Undergraduate Module Descriptor

POC3137: The Politics of Knowledge and Ignorance

This module descriptor refers to the 2022/3 academic year.

Please note that this module is only delivered on the Penryn Campus.

Module Content

Syllabus Plan

Whilst the module’s precise content may vary from year to year, it is envisaged that the syllabus will cover at least some of the following topics:

Theories of knowledge, discourse and power
Epistemological injustice
Self-knowledge and sexual politics
Knowledge economies - ownership and commodification of knowledge
Government and secrets / freedom of information
Knowledge and evidence in policy making and political life
Environmental knowledges and controversies
Dissertation proposal development

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
22	128	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	22	11 x 2 hour weekly seminars
Guided independent study	128	Reading assignments 58 hours Formative assessment preparation 10 hours Presentation preparation 20 hours Critical Knowledge Project 40 hour

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
Critical Review	1000 words	1-9	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
Knowledge Project	100	2750	1-9	Written

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
Knowledge Project	Written 2750 words	1-9	August/September re-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.

Power/Knowledge. Selected writings by Michel Foucault Edited by Colin Gordon

The Politics of Knowledge. Edited by Fernando Domínguez Rubio and Patrick Baert

Epistemic injustice: Power and the ethics of knowing. Miranda Fricker

The Epistemology of Resistance. /Jose Medina

On Colonial Unknowing. Ed Manu Vimalassery et al. Special issue of Theory & Event20 (4) 2017

Decolonisation of Universities: the Politics of Knowledge. Edited by Jonathan D. Jansen

The Politics of Sex Amia Srinivasan