Undergraduate Module Descriptor

POL3278: Public Opinion in Europe: Political Influencers, Followers and democracy

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: 

 

  • The nature of political attitudes  

  • Understanding quantitative research  

  • Theories of opinion formation  

  • Political sophistication and heuristics 

  • Political contestation I: left/right conflicts  

  • Political contestation II: cultural conflicts  

  • Models of voting behaviour 

  • The rise of populism 

  • The role of emotions  

  • Filter bubbles, misinformation, and social media 

  • Public support for democracy 

  • Tolerance 

  • The public divide over the EU and Brexit  

  • Identity politics I: cosmopolitanism and European identity  

  • Identity politics II: Anti-immigrant sentiments  

  • Identity politics III: far right parties   

  • Attitudes towards the redistribution of resources within and across nations  

  • Attitudes towards gender equality 

Learning and Teaching

This table provides an overview of how your hours of study for this module are allocated:

Scheduled Learning and Teaching ActivitiesGuided independent studyPlacement / study abroad
44256

...and this table provides a more detailed breakdown of the hours allocated to various study activities:

CategoryHours of study timeDescription
Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities442 hour weekly seminars with a mix of short formal lectures, student led seminar, and collective discussion
Guided Independent Study98Preparing for seminars: reading and research
Guided Independent Study158Completing assessment tasks: reading, research and writing

Online Resources

This module has online resources available via ELE (the Exeter Learning Environment).

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.

Dalton, Russel J (2014). Citizen Politics: Public Opinion and Political Parties in Advanced Industrial Democracies. London: Sage. 

Duffy, B. (2018). The Perils of Perception. Glasgow: Atlantic Books. 

Flynn, D., B. Nyhan and J. Reifler (2017). The nature and origins of misperceptions: understanding false and unsupported beliefs about politics.?Political Psychology?38 (S1): 127–150. 

Ford, Robert, and Will Jennings. The changing cleavage politics of Western Europe.?Annual Review of Political Science?23 (2020): 295-314. 

Jerit, Jennifer, and Yangzi Zhao. Political misinformation.?Annual Review of Political Science?23 (2020): 77-94. 

Kahnemann, D. (2012). Thinking, Fast and Slow. London: Allen Lane/Penguin Books.  

Norris, P. and R. Inglehart, 2018. Cultural Backlash: Trump, Brexit, and the Rise of Authoritarian Populism. New York: Cambridge University Press. 

Noury, Abdul, and Gerard Roland. Identity Politics and Populism in Europe.?Annual Review of Political Science?23 (2020): 421-439. 

Risse, T. (2010). A Community of Europeans? Ithaca: Cornell University. 

Zaller, J. (1992). The Nature and Origins of Mass Opinion. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press