Politics

On completion of this module, you will be better prepared to:

Topics covered will include:

• The concepts of the social contract, natural rights, and the general will. as they appear in thinkers such as the Hobbes, Locke and Rousseau.
• The nature of Nationalism and a critical approach to the concept of the nation.
• The development of Liberal Utilitarianism as a standard for evaluating politics.
• How some of these ideas play out in historical events, like the French Revolution and the birth of the labour movement.
• 20th century movements, like Communism and Fascism.
• The left-right debate, as it has appeared in 20th century western democracies.
• Some 20th/ 21st century political ideas, like political ecology and technocracy, that purport to exist outside the left-right spectrum. 

Class workshop activities, sometimes following the Socratic method, invite you to put yourselves in the position of various political actors, be it rulers or citizens, to see the interests and dynamics at stake in political decision-making. The module refers to contemporary events and encourages you to apply the theoretical concepts you discuss in class to what you read in the newspapers and other media. Daily news and media consumption become an ongoing part of the learning process. You will be invited to apply the ideas learnt in class to your own professional lives and your own citizenship. You will be actively encouraged to steer the conversation and the module in the direction of your own curiosity. 
 
Several key ideas and thinkers are summarised and explained in videos which you can view before class or in preparation for an assessment. All sessions will be recorded for you to go back to in your own time. An abundance of key texts by political philosophers, secondary literature, newspaper articles, examples for discussion, and lecture slides will be made available. We also encourage you to make use of the ‘discussion’ function on the class Virtual Learning Environment (VLE), where you can carry on the discussion after class has finished. 

• Coursework: News Analysis Exercise (1000-1500 words), submitted at the end of autumn term. (50%)
• Coursework: Essay (1500-2000 words), submitted after spring term. (50%)

Further information:
You will submit a 1000-1500-word News Analysis Exercise at the end of autumn term, in which you choose a news story from the year and explain how one or two ideas from the module help us to understand it, or how the news story helps us judge the idea.

You will then submit a 1500-2000-word essay after spring term. drawing from the material from both terms. You will be invited to select one from a list of questions, though also given the option of writing your own (approved by the module leader beforehand).

Summative written assessments are delivered via the VLE, and you will be given extensive feedback through in-text commentary and extensive overall feedback, ideally within two working weeks of submission. These cover both your understanding of the module materials and your writing technique. Feedback from Coursework 1 will be designed to support your development for Coursework 2. Summative assessment and feedback will be returned with a disclaimer that marks may be modified by later markers or external examiners.

• Requirements: You are expected to attend all classes and undertake approximately 85 hours of independent study in total during the module. Independent study includes reading and preparation for classes, researching and writing coursework assignments and preparing for other assessments.
• This module is designed as an undergraduate Level 5 module. For an explanation of levels, view the Imperial Horizons Level Descriptors page.‌