BSc Politics and Business (Cornwall)

BEP1080: Theory and Practice of Management

This module introduces you to the interplay between management theory and the digital reality of the modern workplace. You will learn how to structure complex business problems using foundational frameworks, and how to address them using applied data science and AI tools. Embedded within a context of responsible management, the module fosters critical debates on the role of technology in business, equipping you with the practical skills to develop evidence-based and sustainable business proposals.

The aim of this module is to bridge the gap between foundational management theory and the contemporary reality of AI-augmented decision-making. Operating within the context of Sustainable Futures, this module introduces you to the "art" of management (ethics, strategy, human behaviour) and mirrors it with the "science" of management (data interpretation, AI tools, and cooperation theory). Through a combination of lectures, case studies, and interactive activities, the module aims to develop your ability to think critically, solve problems, and adapt to the challenges of contemporary management practices following an evidence-driven approach.

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BEP1100: Understanding Work and Organisations

Organisations and organising refers to processes through which people are grouped in order to carry out and achieve common goals beyond the reach of individuals. In everyday life organisations are all around us and indeed, Peter Drucker who developed management as a discipline, stated that we live in a 'society of organisations'. We engage with organisations as customers, consumers, employees or through communities we live in or visit. Organisations and the wider labour market and environmental contexts in which they operate are therefore a fundamental part of the complex systems of society.

It is therefore important to develop some understanding and insight about how organisations interact with their environments, can be appropriately designed and effectively managed. This module does this through a combination of theoretical frameworks, practical, consultant-style activities with responsible AI use intergrated and part of the module's learning outcomes. It opens with an overview of the purpose and structure of organisations, activities within them - some ethical and some not - before mapping the relationship between organisations, their natural and labour market environments.

The module concludes with an attept to look into the future and discuss how changes in labour markers and organisational needs are likely to affect your career trajectories.

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POC1033: Political Communication

Is communication ever not political? Since power and decision-making is central to the study of politics, many forms of communication have political dimensions. Informal, personal interactions can reflect or challenge power dynamics. Communication does not need to be explicitly ‘political’, to reinforce or disrupt existing structures and norms in ways that shape public debate. We will examine forms of political communication, such as incivility in social and political life, rhetorical speeches, opinion pieces, state apologies, debate, citizens assembly deliberation, referendum campaigns, responses to controversial statues and comedy. We will also explore the skills needed to engage in effective and inclusive political communication. You will therefore develop your own capacities as an effective and inclusive communicator through practice-based learning in both a group and an individual project.

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POC1036: Generative AI and Sustainable Futures: Ethics, Society, and Scholarship

Artificial Intelligence is reshaping the production, communication and evaluation of knowledge across higher education, professional environments and society. This module provides you with the foundational understanding and practical competencies to become AI‑literate within their degree programmes. It equips you with a clear grasp of how Generative AI operates, develops your ability to use AI tools effectively and ethically, and encourages critical engagement with the opportunities and challenges AI presents for the Humanities, Social Sciences and Law. You will examine the technical principles underlying large language models and related systems, gaining insight into their capabilities, constraints and modes of operation. This technical grounding is complemented by structured opportunities to apply AI tools to academic research tasks, including project planning, source interrogation, argument development and the communication of ideas. Throughout, the module emphasises the importance of evaluative judgement: you will learn how to assess the quality, accuracy, reliability and biases of AI‑generated materials, and to make informed decisions about appropriate use. A distinctive feature of the module is its sustained engagement with the broader implications of AI for sustainability, social and environmental justice, legal processes and political life. You will explore how debates within your own disciplines intersect with the development and deployment of AI technologies, enabling you to situate your learning within wider scholarly and societal conversations. The module also incorporates personal skills auditing and guided professional development, supporting you in building responsible, reflective and future‑facing approaches to AI use. It prepares you not merely to use AI tools, but to understand, question and evaluate them as emerging and influential components of academic practice and contemporary society.

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POC1003: British Government and Politics

This module will use the question of how pluralist British Politics is, to take students on a journey through under-examined aspects of British histories, cultures, and politics. In many respects it tackles the themes of traditional British Politics courses, but will provide a fresh new set of perspectives which begins from some of the inequalities which ripple through contemporary Britain. Our aim is that by exploring different positionalities and perspectives, some of the long-standing fracture lines in British society and politics can become better understood. Further, the module presents a version of politics in which power is dispersed throughout civil society, rather than held centrally in Westminster. We will explore the idea that the body politic is something that we all have the capacity to shape, and that we are all a part of, rather than something that is remote and inaccessible.

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POC1021: Key Concepts in Politics and International Relations

How and when did China, Russia, North Korea or Cuba become the 'bad guys' in mainstream popular culture and the news? Why does mainstream news prioritize the US' foreign policies over Brazil's, for instance? What do we mean by realist, constructivist or idealist approaches in IR? Are such 'old school' concepts still relevant in an increasingly globalized world where borders appear to be blurred? What other approaches has IR, as a discipline, shied away from and why is it important that we centre our analysis around them? Our global world, some would argue, is at an important historical juncture: the environment, sexual rights and space exploration have become major debates alongside increasingly populist states. How do we make sense of this variety? Who has the power to implement such analyses? Our module attempts to make sense of our world by drawing together classic and contemporary analysis in IR. We will draw on scholarly works whilst examining them in tandem with historical and current events.

No prior knowledge skills or experience are required to take this module and it is suitable for specialist and non-specialist students. The module is suitable for students studying Politics, History or International Relations.

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POC1022: Violence in World Politics

This module will help you to understand the different conceptual approaches that enable a critique of violence in the contemporary international system.

