GV100-4-FY-CO:
Introduction to Politics

The details
2020/21
Government
Colchester Campus
Full Year
Undergraduate: Level 4
Current
Thursday 08 October 2020
Friday 02 July 2021
30
28 September 2020

 

Requisites for this module
(none)
(none)
(none)
(none)

 

(none)

Key module for

BSC LL14 Economics and Politics (Including Foundation Year),
BSC LL2F Economics and Politics,
BSC LL3F Economics and Politics (Including Year Abroad),
BSC LL4F Economics and Politics (Including Placement Year),
BA L900 International Development,
BA L901 International Development (Including Year Abroad),
BA L902 International Development (Including Placement Year),
BA LR59 International Relations and Modern Languages (5 Years Including Foundation Year),
BA LRF9 International Relations and Modern Languages,
BA LV21 Modern History and Politics,
BA LV22 Modern History and Politics (Including Placement Year),
BA LV28 Modern History and Politics (Including Foundation Year),
BA LV2C Modern History and Politics (Including Year Abroad),
BA LV25 Philosophy and Politics,
BA LV26 Philosophy and Politics (Including Placement Year),
BA LV2H Philosophy and Politics (Including Foundation Year and Year Abroad),
BA LV2M Philosophy and Politics (Including Year Abroad),
BA LV8M Philosophy and Politics (Including Foundation Year),
BA L0V0 Philosophy, Politics and Economics,
BA L0V1 Philosophy, Politics and Economics (Including Placement Year),
BA L0V2 Philosophy, Politics and Economics (Including Foundation Year),
BA L0VA Philosophy, Politics and Economics (Including Year Abroad),
BA L200 Politics,
BA L201 Politics (Including Year Abroad),
BA L202 Politics (Including Foundation Year),
BA L203 Politics (Including Placement Year),
BA L219 Politics with Human Rights (Including Placement Year),
BA L2M8 Politics with Human Rights (Including Foundation Year),
BA L2M9 Politics with Human Rights,
BA LFM9 Politics with Human Rights (Including Year Abroad),
BA LL23 Sociology and Politics (Including Year Abroad),
BA LL24 Sociology and Politics (Including Placement Year),
BA LL32 Sociology and Politics,
LLB ML14 Law with Politics (Including Year Abroad),
LLB ML15 Law with Politics (Including Placement Year),
LLB ML16 Law with Politics,
BA P580 Journalism and Politics,
BA P581 Journalism and Politics (Including Placement Year),
BA P582 Journalism and Politics (Including Year Abroad),
BA L225 Politics and International Relations,
BA L226 Politics and International Relations (Including Year Abroad),
BA L227 Politics and International Relations (Including Placement Year),
BSC L222 Politics and International Relations,
BSC L223 Politics and International Relations (Including Year Abroad),
BSC L224 Politics and International Relations (Including Placement Year),
MPOLL234 Politics and International Relations,
MPOLL235 Politics and International Relations (Including Placement Year),
MPOLL236 Politics and International Relations (Including Year Abroad),
BA R110 International Relations and Language Studies,
BA R111 International Relations and Language Studies (Including Foundation Year),
BA LY10 Social Sciences,
BA LY11 Social Sciences (Including Placement Year),
BA LY12 Social Sciences (Including Year Abroad),
BA LY13 Social Sciences (Including Foundation Year),
BA V305 Curating with Politics,
BA V306 Curating with Politics (Including Foundation Year),
BA V307 Curating with Politics (including Placement Year),
BA V308 Curating with Politics (including Year Abroad)

Module description

This module is designed to provide you with an introduction to politics and political thinking. People have been writing about politics for more than two thousand years and the aim of the course is to give you a flavour of the debates, concepts and ideas in the vast literature in the discipline of politics. Part of the exercise will be to introduce some key issues in the methodology of political research, that is, how we go about studying politics.

You will read about ideas in political philosophy, in formal theory, and also in empirical political theory. These are all branches of the contemporary study of politics. Specific topics include the origins and organisation of the state, the use (and abuse) of political power, political decision-making, political ideologies and values, political participation and democracy as well as an examination of specific political institutions such as parties and governments. You will be reading extracts from authors who wrote centuries ago as well authors who are much more contemporary.

Module aims

By the end of this module, you should be able to:
(1) Summarise the basic building blocks of the academic study of politics;
(2) Read, understand, and discuss articles involved in more specialised study in the field of politics.

Module learning outcomes

By the end of this module, you should be able to:
(1) Compare and contrast political systems, institutions, behaviours, and outcomes at different times and in different places;
(2) Write clear and cogent essays;
(3) Conduct independent library and internet searches for scholarly work;
(4) Contribute with well-informed contributions in small-group discussions.

Module information

There are three textbooks used extensively in this module:
Ian Budge. 2019. Politics: A Unified Introduction to How Democracy Works, (Routledge).
Russell Dalton, 2013. Citizen Politics: Public Opinion and Political Parties in Advanced Industrial Democracies (Sage)
Nigel Jackson and Stephen Tansey, 2015. Politics: The Basics. (Routledge).

