BA Politics and Sociology

SOC1000: Contemporary Society: Themes, Perspectives and Case Studies

In this module you will study the subject matter of sociology. Looking at various concepts, theoretical perspectives and research areas, you will consider key sociological terms and their relevance to explaining contemporary social phenomena. The module encourages you to develop a critical understanding of the rise and transformation of modern societies from the 18th century to the present day, with a particular focus on the last three decades. Different foci will serve as mini-introductions to many of the optional modules in years 2 and 3. The module has no pre-requisites or co-requisites required. This module is suitable for non-specialist students and interdisciplinary pathways.

This module is intended to help you develop a critical understanding of the transformation of modern societies from Enlightenment to the present day. The module aims to inspire a genuine engagement with topical research and scholarship by introducing you to sociological ways of seeing and explaining the modern world. It familiarises you with diverse sociological perspectives and specialist fields, connecting them to general socio-historical developments.

View an example full module specification

SPA1000: Imagining Social Worlds

Sociologists and anthropologists are primarily concerned with understanding the human condition. To do this, they conduct research which enable them to explore the lives, experiences, and world views of their human subjects. In this module you will receive training in academic study skills. You will become familiar with a wide range of research methods used to imagine the social worlds of the 'others' they have studied. You will systematically study the texts which social researchers produce to learn about these methods. You will also learn practical skills in conducting qualitative research interviews and how to critically engage with quantitative research evidence. There are no pre-requisites to this module.

View an example full module specification

POL1019: Power and Democracy

Democracy means 'rule by the people'. But who are the people? Who should be included as part of the demos? How can the people rule over themselves? Can they limit their own power? This module examines the idea of democracy and the meaning and nature of a range of democratic practices and institutions. It will consider the conditions under which power is exercised within a democratic regime. By surveying some influential texts in democratic theory, the module will provide foundational training in contemporary political theory for students of Politics and International Relations.

This module will introduce you to some key conceptual and normative debates in democratic theory. It aims to make you aware of the nature, limitations and possible applications of a range of different perspectives, conceptual approaches, and interpretations in democratic theory. For students interested in pursuing Politics and/or International Relations as a field of study, this is a useful introduction to core concepts in democratic theory.

View an example full module specification

POL1025: Classical Political Thought

This module is the first instalment in a series of History of Political Thought modules at Exeter. You will study some of the formative political writings in the Western philosophical tradition that have come down to us from the pens of the Ancient Greeks and Romans. You will become acquainted with a world very different from our own, yet one that is the source of many of the concepts, values, institutions, and much of the language, of modern Western politics. For example, ‘democracy’, ‘tyranny’, ‘justice’, ‘citizen’, ‘republic’, and ‘politics’ itself are all words that have Greek or Latin origins, and refer to ideas crucial to the political thought of the Classical period.

The aims of this module are:

• Historical – to introduce you to various important Classical political thinkers, their context, ideas, and relationships;
• Philosophical – to critically explore the structure and coherence of the ideas studied and to enable you to reflect on their value for thinking about politics in our own time;
• Methodological – to help you develop skills in close-reading and interpretation of textual evidence, skills which have application in many areas of life, academic and otherwise.

View an example full module specification

POL1029: Introduction to Comparative Politics

This module introduces you to the key concepts, theories, and methods from the field of Comparative Politics. Topics include the nature and origins of the modern state, democracy, authoritarianism and regime transitions, social and political cleavages, elections, political participation and media systems. You will develop the skills needed to engage in rigorous and systematic comparison, and to apply core theories to better understand political change. Although we will spend time thinking about concepts and theories, empirical case studies will inform all the questions we ask. In true comparative fashion, our examples will be drawn from a wide variety of representative case studies around the world. Teaching and learning for this module will take place in an interactive environment where students will be expected to engage fully with their peers and tutor, as well as working independently. Lectures will introduce key concepts and give students a grounding in the main issues and debates pertaining to the topic under consideration. Independent study and tutorials will help students to formulate, debate, and refine their own analyses of these topics.

View an example full module specification

POL1047: Global Sustainability Policy and Governance

Multiple transnational challenges face policy-makers in the 21st Century, raising questions over how they should be governed in practice. In this respect, the United Nations has set out a normative agenda for future global policy up to the year 2030 via its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), agreed by national governments in 2012. These goals encompass the critical issues of our times, including reducing poverty, ensuring access to clean water, promoting clean energy, preserving oceans, reducing inequality and maintaining global security. Achieving them will require innovative critical thinking and novel, interdisciplinary policy solutions.