Violence is an ever-present feature of international politics. Violence can be a direct and physical act, such as war and terrorism. Violence can also be a non-physical and anonymous act of neglect or abuse, such deprivation and abandonment. Violence can also be performed through culture and institutions. In this module we will examine a series of questions: What is violence? Where and how does it happen in world politics? What causes it? When is it justifiable? Is violence inevitable, or can violence be reduced, and even eliminated? By studying violence, we will examine some of the greatest challenges and issues in international politics today: war and terrorism; economic inequality; religious and secular justifications for violence; environmental, cultural and urban destruction; borders; sexual violence; and new technologies. Through the lens of International Relations scholarship, you will research, engage with, and critique different ways of conceptualising both the root causes of violence and the possibilities for change.

There are no pre-requisite or co-requisite modules required in order to take this module.

The aim of this module is to:

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POC1026: Power, Inequality and Global Justice

This module will help you to ask critical questions about the assumptions behind contemporary practices of power in the contemporary international system.

You will understand what it means to ask critical questions by exposing and deconstructing a range of empirical practices in world politics. Through this critical questioning, we will explore the issues and possibilities for global justice in the contemporary international system. In this module we will examine a series of questions: How can we think critically? How do we find out what is going on in the world? Why do we obey? Why is the world divided territorially? Do colonialism and slavery belong in the past? Why are some people better off than others? What makes the world dangerous? What can we do to change the world? Who do we think we are? How can we end poverty? You will be exposed to a variety of approaches or 'framings' of world politics and encouraged to develop your own perspectives and reasoned arguments about them.

There are no pre-requisite or co-requisite modules required in order to take this module. This module is particularly recommended for students who intend to pursue modules in International Relations at levels 2 and 3.

The aims of this module are to:

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POC1029: Work Placement

No prior knowledge skills or experience is required to take this module and it is suitable for specialist and non-specialist students.

For this module you will complete 35 hours of work experience with an employer of your choice. The aim of this module is for you to gain employment experience, skills for finding and securing the perfect job, and to see how your academic learning translates into a post-university environment.

We will have a series of workshop sessions to help you with the skills required for finding/securing your work placement, including CV writing and practical sessions talking about day-to-day issues within your placements.

You will arrange your placements yourselves, using the assistance of the Employability resources on campus, and may undertake your placement at any point up until the end of April. This will allow you to undertake work experience in other parts of the UK/world if you so choose.

This module will help you to gain experience in a graduate level working environment, building contacts, skills, and knowledge to help you start out on your career post university, or try out a field that you think that you might be interested in but need to understand more.

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BEP1010: Business and Society

This module is designed to help you to broaden your understanding of the relationships between business and society through a focus on responsibility. Throughout the module you will be engaging in case study work, debate and independent research. Your adaptability will be assessed through exercises that will challenge you to examine Business and Society from a variety of perspectives.

The aims of this module are to:

• Develop a deeper understanding of the relationships between business and society
• Explore emerging trends in the environment in which business operates
• Consider the responsibilities of different groups and individuals in contemporary society

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BEP1030: Operations Management: A Sustainable Perspective

Operations management is applicable in manufacturing and all aspects of the service sector, from small retailers and professionals to banks and insurance companies, hospitals and utilities. The module presents three main topics: the design of the product/service; the control of the product/service; and improving how the product/service is delivered with recognition of sustainability throughout. You will be expected to evaluate and analyse information under these topics to develop some understanding of the complexities of managing modern-day operations. The module will help you gain an insight into the importance of managing people, processes and systems to deliver sustainable value.

The aim is to introduce you to a broad range of operations management concepts, within the context of systems theory. In addition to introductory sessions which explore the characteristics of operations management and systems, three broad areas provide the framework for study:

• Design - including product/service, process, supply chain, layout & flow, and job design.
• Planning and control - including capacity, supply chain, lean and quality.
• Improvement - including performance measurement/improvement methods, process reliability, thematic change programmes/philosophies (e.g. TQM).

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BEP1040: Marketing in a Digital Age

This module will introduce you to aspects of traditional marketing management theory and its application to developments in the new media environment. It will analyse the communications methods and technological advances in developing campaigns, acquiring new customers, managing and maintaining crucial existing customer relationships. Drawing on examples from social media, digital advertising, media buying, analytics, branding and strategic communications, this module will enable you to examine and critique the many different techniques and tools now available to marketing professionals for managing customer relationships and maximising targeted exposure. Case studies will examine the possibilities of delivering value to organisations and their clients through digital communications and marketing. This module will feature a practical component where you will develop your own search optimisation campaign. By the end of this module you will be familiar with the technology and techniques strategically utilised by digital marketing practitioners to increase reach, sales and adoption of their services, ideas and products.

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BEP1070: Accounting

Financial literacy is an important skill in the business world. It helps you to understand how you can support the mission of any organisation and how you can add (or destroy) value. Whether you are an employee, a small business owner or in management of a larger business, understanding the principles of accounting helps you to understand the financial operations of the organisation.

The module incorporates the Colour Accounting Learning System™, an innovative way of presenting financial information using colour and diagrams. At the heart of the system is a diagram called the BaSIS Framework™ that is a holistic and graphical view of a balance sheet and income statement. It is highly creative and involves colour, movement, language, visualisation and breathtaking simplicity.

We examine the principles of accounting and financial statements and explore how to understand them.

The aim of this module is to provide you with a foundation in accounting literacy, which leads to financial literacy and ultimately to business acumen. You will be introduced to the recording of transactions, the content of financial statements, and the interpretation financial information.

The focus of the module is from the perspective of a user of financial information.

