Module POC1021 for 2022/3
- Overview
- Aims and Learning Outcomes
- Module Content
- Indicative Reading List
- Assessment
Undergraduate Module Descriptor
POC1021: Key Concepts in Politics and International Relations
This module descriptor refers to the 2022/3 academic year.
Please note that this module is only delivered on the Penryn Campus.
Module Aims
This module aims to provide you with a solid foundation in the basic concepts and theories that are useful for making sense of contemporary debates and challenges in international politics. In addition, it highlights the role of the state and the major actors involved in shaping cross-national borders. To this end, the module brings together diverse methodological approaches, current and historical events and critical study skills. By the end of the course, you will have acquired the necessary tools that enable you to critically weigh common academic and policy arguments about global affairs.
On successfully completing the programme you will be able to: | |
---|---|
Module-Specific Skills | 1. Demonstrate a basic understanding of the actors, approaches, issues and institutions in IR 2. Explain the connections between global problems and the theories used by political scientists to understand their causes, effects, and possible solutions |
Discipline-Specific Skills | 3. Compare and contrast major schools of thought in IR 4. Use these concepts, vocabulary, and theories to analyse issues facing political leaders and societies. |
Personal and Key Skills | 5. Communicate arguments effectively 6. Develop good research and indexing praxis 7. Identify, locate, evaluate, and responsibly use and share information relevant to the discussions at hand |
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 of the following topics or readings:
- IR as a field of knowledge: IR Myths, voice and place and the subject/object divide
- Classic and (Neo)Realist Approaches: “is international anarchy the permissive cause of war?”
- Liberalism/Idealism: “is there an international society?”
- Constructivism: is anarchy “what states make of it?”
- Globalization: are we “at the end of history?”
- Institutionalism and Liberal World Order
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 |
---|---|---|
27.5 | 122.5 | 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 and Teaching Activity | 16.5 | 11 x 1.5hr lectures |
Scheduled Learning & Teaching Activity | 11 | 11 x 1hr seminars |
Guided Independent Study | 66 | Private study students are expected to read suggested texts and make notes prior to seminar sessions. They are also expected to read widely to complete their coursework assignments. More specifically, students are expected to devote at least 6 hours per topic/week to directed reading. |
Guided Independent Study | 56.5 | completing assessment tasks |
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 |
---|---|---|---|
Portfolio exercise | 500 words | 1-7 | 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 |
---|---|---|---|---|
Portfolio | 100 | 2,750 words | 1-7 | Written |
0 | ||||
0 | ||||
0 | ||||
0 |
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 |
---|---|---|---|
Portfolio | Portfolio (2,750 words) | 1-7 | August/September reassessment period |