This foundation module seeks to identify, discuss and evaluate emerging policy responses to these challenges at multiple institutional levels as basis for lesson-drawing. Drawing on theories of governance as an analytical lens it will: examine the context relating to the SDGs; provide an overview of the UN targets; introduce a range of governance theories (for example, multi-level governance, network governance, regulatory governance, collaborative governance, urban governance, polycentric governance, mixed governance, global governance); and provide an empirical and theoretical analysis of critical policy challenges to attaining the SDGs.

View an example full module specification

POL2046: The Economics of Politics

This module aims to provide you with the skills to critically evaluate and apply rational choice approaches as an analytical tool for the examination of political phenomena. First, it discusses the underlying assumptions and their theoretical and empirical implications for political analyses. Second, the seminar will make you familiar with core approaches introducing economic reasoning in the conceptualisation and in the analysis of politics. Third, it will introduce you to the applications of rational choice theory in comparative politics.

This module aims at providing you with the skills to critically evaluate and apply rational choice approaches as an analytical tool for the examination of political phenomena. First, it discusses the underlying assumptions and their theoretical and empirical implications for political analyses. Second, the seminar makes you familiar with core approaches introducing economic reasoning in the conceptualisation and in the analysis of politics. Third, it introduces applications of rational choice theory in comparative politics.

View an example full module specification

POL2059: Political Thought of Modernity

This module will introduce you to some of the most influential, fascinating, and controversial texts and traditions in Western political thought - from the late eighteenth to the early twentieth century - and, in so doing, will encourage you to interrogate how the very idea of modernity is conceptualised and contested. In reading these texts, you will come to understand, and engage in critique of, the modern political concepts - rights, freedom, equality, democracy, civil society, property, revolution, the state, and modernity itself - that continue to animate our civic discussions as well as the intellectual traditions (liberalism, Idealism, Marxism) of the modern period.

This module aims:

• To introduce you to the some of the most important texts and traditions (in Western political thought) through the study of selected texts.
• To enable your understanding of how political arguments fit together to form complex philosophical theories and, by extension, of how ostensibly discrete political viewpoints are actually embedded in a whole network of beliefs.
• To develop your ability to critically assess both theoretical texts and subsequent interpretations of them.
• To encourage you to think critically about individual political ideas as well as about the notion of modernity after the French Revolution.

View an example full module specification

POL2102: Explaining Public Policies

In this module you will explore key policy research theories in depth. You will be provided with a range of conceptual approaches that explore themes including: the role of stories in policy-making; the sources of radical policy change; the impact of policies on people and their self-identity. We explore these themes using case studies from contemporary policy-making for example, LGBTQ+ policy change, gun control and capital punishment. The module provides the opportunity to think critically about the everyday issues faced by policymakers in the UK and globally and is highly recommended to any students interested in public policy and wish to continue this pathway at Level 3.

The module helps you understand and explain why policies take the forms they do. After the introductory lecture, the module is taught in four 2-week cycles; a theoretical framework will be introduced in the first week and then applied to an empirical setting in the second week through research-led teaching. The tutorials will cover these topics. In addition to encouraging students to think like policymakers, the module will provide links to employability and future career pathways such as the Civil Service, political communication, lobbying, think tanks and policy advisor roles.

View an example full module specification

HAS3998: Employment Experience

This module allows you to undertake and to learn from an extended work placement during the third year of a four year “with Employment Experience” programme. You will use one or more work placements to gain skills that equip you to work in the employment market and to improve your knowledge of the work environment. You are encouraged to think about the intercultural competence and the employability skills that you acquire during your year.

To progress to this module, you will have secured a suitable placement for a minimum of 26 weeks.

Having developed the skills necessary to find relevant roles and apply for roles in the graduate labour market, this is an invaluable opportunity to develop work-related skills and experience that will further enhance your success in the graduate labour market and support your future career choices.

During your placement year you will be supported by the Module Convenor and Placement Team.

The module assessment structure provides opportunity and support for you to evaluate your skills and achievements using personal development techniques.  You will also write an Employer Report to showpiece the culmination of your academic and business skills.

This module aims to:

View an example full module specification

HAS3999: Study Abroad

The Study Abroad programme enables you to undertake a year-long study placement at a partner university outside of the UK, as part of your degree programme.

This module serves as the administrative mechanism for recording the Study Abroad assessment results of students within the Faculty of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences (HASS). Students participating in the Study Abroad programme and based in a HASS department (except for the Law School, the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies, Modern Languages, and the School of Education) will be registered on this module during their Study Abroad placement year.

The Study Abroad programme widens the range of modules available to you during Stage 3 of your degree programme; enables you to broaden your academic horizons by studying in a different learning culture and (where relevant and appropriate) in languages other than English; and aims to promote resilience, independence, cultural awareness, and communication skills.

View an example full module specification