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BEP1120: Introduction to Economics

This module equips you with the tools and frameworks to analyse incentives and how changes in rules and environments shape behaviour. You will explore key economic concepts and learn to apply quantitative models that are relatively straightforward to use, to analyse economic phenomena. By emphasising real-world applications, the module will demonstrate how economic principles can be used to address business challenges and evaluate policy impacts. While the high-level ideas are applied within a business framework, they are relevant in many other situations and contexts.

This module presents an integrated approach to understanding the economic behaviour of economic actors, focusing on strategic decisions for economic organizations and the transactions they perform. The module aims to discuss a number of advanced topics in economic organization theory, institutional and organization economics, and theory of the firm of distinct relevance for management research.

In particular, this module aims to:

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HAP1911: Climate Emergency! Environmental Humanities Fieldschool

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HIC1010: Foundations of Environmental Humanities

This module introduces you to the insights provided by a range of humanities disciplines dealing with urgent issues of climate and environmental change. You will be introduced to key concepts and ideas and will track the emergence of Environmental Humanities as a new interdisciplinary field. You will get to learn about cultural, ethical, historical, social, political, legal and literary perspectives representing environmental humanities inquiry. You will study an array of theories, themes, issues, questions, and debates within the humanities in dialogue with the sciences. We will address issues associated with knowledge, meaning, justice, crisis, and sustainability.

The module aims to introduce you to the main themes, theories and discussion in current Environmental Humanities research, by focusing on cross-disciplinary and interdisciplinary perspectives and approaches. You will develop a broad understanding of the relationship of nature, culture, history, science, technology, politics and economy in the context of today's climate and environmental crises. You will develop knowledge of the multi-layered and historically contingent relationship of nature, culture, politics, economy and science. We will discuss different perspectives on environmental, social and multi-species justice.

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HIC1610: An Introduction to Histories of Science and Environment

This module introduces you to the history of scientific and other systematic approaches to non-human nature in different parts of the globe from 1500 to the present day. You will develop a broad knowledge and critical understanding of the way historians, sociologists and other scholars have studied the complex and changing relationship between humans and the non-human environment. These will enrich your ability to understand how interdisciplinary approaches within the humanities and social sciences can yield powerful insights into the roots of our environmental crises and dilemmas.

This module aims to give you a broad understanding of the ways in which human cultures have interpreted and exploited their non-natural environments from 1500 to the present. These include Western scientific, non-Western and indigenous processes for making and applying knowledges. You will acquire a broad understanding of connections between, on the one hand, beliefs and practices concerning 'nature' and sustainability, and on the other. the wider contexts of politics, economics, imperialism, industrialisation, gender, race, conflict, religion and spirituality. The module will give you the ability to challenge assumptions made about such fundamental concepts as nature, environment, science and knowledge. It aims to enrich your ability to apply interdisciplinary approaches to critically understand a range of environmental issues that have become global crises.

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HIC1611: Global History: Twentieth Century Transformations

This module introduces key social, cultural, economic, and political themes in modern global history, with a particular focus on the twentieth century. Moving from colonialism and world wars through nationalism, migration and race, global governance, decolonisation, the Cold War, environmentalism and globalisation, it traces both global interconnectedness and moments of rupture. You will work closely with primary sources alongside secondary readings to engage with historians’ interpretations and develop your own evidence-based arguments.

This module aims:

· to develop your understanding of major patterns of global historical change in the modern period, approached from comparative international and cultural perspectives;

· to build your understanding of how global processes and micro-historical experiences inform one another, using case studies drawn from across the module;

· to strengthen your skills in historical enquiry, particularly in analysing primary sources for themed portfolio assessments, relating them to wider historiographical debates, and presenting your arguments clearly in written and oral form.

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BEP2020: Project Management

Managing projects is an everyday part of working and academic life. Learning the basic skills of how to organise your time, resources and effort (if you are running your own project) and those of a team, is essential for your future career.

This module is a mixture of a practical course and theory, which will equip you with the skills and knowledge you will need to run projects successfully. The module will be taught in a blended format, mixing online content, with practical tutorials and group work.

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BEP2040: Strategic Concepts for Business

Strategic thinking is important for all forms of organisation, and most managers are aware of the critical need to take a long-term view when developing strategy.

This module looks at how strategy is developed and enacted in practice across a variety of organisational contexts, from developing strategic business ideas, to strategy formulation and execution at multiple organisational levels, and with recognition of how a climate changing and digitally inter-linked economy demands decisions that will produce a value-creating strategy.

Students will engage with contemporary business strategy frameworks while critically examining their assumptions and limitations in complex and uncertain environments. Alongside established tools for analysing competitive positioning, capabilities and environments, the module introduces systems thinking, complexity and regenerative perspectives

The aim of the module is to equip students with the ability to strategise in complex, real-world conditions, integrating competitiveness, value creation, sustainability and systems awareness. Students will develop the capacity to analyse strategic issues from multiple perspectives and understand how strategic intent, vision and mission interact with wider economic, social and ecological systems. The module explicitly addresses the implications of the polycrisis for strategic management.

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POC2124: Political Analysis

This module will introduce you to political analysis in order to prepare you for your dissertation in third year. You will engage with a range of theories and approaches to the study of Politics and International Relations. You will be challenged to reflect on the assumptions that underpin various analytical lenses, which in turn shape the questions that can be asked and answered. As experts in their field, staff will offer political issues to be analysed and work through a number of different approaches and methods, using real world examples of research on that issue. Through the module you will be guided on choosing a suitable topic for your dissertation, conducting a literature review, generating your own focussed research questions, and designing an independent research project.

