ACTIVIST UG2

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What you learn about on modules in this stream: This stream focuses on the theory and practice of social and political change. It brings together modules that explore and challenge power, inequality, justice, and collective action, equipping students with the analytical and practical tools to engage critically with issues such as climate justice, human rights, gender equality, and decolonisation.

Career ambitions: campaigner for a charity, such as Oxfam, Amnesty, Shelter or working in a campaigns team of a Trade Union. Working for organisations which strive to strengthen democracy, human rights, or equality domestically or internationally.

MODULES IN THIS STREAM

PR2460 – POLITICS OUTSIDE THE WEST

POL/IR

30 credits – Autumn and Spring terms

Module Description – This module is a key bridge between the first year modules in comparative politics and international relations and the third year modules on the politics of Africa, China, Latin America, the Middle East, and South Asia, as well as revolutions. It is designed to equip students with a critical understanding of the most important features of the history of international development which build the foundations of our modern world: the transition from empires to states, colonialism, de-colonisation, and the subsequent post-colonial political issues facing the Global South. This means that students do not necessarily learn about politics “outside the West”, as if it is a phenomenon separate from the West, but, instead, develop their ideas of politics and international relations from the vantage point of the Global South, including its prominent political thinkers.

Module Leader – Dr Ibrahim Halawi and Dr Will Jones

Module Delivery – Weekly lectures and seminars; formative assessments: class discussions (verbal), interactive quizzes, and peer-review.

Assessment – Essay 1 (1800 words) – 30%; Research Project (1800 words) – 30%; Exam – 40%

What you can do to prepare for this module – If you took PR1500 in your first year, revisit your notes for the weeks that cover Global South topics. Read Vijay Prashad’s The Darker Nations: A History of the Third World and Eduardo Galeano’s Open Veins of Latin America. If you like documentaries, watch Concerning Violence.

PR2600 – INTRODUCTION TO POLITICAL COMMUNICATION

POL/IR

30 credits – Autumn and Spring terms

Module Description – The purpose of this module is to provide students with a broad overview of how citizens, politicians and the media interact across Western democracies during both electoral and governing periods. The first part of the module will focus on the production and consumption of political news, while the second part will address campaigns and their effects as well as focusing on contemporary debates in political communication, including ethical issues. While the module will cover key aspects of political communication in the United Kingdom, the focus will be mostly comparative across countries. Seminars are centred on practical activities that allow students to apply the knowledge presented in the module to contemporary real-world examples of political communication in action. Examples include analysis of political speeches, advertisements, candidate debates, campaign strategies, and news coverage of political issues.

Module Leaders – Professor Ben O’Loughlin and Dr Kat Gupta

Module Delivery – Weekly lectures and activity-based seminars

Assessment – Essay 1 (1800 words) – 30%; Essay 2 (1800 words) – 30%; Exam (2400 words) – 40%

What you can do to prepare for this module – For ten minutes each day, spend a few weeks following how a political party, celebrity, journalist or activist uses social media to promote a message or cause. Be prepared to talk for a few minutes about what you see, why they present things the way they do, and whether you think citizens/users ‘buy in’ to what they say.