from year to year. However, key themes will include:
- The history of the political thought of community (Plato, Aristotle, Hobbes, Locke, Hegel, Marx, Tönnies)
- The emergence of the theory of community in recent communitarian thinking (Dewey, Taylor, Sandel; Etzioni, Putnam)
- The radicalisation of the theory of community in recent European political theory (Bataille, Nancy, Blanchot, Agamben, Bauman)
- Case studies of community in contemporary political practice, based on the module convenors own community engaged research (multiculturalism, protest, resistance; virtual communities; asset based community development; engaging communities; performing communities)
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 | 42 | 22x 2 hour seminars |
| Guided independent study | 256 | 148hrs seminar preparation, 60hrs research, 48hrs course work |
Online Resources
This module has online resources available via ELE (the Exeter Learning Environment).
Video & audio recordings relating to case studies.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Research proposal | 1000 words | 1-6 | Peer view, verbal comments |
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 | 40 | 3,500 words | 1-4 | Written comments |
| Case study research project | 60 | 5,000 words | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Essay | Essay (3,500 words) | 1-4 | August/September reassessment period |
| Case study research project | Case study research project (5,000 words) | 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.
The majority of the reading will be made available online via the ELE page for the module.
Plato (2005) Republic, Book 2. Cambridge University Press.
Aristotle (1996) Politics, Book 1. Cambridge University Press.
Thomas Hobbes (2007) Leviathan, Chapters 13-15, & 17. Cambridge University Press.
G.W.F. Hegel (1967) Philosophy of Right, §§182-206 & 241-258. Oxford University Press.
F. Tönnies (2001) Community and Civil Society, Section 1. Cambridge University Press.
John Dewey (1954) The Public and its Problems, Chapter 6. Ohio University Press.
Charles Taylor (1985) “Atomism”. Philosophical Papers2. Cambridge University Press.
Robert Putnam (1999) Bowling Alone. Simon & Schuster.
Jean-Luc Nancy (1991) The Inoperative Community. University of Minnesota Press.
Maurice Blanchot (1988) The Unavowable Community. Station Hill Press.
Giorgio Agamben (1993) The Coming Community. University of Minnesota Press.
Zygmunt Bauman (2001) Community. Polity Press.
Roberto Esposito (2010) Communitas: The Origin & Destiny of Community. Stanford University Press.