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POC2136: Politics, Policy and Economics

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BEP2001: Business Beyond Profit

This module offers you the opportunity to explore how businesses can balance their environmental and social goals with financial sustainability, applying academic learning in a real-world context. The module will introduce you to different forms of business that do not necessarily prioritise profit -this will include Third Sector organisations, Social Enterprises, non-profits and not-for-profit organisations.

You will receive structured guidance about how and why these different forms of business are established and using a variety of techniques you will gain a comprehensive understanding of business development for environmental and social purposes. Invited guest speakers will share their insights and expertise of different aspects, challenges and considerations of developing and managing a 'business beyond profit'.

This module aims to enable you to understand the role, significance and importance of businesses who have considerations and commitments beyond profit, and the principles on which such organisations function. Introductory sessions will provide definitions, frameworks and boundaries, and through collaborative and problem-based approaches you will explore the following key areas:

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BEP2050: Finance for Business

Finance is an essential part of running a business. Managers and entrepreneurs, whatever their specialism, require a working knowledge of finance to design and implement business plans, manage risk and monitor performance. This module will explore a range of key financial concepts to equip you with the knowledge that you need to understand the role of finance in business and how to use financial information to make effective business decisions.

This module will introduce you to the theory and practice of finance in business. You will be exposed to real financial issues and decisions that you may face as a company director, manager, entrepreneur or specialist professional (e.g., lawyer, accountant or management professional). This module will also build the foundations for further exploration of the wider worlds of corporate finance and investment management should you wish to do so in the future.

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BEP2060: Research Inquiry for Practice

The Research Inquiry for Practice is a compulsory module on the BSc Business programme. Its core aim is to prepare you for making decisions based on evidence from quantitative (number-based) and qualitative (word-based) data. The module will equip you with core research skills which will allow you to manage your dissertation research project as well as offer research-based advice to businesses in the present, information-driven world.

On completing the module, you will be able to design an appropriate research strategy for data collection, analyse both qualitative and quantitative data, as well as present it in the most impactful way. Finally, you will be familiar with selected software packages to analyse data.

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BEP2110: Workplace Wellbeing

Hybrid working, physical and mental ill-health, work-life balance, toxic workplace environments, leadership and culture are all critical factors which organisations must consider in order to create positive work spaces . In parallel, an aging population in the UK, rising demand for human capital, techological advancements, and significant talent gaps which are forecast for Western economies are additional incentives for improving the wellbeing, engagement and productivity of workers.

This makes it necessary to develop broader understanding both of policies and practices which support positive work spaces, as well as the actions which detriment them.

This module will start from the assumption of redefining wellbeing - as a state of being that is shaped by engagement and other workplace factors as much as by physical and psychological health, hence making wellbeing central to business strategy, which opens an important new avenue to increasing organisational effectiveness, boosting workforce productivity, driving business performance and realising core strategic goals.

In this module we examine the political, social and philosophical dimensions behind modern business approaches to employee wellbeing and responsible business practice, and the extent to which a biopsychosocial approach is a critical factor in developing strategies to address the challenges of the future .

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BEP2120: Digital Technologies and the Future of Work

How we work, and the nature of the work we do, is being re-imagined. This module explores the rapidly evolving role of digital technology in shaping contemporary workplaces, professional practices, and future careers. Students will examine how digital innovations (from automation and AI to hybrid working tools and data‑driven systems) are transforming the way individuals, teams, and organisations operate. The module investigates both the opportunities and challenges that accompany digital transformation, including impacts on productivity, wellbeing, communication, and sustainability.

A key component of the module focuses on understanding how different groups, sectors, and the planet are affected, positively and negatively, by technological change. You will engage with real‑world examples to evaluate issues such as digital inequality, environmental consequences of technology adoption, and ethical considerations in digital work environments.

The module also develops essential online communication skills by examining how digital contexts reshape the ways we collaborate, influence others, and construct persuasive arguments. You will be encouraged to reflect on your own learning and future professional pathways, considering how digital technologies may shape your career trajectories and those of your peers.

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BEP2150: Ecological Economics

This module provides a comprehensive introduction to ecological economics in theory and practice. You will receive a thorough grounding in macroeconomics and microeconomics, alongside an in-depth knowledge of the economics and policy of environmental pollution, renewable and non-renewable resource use, as well as the connection between globalization and environmental degradation. With this basis, you will be able to identify possible solutions to environmental problems and assist in policy recommendation and decision-making.

This module aims to improve understanding of the link between ecological systems and economic activity. The module introduces core issues in ecological economics, related to micro and macro-economic theory, international trade and policy. Ecological economics is a transdisciplinary approach to economics that incorporates insights from the biological, physical and social sciences. In this module, you will apply ecological economic theory to a set of concrete environmental problems or challenges, in relation to the increasing scale of human impacts and the inequitable distribution of resources, in a way that encourages you to reflect on possible solutions and formulate policy recommendations. Seminars will complement lectures with more case studies and real-life examples.

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BEP2190: Understanding Financial Statements

Financial accounting is that branch of accounting that focuses on producing information for external users of financial reports, including shareholders and lenders . The information produced by the financial reporting system is crucial for the efficient operation of world financial markets. This information manifests itself in the form of the annual report, issued by all companies (the financial statements forming part of the annual report).

The module begins by examining financial reporting in context (the landscape of accounting; key characteristics of businesses; how businesses create value and the purpose of financial statements). This is followed by a review of the mechanics of the accounting system using the Colour Accounting Learning System. Next is a discussion of financial reporting standards (a brief history of accounting standards; an overview of the IASB and IFRS Accounting Standards and the regulatory environment in which financial reporting operates).

Following on from the introduction above, the main focus of the module is then an understanding of the main components of a set of financial statements:

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BEP2200: Marketing Analytics

Marketing analytics data measures marketing effectiveness, but analytical information can also precisely reveal how and where Marketing Managers can improve marketing performance. Such insight can benefit everyone in the organisation.

