Module POL3255 for 2021/2
- Overview
- Aims and Learning Outcomes
- Module Content
- Indicative Reading List
- Assessment
Undergraduate Module Descriptor
POL3255: Deliberating the Environmental Emergency: The Citizens' Assembly
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.
In Term 1 students will be provided with the necessary background to participate in the Citizens’ Assembly, which will be run in Term 2.
Term 1
Lectures in Term 1 will be delivered in part by the module convenors and in part by other academics as well as policy practitioners and/ or stakeholders across a range of different disciplines and sectors (e.g. responsible investing organisations, agricultural policy experts, farmers, activists). Topics covered will include:
Part 1 (weeks 1-6): Framing the environmental crisis:
- The science of climate change: mechanisms, causes & consequences
- Biodiversity loss: mechanisms, causes & consequences
- Unpacking systemic causes: The economic foundations of the environmental crisis
- Levels of action and obstacles to change: A framework of analysis
- The environmental policy process/ policy instruments for addressing the environmental crisis
Part 2 (weeks 7-11): Sector specific issues – 1 hour guest lectures followed by seminar style discussion
- Energy and its uses
- Transport
- Food
- Infrastructure and building
- Consumption and production
Term 2
In Term 2, the first few sessions will explore the contribution that Democratic Innovations and Citizen Assemblies especially can make to the environmental emergency debate. Students will participate in such an Assembly over five weeks of class in the second half of term and make policy recommendations to handle the environmental emergency in specific sectors building on the knowledge acquired in Term 1. Sessions will include:
Part 3 (weeks 1-4): The politics of the environmental emergency
- Building political momentum: The emergence of a climate agenda
- The theory and practice of deliberation: Contribution and limits
- Democratic innovations in practice: The role of citizen assemblies in the climate emergency
Part 4 (weeks 5-11): Running the Citizens Assembly
- Recap and weekly deliberation on each of the sector specific topics introduced in term 1
- Synthesis and recommendations, voting for policy options
- Evaluation and reflection on the process
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 |
...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 | 44 | 22 x 2 hours per week, which includes lectures, seminars and Citizens Assembly participation |
| Guided independent study | 136 | Reading |
| Guided independent study | 50 | Writing the essay outline and essay |
| Guided independent study | 20 | Reflective Log writing |
| Guided independent study | 50 | Citizens Assembly Analytical Report |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Participation in group work during citizens assembly, term 2 | 45 min group deliberation (observation lasting 10 mins per group) | 2-3 | Written observation from tutors after 1st group deliberation session |
| 5 x Reflective Logs (about the thematic group deliberations, forming a source of primary evidence to be used in the Summative Analytical Report), term 2 | 350 words each (total 1,750 words) | 1; 4; 5-6 | Individual written feedback for log 1; Class feedback for logs 2-5 |
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 (term 1) | 50 | 3,000 words | 2-3 | Written feedback |
| Citizens Assembly Analytical Report (term 2) | 50 | 3,000 words | 1; 4; 5-6 | 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 (3,000 words) | 2-3 | August/September reassessment period |
| Citizens Assembly Analytical Report | Citizen Assembly Analytical Report (3,000 words) | 1; 4; 5-6 | August/September reassessment period |
