GV926-6-SP-CO:
International Current Affairs: Understanding our World
2023/24
Government
Colchester Campus
Spring
Undergraduate: Level 6
ReassessmentOnly
Monday 15 January 2024
Friday 22 March 2024
15
22 February 2022
Requisites for this module
(none)
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International Current Affairs (or Understanding Our World) aims to introduce students to cutting edge debates in international politics and media in the age of misinformation and post-truth. The module aims to prepare a new generation of solution-focused students with a sophisticated understanding of the complexities of our interconnected world. Beyond the focus on the global North that usually dominate our understanding of international politics, the module will also provide insight into major events and crises in the global South, while reflecting on policies, how they are developed and their impact on the everyday life of citizens around the world.
The aims of this module are to:
1. Develop students’ critical skills through engagement with cutting edge debates in international media and politics.
2. Prepare students to tackle topics in politics, journalism, media & communication fields.
3. Provide students with analytical tools and exposure to topics at the heart of international current affairs to help them better grasps challenges of policies and how they affect the everyday life of people around the world.
4. Increase student’s engagement with debates on politics, conflicts, and development in the Global South beyond the traditional focus on Western politics and current affairs.
Develop students’ ability to engage with interdisciplinary learning beyond their specific field of learning.
Students will acquire:
1. An understanding of the rapidly changing fields of international politics, journalism and media studies.
2. Insight in the complexities of the hybrid communication sphere of today, and crucial questions related to facts, truth, and misinformation.
3. The ability to demonstrate broad knowledge of global current affairs
4. Analytical tools to compare and evaluate the coverage of global affairs in a range of academic, mainstream and alternative media sources
5. An understanding of key leading intellectual debates, discussions, and scholarly literature in the field.
6. An understanding of how to communicate complex information to a general audience
The module will address key debates and dilemmas in the fields of international politics, media, communication, and journalism, while adopting an interdisciplinary perspective. It will use a case study approach to engage with cutting edge debates and policies and their implications of people's life around the world.
This module will be delivered with a weekly two-hour interactive seminar. Each session will consist of a blend of lecturing, Q&A, group, and whole-class discussion, audio-visual screening – the precise blend to depend in part on student numbers.
This module does not appear to have any essential texts. To see non - essential items, please refer to the module's
reading list.
Assessment items, weightings and deadlines
| Coursework / exam |
Description |
Deadline |
Coursework weighting |
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
Reassessment
Module supervisor and teaching staff
Prof Natasha Lindstaedt, email: nezrow@essex.ac.uk.
nezrow@essex.ac.uk, feliss@essex.ac.uk
Yes
Yes
Yes
Dr Max Gallop
University of Strathclyde
Senior Lecturer
Available via Moodle
No lecture recording information available for this module.
Government
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