Building from the first year digital marketing introductory module, this extends and deepens the exploration of key issues in the field of Marketing, with a particular focus on research and analysis of marketing data. It aims also to assist marketers to understand their market, customers and competitors, and measure the efficacy of marketing activities. In addition, it serves as preparation for the final year Marketing Strategy module.

The aim of this module is twofold: To equip students with an understanding of the key concepts of marketing,and increase awareness of the importance of developing creative analytical solutions to marketing challenges; and to equip students with the knowledge and skills necessary to successfully collect, process and analyse consumer and market data to make informed decisions.

Internationalisation

Students will identify and appreciate the universality of the key concepts and processes within the field of marketing, and specifically, marketing analytics.

Employability

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BEP2210: Circular Enterprise Economy

There is a mounting interest in rethinking and redesigning business strategies in the context of ever-increasing social-ecological crises. What has become apparent is that the assumption of an ever-expanding economy is not compatible with operating within the planetary boundaries, in a safe and just space for humanity. This calls into question the inherently intertwined relationship between infinite economic growth, business operations, and ever-expanding markets, from raw material extraction to post-consumption disposal and waste. What it is openly questioned is the capacity to sustain endless economic growth on a planet with finite resources, which is not only harmful to the natural ecosystems that support human life but to human life itself. Most notably, expansion, extraction, and pollution/intoxication have been carried out at the expense of human communities, not just natural ecosystems, but also future generations, particularly in the Global South.

Given this background, in this module, we will engage in learning activities that enable students to investigate business strategy in relation to sustainability and circularity as a theme that crosses subject boundaries. The module intends to form and frame a learning path for developing knowledge and understanding of transitioning to more socially responsible, environmentally sustainable, and circular business models.

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HIC2009: Ecology and Empire

This module examines how colonialism has shaped both the environment we inhabit and the ways we imagine our relationship to it. Through the lens of environmental history, it traces the ecological consequences of imperialism, the colonial formation of environmental knowledge, and the entanglement of globalisation, land politics, and sovereignty. Students will explore how anticolonial and environmental movements have contested these legacies and consider what it means to think beyond them.

You will engage with a range of historical sources—including archives, letters, photographs, and maps—and develop skills in interpreting them through postcolonial and settler‑colonial perspectives. By situating imperial and global histories within environmental frameworks, the module addresses questions such as:

• What is imperialism, and how has it shaped the world around us?
• How does an environmental history lens change our understanding of colonisation and decolonisation?
• In what ways has colonialism organised knowledge about the natural world, and how might we move beyond those frameworks?

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POC2005: American Politics

Students of Politics need to understand different political systems around the world. While the United States is very familiar to us it has a political system that is fundamentally unlike that of Britain or most countries in Europe. Indeed, the way it elects its president, for example, is unique. This module provides an introduction to American democracy, from its foundations in the Constitution and federalism, to its political culture, institutions and processes, and the policies that emerge from it all. It examines the design and rationale for the American political system and the implications it has for governing and the policy making process. We will also examine how reforms to governmental institutions and processes might influence the way citizens interact with government. Throughout the module we will make comparisons between the American system and other democracies around the world.

No prior knowledge skills or experience are required to take this module and it is suitable for specialist and non-specialist students.

This module comprehensively examines the political system of the United States, from its foundations with the Declaration of Independence and Constitution, through the way its institutions work, to contemporary debates about gun control and health care. We will use theories and findings from the study of US Politics to understand politics in each of the domains we study. We will survey classic and contemporary work in these fields.

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POC2018: National and Community Identity

Identity politics is a topic which infuses all levels of political debate, from big questions around ethnicity and race, to smaller, and more subtle questions, such as what can I absorb into my identity? This latter puzzle carries enormous implications that reverberate throughout both domestic and global politics. In this module you will explore how identities function both within communities and groups, but also regarding an individuals sense of self, and what problems and possibilities this opens.

The first part of the module develops a range of theoretical tools, which later are applied to specific and topical case studies, encouraging students to think critically around some 'taken for granted' issues.

Whilst prior studies of politics would be an advantage (particularly around political analysis, international studies and policy), interdisciplinary students would also find this a satisfying topic within which to engage.

This module explores the politics of identity, through the concepts of memory, belonging, otherness and difference.

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POC2041: The Political Psychology of Elites

When we study the decisions of political leaders, we often think about them in terms of the power relations between states. Or we look at leaders as rational actors determined to maximize benefits and minimize costs. In other words, we ignore what is often referred to as the 'black box', or the psychological processes and dynamics that lie behind decisions. Political psychology focuses explicitly on the 'black box.' In this module, you will examine psychological explanations of elite policy decision-making, focusing mostly on foreign policy cases such as the Vietnam War and the war in Iraq. Political psychology is a relatively new subfield of Politics that has provided a wealth of new insights and approaches to the study of politics, many of which you will encounter in this module.

No prior knowledge skills or experience are required to take this module and it is suitable for specialist and non-specialist students.

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POC2047: Work Placement

No prior knowledge skills or experience are required to take this module and it is suitable for specialist and non-specialist students.

For this module you will complete 35 hours of voluntary work experience with an employer of your choice. The aim of this module is for you to gain employment experience, skills for finding and securing the perfect job, and to see how your academic learning translates into a post-university environment.

We will have a series of workshop sessions to help you with the skills required for finding/ securing your work placement, including CV writing, and practical sessions talking about day-to-day issues within your placements.

