Module POL3274 for 2021/2
- Overview
- Aims and Learning Outcomes
- Module Content
- Indicative Reading List
- Assessment
Undergraduate Module Descriptor
POL3274: Money, Lobbying, and Policymaking
This module descriptor refers to the 2021/2 academic year.
Module Aims
This module is intended to improve both (1) your understanding about politics and the forces that result in implemented public policies, and (2) your ability to critically evaluate research, news reports, and advocacy efforts. The aim is to enable you to assess for yourself the effects of pressure group money on politics and policymaking, having portrayed lobbyists and legislators in simulations, and analysed real data on the topic.
| On successfully completing the programme you will be able to: | |
|---|---|
| Module-Specific Skills | 1. critically assess the influence of lobbyists' direct and indirect expenditures on US policymaking; 2. demonstrate understanding of the role pressure groups and lobbyists play in policymaking, particularly in the US; |
| Discipline-Specific Skills | 3. use simple statistical methods to analyse data and model political behaviour; 4. critically evaluate political science research according to its assumptions, methods, and conclusions; |
| Personal and Key Skills | 5. increase confidence in approaching professional colleagues with ideas and suggesting collaborations; 6. improve writing skills through multiple iterations, peer review, and practice writing in the role of a professional, rather than a student; and 7. demonstrate an ability to be persuasive. |
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 Note outline/plan | 300 words | 1-7 | Oral or written |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Strategic memo | 40 | 1,200 words | 1-7 | Written feedback |
| Research note | 60 | 2,500 words | 1-7 | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Strategic memo | Strategic memo (1,200 words) | 1-7 | Due upon return if possible; otherwise Aug/Sept assessment period |
| Research note | Research note (2,500 words) | 1-7 | Due upon return if possible; otherwise Aug/Sept assessment 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.
- Baumgartner and Leech, Basic Interests
- Baumgartner, Berry, Hojnacki, Kimball, and Leech, Lobbying and Policy Change
- Berry and Wilcox, The Interest Group Society
- E. E. Schattschneider, The Semisovereign People: A Realist's View of Democracy in America
- Frank J. Sorauf, Inside Campaign Finance
- Larry Sabato, PAC Power
- Panagopoulos and Schank, All Roads Lead to Congress
- Robert M. Alexander, The Classics of Interest Group Behavior
- Wolpe and Levine, Lobbying Congress
- Amy McKay, “Buying Policy? The Effects of Lobbyists’ Resources on their Policy Success.” Political Research Quarterly Austen-Smith and Wright, “Counteractive Lobbying.” American Political Science Review
- Chin, Bond, and Geva. “A foot in the door: An experimental study of PAC and constituency effects on access.” Journal of Politics
- David Lowery. “Why Do Organized Interests Lobby? A Multi-Goal, Multi-Context Theory of Lobbying.” Polity
- Denzau and Munger, “How Unorganized Interests Get Represented.” American Political Science Review
- Hall and Wayman, “Buying Time: Moneyed Interests and the Mobilization of Bias in Congressional Committees.” American Political Science Review
- Jennifer Nicoll Victor, “Strategic Lobbying.” American Politics Research
