Politics of Protest
| Module title | Politics of Protest |
|---|---|
| Module code | POC3072F |
| Academic year | 2019/0 |
| Credits | 15 |
| Module staff | Professor Clare Saunders (Convenor) |
| Duration: Term | 1 | 2 | 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Duration: Weeks | 11 |
| Number students taking module (anticipated) | 12 |
|---|
Module description
In this module you will learn about theories of protest, survey design and implementation, and be given guidance on how to write up a quantitative research project. As part of the course, you will collect data from a large-scale street protest in London using the ‘caught in the act of protest’ survey strategy, devised by a renowned European team of scholars. (Note that the method requires a demonstration size of c.3,000 participants to work). You will analyse the data and produce a report on your findings. Thus, in addition to standard lectures and seminars, you will have the opportunity to participate in a field trip to a London-based protest and participate in workshops based in computer laboratories. You will be assessed on survey design, on a report that critically evaluates whether representativity and random sampling was achieved, and on a research report. Unlike many undergraduate modules on quantitative research methods, the module combines theory and practice, hopefully providing you with the skills and enthusiasm to make use of quantitative methods in your final year dissertations. The field trip provides a unique opportunity to witness an important political phenomenon first-hand.
You do not require prior knowledge skills or experience to take this module and it is suitable for specialist and non-specialist Politics students. This module is only available for Stage 3 students on Politics, FCH and Politics and History programmes.
Module aims - intentions of the module
This module provides you with the opportunity to learn about and test theories of social and political protest using data that you collect yourselves. You will learn basic quantitative data analysis skills and how to test hypotheses derived from the social movements’ literature. Your employability, verbal and oral communication and general research skills will be strengthened.
Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)
ILO: Module-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 1. demonstrate competence in survey design and implementation;
- 2. use intermediate statistical techniques to analyse quantitative data using SPSS;
- 3. test hypotheses derived from careful reading of social movement theories;
ILO: Discipline-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 4. demonstrate the ability to effectively use analytical skills in both written and oral work;
- 5. appraise theories of social movements using quantitative evidence;
ILO: Personal and key skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 6. design a survey in groups;
- 7. present coherent arguments;
- 8. demonstrate the ability to communicate effectively in your written and oral work; and
- 9. critically apply knowledge of the research process to test hypotheses.
Syllabus plan
Whilst the module’s precise content may vary from year to year, it is envisaged that the syllabus will cover some or all of the following topics:
1. Measuring social movement dynamics
2. Old and new social movements compared
3. Structural and biographic availability
4. Emotions and motivations
5. Protest as anti-politics
6. Survey design
7. Entering and cleaning data in SPSS
8. Assumptions of parametric data
9. Measures of association
10. Basic regression
Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | Guided independent study | Placement / study abroad |
|---|---|---|
| 28 | 122 | 0 |
Details of learning activities and teaching methods
| Category | Hours of study time | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Scheduled Learning and teaching activity | 5 | 5 x 1 hour lectures |
| Scheduled Learning and teaching activity | 5 | 5 x 1 hour seminars |
| Scheduled Learning and teaching activity | 10 | 5 x 2 hour computer workshops |
| Scheduled Learning and teaching activity | 3 | Group survey design workshop |
| Scheduled Learning and teaching activity | 5 (plus travel time) | Field trip for data collection |
| Guided Independent study | 43 | Private study: reading material set on reading list |
| Guided Independent study | 15 | Preparing review of method |
| Guided Independent study | 64 | Preparing research report |
Formative assessment
| Form of assessment | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|
| Discussion of research design with students | Informal discussion with students on their project idea | 1 | Verbal |
| Workshop on survey design | Group discussion with students on ideas for survey design | 1,3 | Verbal |
Summative assessment (% of credit)
| Coursework | Written exams | Practical exams |
|---|---|---|
| 100 | 0 | 0 |
Details of summative assessment
| Form of assessment | % of credit | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Designing and creating a survey (marks will be allocated on the basis of proven individual contributions; i.e. each student will be responsible for a battery of survey questions) | 20 | No more than 12 x A5 pages | 1,3,6,9 | Written |
| Review of method | 20 | 1,000-words | 1,4,7,8 | Written |
| Seminar participation | 10 | Contribution to the 10 2-hour seminars | 3, 7, 8 | Written |
| Individual research project | 50 | 3,000-words | 2,5,3,7,8,9 | Written |
Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)
| Original form of assessment | Form of re-assessment | ILOs re-assessed | Timescale for re-assessment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Designing and creating a survey | Designing and creating a short survey (2-pages of A4 per individual student) | 1,3,6,9 | August/September assessment period |
| Review of method | Review of method (1,000 words) | 1,4,7,8 | August/September assessment period |
| Individual research project | Individual research project using secondary data (3,000 words) | 2,5,3,7,8,9 | August/September assessment period |
| Seminar participation | One-to-one viva with course convener | 3,7,8 | August/September assessment period |
Indicative learning resources - Basic reading
Andy Field (2009) Discovering Statistics Using SPSS, Sage.
Pippa Norris (2002) Democratic Phoenix: Re-inventing Political Activism, Cambridge University Press.
David Snow and Sarah Soule (2010) A Primer on Social Movements, Norton Press.
Suzanne Staggenborg (2008) Social Movements, Oxford University Press.
Russell Dalton (2009) The Oxford Handbook of Political Behaviour, Oxford University Press.
Russell Dalton (2008) Citizen Politics, QC Press.
David Snow, Sarah Soule and Hanspeter Kriesi (eds) (2007) The Blackwell Companion to Social Movements, Blackwell.
Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources
ELE – http://vle.exeter.ac.uk/
| Credit value | 15 |
|---|---|
| Module ECTS | 7.5 |
| Module pre-requisites | None |
| Module co-requisites | None |
| NQF level (module) | 5 |
| Available as distance learning? | No |
| Origin date | 15/01/2015 |