You may arrange your placements yourselves using the assistance of the Employability resources on campus, and may undertake your placement at any point up until the end of April. This will allow you to undertake placements in other parts of the UK/ world if you so choose.

This module will help you to gain experience in a graduate level working environment, building contacts, skills, and knowledges to help you start out on your career post university, or try out a field that you think that you might be interested in but need to understand more.

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POC2085: Imagining the Good Life: From Agora to the American Dream

In this module we will work together to think critically about the core political question that has exercised theorists for over two millennia. What is a Good Life and how can society be organised to achieve it, for who or what? What role should the state have in conceptualising and creating a good life for its citizens and others? What function should a vision of The Good Life play in organising society? These questions are still relevant, if not crucial, as taken for granted systems and world orders are becoming increasingly unstable. What social imaginaries should create a new vision for the future, one that perhaps should extend beyond old ideas of 'the social'? In this module we will engage with some key theories of The Good Life from ancient to modern times, covering the different concepts of human and planetary flourishing. What roles should virtue, resilience, happiness, pleasure, justice and liberty. How could we think about duty to other humans, species and entities in relation to our own good lives? We will assess the continuing relevance of those ideas in relation to national and global governance and pressing contemporary issues.

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POC2087: Security Studies

This module will introduce you to the field of Security Studies, allowing you to critically engage with a range of contemporary practices in the current international system that are performed in the name of security. Popular and official discourse in contemporary international relations is littered with references to a need to protect and improve 'security'? But what does that mean? How does an actor practice 'security'? Does seeking more security make us less insecure? And is there a tension between securities and liberties? In this module, we will examine different theoretical and conceptual understandings of security and of security practices in international relations. You will have the opportunity to examine a range of issues, including: the politics and ethics of nuclear deterrence; the strategy of warfare; the ethics of torture and human rights, security and race; security and gender; the role of technology and the pre-emptive security practices of the War on Terror.

No prior knowledge skills or experience are required to take this module and it is suitable for specialist and non-specialist students.

This module will:

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POC2103: Introduction to Postcolonialism

In this course you will examine postcolonialism as a field of study that is intrinsic to understanding world politics and International Relations, by focussing on the ways in which the contemporary global order is constituted by the experience and practice of colonialism. The course also revisits some of the lingering impasses encountered in classic postcolonial debates by placing them in conversation with futurity studies in order to ponder alternative possibility/ies and modes of knowledge production. As such, questions related to cultural production, the environment, and aesthetics are integral to it.

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POC2108: Political Geographies: Local to Global

Our political identities, communities, debates, and activities both take place and make place . The conditions we live in, and our sense of alternatives, are shaped by the specifics of the places in which we are located. And how we navigate these conditions and pursue these alternatives - how we engage in politics - give material and symbolic shape to the world we inhabit. Drawing on critical feminist and decolonial contributions, this module engages the politics of how we position ourselves in the world, in our research and in everyday life. This module begins by introducing debates about the language of local and global space, place and politics. Similarly, it introduces interdisciplinary 'methods' by examining the politics of knowledge: how we define, feel, understand, and communicate politics, space and place, not only through writing but also through aesthetics and images, sensory encounters, and outdoor activities. The module then examines the dominant modern political geography of the state, from which we get specific versions of individual, local, regional and international space. Finally, we will use current political issues - such as (but not bound to) decolonization movements, urban development battles, refugee claims, climate emergency and Indigenous sovereignty claims - to assess how contemporary political life might generate different forms of space and place. We will read across disciplines of politics and IR, geography and geopolitics, and environmental, feminist, Indigenous, and postcolonial political geographies. By the end of the module, you will be able to describe and critically engage different accounts of political space and place, and the forms of political subjectivity, political community, and political analysis that emerge from these accounts.

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POC2123: Politics of the Middle East

Famous satirist Karl reMarks remarks that God created the MENA region for the specific and noble purpose of permanently supplying global audiences with 'Breaking News.' Have you ever wondered how and why a region as vast and heterogeneous as the Middle East has become strictly associated with authoritarianism, women and LGBT population's oppression, and permanent wars? This module is an exciting opportunity to rethink politics - broadly speaking - in the Middle East. It unpacks the complexities of state-society relationships by examining them at the domestic, regional and global levels and by drawing on an array of scholarly and popular sources. What emerges is a complex region that seriously pushes us to re-assess our understanding of democracy, resistance, agency and modernity. The module adopts a largely decolonial approach that downgrade state-centric analysis and asks questions relevant to minorities and racial inequalities in the region.

No prior knowledge skills or experience are required to take this module. Although the module is suitable for specialist and non-specialist students, some degree of interest in the region is expected on the part of the student. The module is suitable for students studying Politics, Comparative Politics, History or International Relations.

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POC2128: Global Authoritarianism

Authoritarianism is on the rise around the world, whether in the form of growing hostility to Western democracy promotion, the roll-back of democratic governance in countries thought to have ‘transitioned’ to democracy or the growing popularity of populist politics within established democracies. Increasingly, democratic governance seems to be revealing itself as an historical anomaly, rather than a consolidating trend. But what is authoritarianism? How can we trace it? What drives it?

This module aims to help you answer these questions, and more, by exploring the international and domestic factors that sustain authoritarian politics. It will introduce you to the range of theoretical approaches, as well as the conceptual and methodological challenges in the study of authoritarianism, which will be explored through a variety of case studies, from the ‘classical’ authoritarian regimes to those considered ‘democratic’.

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POC2133: Politics of Gender, Sex and Sexuality

This module explores key ideas on gender, sex, and sexuality, providing a critical grounding in feminist and queer theory. It applies a decolonial feminist lens to women's movements and feminist theories in the West and beyond. It also examines intersectionality, analyzing how marginalized identities—such as gender, sexuality, race, disability, and religion—intersect with gender. While the focus is on gender rather than women, we will primarily discuss women's rights and also consider masculinity and men's movements.

