Political Communication
| Module title | Political Communication |
|---|---|
| Module code | POC1031 |
| Academic year | 2021/2 |
| Credits | 15 |
| Module staff | Dr Deborah Johnson (Convenor) |
| Duration: Term | 1 | 2 | 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Duration: Weeks | 11 | 11 |
| Number students taking module (anticipated) | 90 |
|---|
Module description
This module will support you to make the transition into a successful academic career. The course has three overlapping agendas;
1) The course is focused on skills required to engage with your academic learning and complete research needed to produce graded assignments. As such it serves as a foundation for every other module.
2) The content of the module is designed to help you to critically examine and reflect upon your own place within the institution of the university and incorporates issues such as positionality, inclusion and learning community into your academic practice.
3) Throughout the course we will examine a range of different formats for political communication to help students to critically reflect upon ways in which knowledge about politics can be produced and shared. This gives you the skills to communicate effectively during your degree and in your future career.
Content will be delivered during Term 1 along with the Essay and Portfolio submission. In Term Two there will be support sessions and a single submission point (Group Reflection) timed so that you can receive and reflect on feedback from the first term before completing this assessment.
Module aims - intentions of the module
The aim of this module is to:
- Introduce you to a range of key academic skills including research, note making, critical thinking, a range of styles of academic writing, public speaking and project management.
- Give you opportunity to practice, gain ongoing feedback and reflect on these skills in a supportive environment
- Encourage you to reflect on your own perspective within, and relationship with, the academic institution.
- Equip you to think critically about how knowledge is (re)produced and communicated.
Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)
ILO: Module-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 1. Develop strategic thinking and project management approaches to organise your academic career
- 2. Critically reflect on how positionality impacts our experience of education and politics
- 3. Critically engage with and produce a range of different forms of political communication
ILO: Discipline-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 4. Find, read and engage with appropriate research
- 5. Understand and develop the range of key skills essential for rigorous academic work in a Higher Education setting
- 6. Employ tools of analysis and critical thinking to compare sources and use research to develop and support your own independent work
- 7. Communicate your ideas coherently, logically and convincingly through academic writing and other forms of communication
ILO: Personal and key skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 8. Reflect on your own learning and skills in order to think strategically about personal development
- 9. Work independently and manage time efficiently in preparing for scheduled learning activities, exercises and assessments
- 10. Work with peers to develop a learning community, and present a reflective project
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:
- Decolonisation
- Situating the academic institution
- Inclusive learning communities
- Positionality and identity
Key skills focused on may include:
- Research
- Note Making
- Critical Thinking
- Essay Style and Structure
- Public Speaking
- Group Work
- Time Management
- Critical analysis of knowledge sources
- Self-reflection/ attention to partial perspectives
Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | Guided independent study | Placement / study abroad |
|---|---|---|
| 27.5 | 122.5 | 0 |
Details of learning activities and teaching methods
| Category | Hours of study time | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Scheduled Learning & Teaching Activities | 16.5 | 11 x 1.5 hour lectures |
| Scheduled Learning & Teaching Activities | 11 | 11 x 1 hour seminars |
| Guided Independent Study | 33 | Reading and preparing for seminars |
| Guided Independent Study | 22 | Researching and writing formative assessments and assignments |
| Guided Independent Study | 67.5 | Preparation for summative assignments |
Formative assessment
| Form of assessment | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|
| Formative worksheets and quizzes for seminar | Two guided research activities in preparation for group tutorials | 1-9 | Oral |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Essay | 10 | 800 words | 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 9 | Written |
| Portfolio | 70 | 2200 words | 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 | Written |
| Reflective Group Presentation | 20 | 5 minutes or 500 words per person | 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 | Written |
| 0 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Essay | Essay (800 words) | 1, 2, 3. , 5, 7, 9 | August/September re-assessment period |
| Portfolio | 2200 words | 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 | August/September re-assessment period |
| Group Presentation | 500 words | 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 | August/September re-assessment period |
Indicative learning resources - Basic reading
- Cottrell, Stella. 2019. The Study Skills Handbook – Macmillan Study Skills. Macmillan Education UK.
- Cottrell, Stella. 2017. Critical Thinking Skills: Effective Analysis, Argument and Reflection – Macmillan Study Skills. Macmillan Education UK.
- Gillberg, C., 2020. The significance of crashing past gatekeepers of knowledge towards full participation of disabled scholars in abelist academic structures . In: Ableism in Academia: Theorising the experiences of disabilities and chronic illnesses in higher education. s.l.:UCL Press , pp. 11-26.
- hooks, b., 1994. Confronting Class in the Classroom . In: Teaching to Transgress: Education as the Practice of Freedom . London: Routledge , pp. 177-191.
- Hughes, Gareth. 2020. Be Well, Learn Well: Improve Your Wellbeing and Academic Performance. Macmillan Study Skills. Macmillan Education UK.
- Hopkins, Diana. and Reid, Tom. 2018. The Academic Skills Handbook: Your Guide to Success in Writing, Thinking and Communicating at University. SAGE Publications.
- Mirza, Heidi S.. 2018. "Decolonizing Higher Education: Black Feminism and the Intersectionality of Race and Gender." Journal of Feminist Scholarship 7 (Fall): 1-12. https://digitalcommons.uri.edu/jfs/vol7/iss7/3
- Moriña, Anabel. 2016. Inclusive Education in Higher Education: challenges and opportunities. European Journal of Special Needs Education, 32.1, p. 3-17. https://doi.org/10.1080/08856257.2016.1254964
Web-based and electronic resources:
Home | StudyHub (fxplus.ac.uk)
SAGE study skills books - helping students study smarter (sagepub.com)
Become a Student and Study Abroad - Times Higher Education
Welcome - Exeter Decolonising Network
Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources
Home | StudyHub (fxplus.ac.uk)
SAGE study skills books - helping students study smarter (sagepub.com)
Become a Student and Study Abroad - Times Higher Education
| Credit value | 15 |
|---|---|
| Module ECTS | 7.5 |
| Module pre-requisites | None |
| Module co-requisites | None |
| NQF level (module) | 4 |
| Available as distance learning? | No |
| Origin date | 15/03/2021 |
| Last revision date | 25/08/2021 |