We recommend that you buy paperbacks or electronic copies of these books
Further, a selection of readings is assigned throughout the module. The readings are listed and identified in more detail below.

Learning and teaching methods

A one hour pre-recorded lecture and a one hour interactive class session per week. For two weeks each term (Weeks tbc), the lecture will be 80 minutes instead of 50 minutes. During these sessions, you will receive extra instruction on writing and researching in political science

Bibliography

  • Russell J. Dalton. (© 2020) Citizen politics: public opinion and political parties in advanced industrial democracies, Los Angeles, California: SAGE, CQ Press.
  • Nigel A. Jackson; Stephen D. Tansey. (©2015) Politics: the basics, Abingdon: Routledge.
  • Morrow, James D. (c1994) Game theory for political scientists, Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press.
  • Sidney Verba. (c1994) 'The Science in Social Science', in Designing social inquiry: scientific inference in qualitative research, Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press., pp.3-33
  • Budge, Ian. (©2019) Politics: a unified introduction to how democracy works, Abingdon: Routledge.
  • Bernard Crick. (2002) Democracy: a very short introduction, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  • D. T Denver; Christopher J Carman; Robert Johns. (2012) Elections and voters in Britain, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
  • Waltz, Kenneth N. (c1979) Theory of international politics, Reading, Mass: Addison-Wesley Pub. Co.
  • Whiteley, Paul. (1986) Political control of the macroeconomy: the political economy of public policy making, London: Sage.
  • Mark N. Franklin. (2004) Voter turnout and the dynamics of electoral competition in established democracies since 1945, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  • Ian Budge. (©2019) Politics: a unified introduction to how democracy works, Abingdon: Routledge.
  • Schelling, Thomas C. (c1980) The strategy of conflict, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University.
  • William H. Riker. (c1986) The art of political manipulation, New Haven: Yale University Press.
  • Abramson, Paul R; Inglehart, Ronald F. (2009) Value Change in Global Perspective: University of Michigan Press.
  • Mancur Olson. (2000) Power and prosperity: outgrowing communist and capitalist dictatorships, New York: Basic Books.
  • Lijphart, Arend. (1990-06) 'The Political Consequences of Electoral Laws, 1945–85', in American Political Science Review. vol. 84 (2) , pp.481-496
  • Whiteley, Paul. (2011) Political participation in Britain: the decline and revival of civic culture, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
  • Ryan, Matt. (2018) 'The comparative method', in Theory and methods in political science, London: Palgrave Macmillan.
  • Anthony Downs. (c1957) An economic theory of democracy, New York: Harper.
  • Rapoport, Anatol. (1961, c1960) Fights, games, and debates, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.
  • Robert A. Dahl; Ian Shapiro. (©2015) On democracy, New Haven: Yale University Press.
  • Steven Lukes. (2005) Power: a radical view, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
  • Erik Moberg. (©2014) Towards a science of states: their evolution and properties, Sweden: Moberg Publications.
  • (no date) STERN REVIEW: The Economics of Climate Change.
  • Russett, Bruce; Layne, Christopher; Spiro, David E.; Doyle, Michael W. (1995-21) 'The Democratic Peace', in International Security. vol. 19 (4) , pp.164-
  • Axelrod, Robert M. (©1984) The evolution of cooperation, New York: Basic Books.
  • Hill, Michael J. (1997) The policy process: a reader, London: Prentice Hall/Harvester Wheatsheaf.

The above list is indicative of the essential reading for the course. The library makes provision for all reading list items, with digital provision where possible, and these resources are shared between students. Further reading can be obtained from this module's reading list.

Assessment items, weightings and deadlines

Coursework / exam Description Deadline Coursework weighting
Coursework   Essay Outline 1    5% 
Coursework   Essay 1    45% 
Coursework   Essay Outline 2    5% 
Coursework   Essay 2    45% 

Exam format definitions

  • Remote, open book: Your exam will take place remotely via an online learning platform. You may refer to any physical or electronic materials during the exam.
  • In-person, open book: Your exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer to any physical materials such as paper study notes or a textbook during the exam. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
  • In-person, open book (restricted): The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer only to specific physical materials such as a named textbook during the exam. Permitted materials will be specified by your department. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
  • In-person, closed book: The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may not refer to any physical materials or electronic devices during the exam. There may be times when a paper dictionary, for example, may be permitted in an otherwise closed book exam. Any exceptions will be specified by your department.

Your department will provide further guidance before your exams.

Overall assessment

Coursework Exam
100% 0%

Reassessment

Coursework Exam
100% 0%
Module supervisor and teaching staff
Prof Paul Whiteley, email: whiteley@essex.ac.uk.
Professor Paul Whiteley
Module Supervisor: Module Supervisor whiteley@essex.ac.uk Module Administrator: Nicola Rowley E: govquery@essex.ac.uk

 

Availability
Yes
Yes
No

External examiner

No external examiner information available for this module.
Resources
Available via Moodle
Of 258 hours, 0 (0%) hours available to students:
258 hours not recorded due to service coverage or fault;
0 hours not recorded due to opt-out by lecturer(s).

 

Further information
Government

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