The aims of this module are to:

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HAP3906: Work Placement Year

This third-year module forms part of the 4 Year 'with work placement' programmes offered by HaSS, Cornwall to include the Law and Business Programmes with Professional/Industrial Placement, the Politics Programmes with Employment Experience (EE) or Employment Experience Abroad (EEA) and the Humanities Programmes with EE/EEA.

On this module you will work in the UK or abroad for the whole academic year (a minimum of 28 weeks). You will use one or two placements to gain skills that equip you to work in the global jobs market and to improve your knowledge of the work environment. You are encouraged to deepen your understanding of the workplace and the employability skills that you acquire during the year.

Placement durations are as follows:

• for a single placement, a minimum of 28 weeks, excluding statutory and other holidays;
• for two placements, a minimum of 14 weeks per placement, excluding statutory and other holidays.

Prerequisites: to have studied HAP2906

This module cannot be combined with any study year abroad module.

The aims of this module are to provide you with opportunities to:

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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.

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BEP3020: Practice-Based Consultancy Management

This module introduces you to the world of professional consultancy, with a particular focus on sustainability and contemporary business challenges. You’ll explore what consultants do, how the consulting profession works and why organisations increasingly turn to consultants to navigate complex issues.

Through real cases, research tasks, and a live or simulated consulting project, you will learn how to analyse business problems, work effectively with clients, and apply consultancy tools in practice. You’ll develop skills in problem‑solving, communication, professional relationship‑building, and project management—key capabilities for anyone considering consultancy or advisory roles.

You will also examine how consultancy theory translates into real‑world consulting work, gaining insight into client expectations, project protocols, risks and the barriers that affect implementation. Throughout the module, you’ll be encouraged to reflect on your experience, evaluate your impact, and learn how consultants adapt and make sound decisions when information is incomplete or situations are uncertain.

By the end of the module, you will have planned and delivered a consulting project to a defined brief and timeline, communicated your findings professionally and reflected critically on your development as an emerging consultant.

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BEP3110: Marketing Strategy

This module will be of interest to those who wish to gain an understanding of how to take a strategic approach in marketing. Students will become familiar with techniques for analysing the internal and external environment so as to evaluate strategic choices for competitive advantage. Students will learn how to interpret marketing knowledge and analysis to critically evaluate current marketing plans, and formulate a coherent marketing strategy. Case studies are used to enhance your ' knowledge and skills of the real-life application of marketing management and strategy.

The module is suitable for both business and non-business students.

The aim of this module is to provide you with a relevant and comprehensive understanding of theory and concepts of strategic marketing in a global marketplace . You will learn how to interpret marketing knowledge and analysis to critically evaluate current marketing plans, and formulate a coherent marketing strategy. The analytical skills developed on this module are designed to provide you with a critical awareness of the importance of strategically managing the customer relationship process.

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HAP3000: Dissertation

The dissertation module equips you with ability to design and carry out independent research on a specific research topic in History and/or Politics and International Relations - with the support from an academic supervisor - resulting in a dissertation.

Each dissertation is a unique research project shaped by your own research interests and ideas and compliant with the standards or rigour and validity of academic research. Hence, there is art and skill to competing a dissertation. It helps developing deep discipline-specific knowledge and valuable transferable skills, including project and time management, engaging with feedback, research, data analysis, critical thinking and communication skills.

This module aims to equip you with necessary knowledge and skills to conduct your own dissertation research in History and/or Politics and International Relations using a series of dissertation lectures and workshops, as well as supervision meetings with a supervisor. These sessions will cover the research process and basics of research design, and other topics essential for your dissertation project. Overall, the module will enable you to conduct your independent research to address a research question of your choice in a rigorous, ethical and competent manner, thus, making you an expert in this research topic.

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BEP3010: Social and Technological Innovation

'Innovation' is one of the buzz words of current management thinking, but what does it mean? We are living in an age where everyone is looking for the 'next big thing', that's what innovation is, it is about having an idea, making it work and doing things differently. This module will examine different ways in which social and technological innovations have revolutionised how we do business and in turn how society operates. We will look at the theory behind innovation and apply it to current business case studies enabling you to analyse how certain businesses and organisations have used innovative practices to do things differently, for the benefit of society, the environment and in the process - their own competitive advantage.

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BEP3011: Business and Climate Change

This module is specifically designed for flexible learning and engagement with local communities . This module offers the opportunity for multidisciplinary study on a very wicked and complex topic that many businesses , policymakers and communiti es are very concerned about : Climate Change. In the lectures and classes, we will discuss the paradoxical role of business and climate change, addressing the following questions: How does climate change affect business? How can businesses develop climate change and net-zero strategies? How can business es potentially benefit from climate change? How do carbon markets work, and what are their limits and potential? Why do we find it so difficult to adopt less carbon - intensive lifestyles? What is the role of technology? What are the ethical issues that climate change raises? What are the responsibilities of business? How does business (and society at large) adapt to climate change? What does 'net-zero' mean? This module will address such questions, exploring the relationship between business and one of the, if not THE, most important question s of our time. As climate change requires immediate changes in behaviour and systems, w e will also apply our new-gained knowledge in practical settings . Students will form group s to work with local businesses, policymakers , and communities to bring about meaningful climate change action.

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BEP3030: Globalisation and Internationalisation

The aims of this module are to:

• Provide an understanding of the economic, social, political and technological factors that influence and shape businesses operating in the global economy
• Explore managerial processes within the international business environment
• Examine the ethical issues associated with global sourcing of labour, materials and production processes
• Critically analyse a global economy from an environmentally sustainable and socially responsible perspective
• Critically examine key managerial issues for companies operating internationally - including managing across cultures, business structures and strategies, entering global markets, multinational purchasing and supply, and international human resource management

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BEP3040: Local - Global Innovation (Cornwall Research Seminar Series)

We are facing critical sustainability challenges rooted in complex interrelations between social, economic, and ecological systems. As a result of globalisation, these challenges often have a transnational aspect and require global coordination. In 2015, the United Nations (UN) adopted the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): a global agenda that is meant to provide a blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet called. Nevertheless, achieving sustainable development and finding solutions to these global challenges, calls for local action.

This module will explore when and how local communities can be drivers for transformational change and tangibly impact global development goals

The objectives of this module are twofold. First, through encounters with practitioners, students will engage with real-life local innovation projects that seek to contribute to sustainable development. Second, students will analyse key theoretical perspectives that conceptualise sustainability, place-based action, and processes of change from the bottom up. The module invites critical questions, such as: How are global ideas translated and enacted in local contexts? How are innovation projects embedded in their social, economic, and cultural environments? How do actors mobilise local identities, and what implications does this have for legitimacy and responsibility? What role does radical imagination play in prefiguring local realities and pathways for change?

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BEP3070: Crisis: Change and Creativity in Organisations

This module examines how organisations cope with crises and manage profound change. The complex cultural, political and ethical issues faced by change agents will be examined in detail. Consideration will be given to how managers can be better prepared for the unpredictability, unintended outcomes and possible harmful consequences of change. The linear versus complexity mindsets will be examined from a critical perspective. The module aims to provide an understanding of both particular approaches and techniques for managing change, and the limitations of these approaches/techniques when applied in practice. Particular attention is given to the role of the consultant in the change management process. This module is concerned with the development of transferable skills - you will act as facilitators on real organisational change problems, thus enabling the students to operate as change agents.

The module incorporates a practical, creative thinking, organization-based case study assignment where students will be tasked with designing a change programme to tackle current complex challenges facing organisations.

The creation of sustainable and resilient organizations that enhance business, society and the environment is a key concern of this module.

This module aims to examine how organizations cope with crises and manage the impact of change.

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BEP3172: Future 17: Sustainable Development Goals Challenge

Future17 is designed to develop the skills needed to collaboratively tackle 21st Century global challenges and to work with professionals to create pathways towards innovative solutions to real-world issues that relate to one or more of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Future17 enables students to collaborate with learners from a consortium of global partner universities in international, interdisciplinary and multicultural teams to tackle challenges through projects defined by third-party organisations (businesses, charities, NGOs etc.). Students will first undertake an online induction programme that will develop skills for collaborative, challenge-based and inter-cultural learning, which promotes forms of Design Thinking for tackling global challenges. They will then work with academic and third-party mentors to diagnose a sustainable development challenge and develop an approach for developing one or more solutions. They will be assessed on the basis of a 1500 project report and presentation to a panel including representatives of the third-party organisation that set the challenge and academic staff from the partner universities along with other student groups at a showcase event.

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HAP3001: Environmental Humanities: Futures

This module explores how environmental humanities can help us imagine different futures in the face of climate and ecological crisis. Focusing on the themes of hope, sustainability and stewardship, we examine story-telling and community activism, landscape histories, the rise and critique of sustainable development, and practices such as commons-based governance. We then turn to historical and contemporary ideas of stewardship, from pre-industrial Britain to energy futures, degrowth, green colonialism and relationships with more-than-human worlds, culminating in a reflection on what it might mean to be a 'good ancestor'.

You will engage with historical case studies, theoretical texts and creative work to investigate how narratives of time, progress and crisis shape environmental futures. Through critical and reflective assessments, you will analyse the limits of dominant (often Western and extractive) models of sustainability, engage with anti-colonial and anti-extractivist perspectives, and experiment with alternative imaginaries of care, responsibility and collective action on a damaged planet.

This module aims:

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HIC3038: Caribbean Histories: Colonialism, Resistance and Environmental Crisis

This interdisciplinary module focuses on the Caribbean region as a case study for exploring twenty-first century modes of imagining climate change and environmental catastrophe in the (post) colonial context to investigate the relationship between Caribbean histories of colonisation and exploitation, concomitant narratives and theories of climate change, climate crisis, resilience, and response. Through engaging with histories, stories, and practices of resistance across the Caribbean, you will uncover and examine the ways in which alternative imagined futures, to those of the dominant Anglo-American climate change discourse, empower communities impacted by climate change in the present.

Keywords: Caribbean history; culture; colonialism; environmental crisis; resistance; imagined futures.

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HIC3050: Pacific Histories: Environment, People, and Politics

This module introduces the Pacific as a vibrant region of mobility, exchange, protest and activism, challenging older portrayals of it as an empty space without history or culture. Focusing on the modern period, you will examine Pacific histories of migration and colonisation, decolonisation and indigenous rights, environmental justice and global environmental politics. You will also explore how Pacific peoples have participated in regional and international forums of governance, and reflect critically on how knowledge about the Pacific is produced, silenced and contested.

This module aims:

• to deepen your understanding of key historical and theoretical approaches to Pacific histories, drawing on global, transnational and interdisciplinary perspectives, including Pacific Studies and Environmental Humanities;
• to develop your skills in analysing a wide range of sources—such as maps, photographs, oral histories, protest literature, music, material culture, petitions and archival records—to interpret Pacific pasts and their wider significance;
• to support you in designing and communicating independent historical work for different audiences, through both a creative piece with reflective commentary and a research essay.
  

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