BSc Politics and Law (Cornwall)

LAW1023C: Legal Foundations

This module gives you a broad and critical understanding of the structure and functions of law and the English legal system. In this module you will:

• start to develop key academic, study and legal skills;
• explore the primary sources of English law, the court hierarchy and common law systems;
• begin your critical examination of the role of lawyers, professional ethics and access to justice.

The skills and learning on this module can be further developed in the module 'Legal Foundations 2' (LAW1024C).

The aims of this module are:

1. to provide you with a foundational understanding of the nature of law, legal principles and legal practice;
2. to begin the process of equipping you with the necessary legal, theoretical, and ethical knowledge required for the study and practice of law;
3. to equip you with critical thinking, writing, teamwork and other skills needed to flourish in the study and practice of law.

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LAW1024C: Legal Foundations 2

This module builds on the legal knowledge and skills developed in LAW1023C to give you a dynamic introduction to the world of legal practice. By working towards and taking part in client interviews, negotiations and a mock tribunal or court hearing, you will:

• continue the development of key academic, study and legal skills, using real world examples, practical experience, and role-play;
• continue to explore the primary sources of English law and the role of lawyers within the legal system;
• begin your development of the important legal practice skills of interviewing, advising, negotiation and advocacy within a framework of professional ethics and teamwork.

Moreover, this module supports you in recognising the importance of self-reflection in study and professional practice.

The aims of this module are:

1. to develop your use of sources of law in legal argument;
2. to begin the process of equipping you with the practical legal skills of client interviewing, the giving of advice, negotiation and advocacy;
3. to equip you with teamworking skills;
4. to equip you with the skill of critical self-evaluation in relation to skills development;
5. to provide you with an understanding of one area of substantive law.

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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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LAW1027C: Constitutional Law

The constitution of the UK is extremely dynamic and developing incrementally through changes in relationships with Europe, devolution to Scotland, Wales and the regions. This module will help you to analyse and challenge some of the basic tenets of the constitution of the UK. Examining developments in judicial review will enable you to understand the relationship between judges and the government and the impact of this relationship on both the law and the state. This module will further help you develop your analytical skills and your ability to understand the role of public law, which, although complex and technical, allows for exciting discussion on issues which are both current and shifting.

This module is one of the seven foundations of legal knowledge required by the Bar Standards Board and it is therefore compulsory for all who wish to progress onto the vocational stage of training to become a barrister. Students interested in becoming solicitors under the Solicitors Qualifying Examination route should also take this module. The module is available to students on interdisciplinary pathways and Flexible Combined Honours students.

This module aims to enable you to develop:

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LAW1028C: Human Rights Law

Human rights law determines how far states can legitimately interfere in our freedoms, what happens when the rights of two individuals clash, and how different interests in society are balanced. This module aims to equip you with a deeper understanding of human rights law. The module will introduce you to the legal protection of human rights in the UK within its wider international, political, social and philosophical context. Acknowledging the racialised, gendered, human, and state-centric nature of modern human rights law and its class dimensions, the module goes beyond the doctrinal application of laws, and will enable you to analyse those laws through a critical lens. The module also touches upon the contemporary developments and challenges in the field of human rights law.

This module is one of the seven foundations of legal knowledge required by the Bar Standards Board and it is therefore compulsory for all who wish to progress onto the vocational stage of training to become a barrister. Students interested in becoming solicitors under the Solicitors Qualifying Examination route should also take this module. The module is available to students on interdisciplinary pathways and Flexible Combined Honours students.

This module aims to enable you to develop:

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LAW1040C: Criminal Law 1 Foundations

This module is designed as a practical introduction to law and to the field of criminal law in particular, enabling you to understand key legal concepts and their application to real life situations. The syllabus is structured around the application of criminal law in practice, focussing on the application of the law by lawyers, particularly the judge but also the unique role of the jury. This module gives you the foundations of the practice of law in England and Wales, for any further study, using a type of law that is always current, developing and endlessly fascinating.

This module is one of the seven foundations of legal knowledge required by the Bar Standards Board and it is therefore compulsory for all who wish to progress onto the vocational stage of training to become a barrister. Students interested in becoming solicitors under the Solicitors Qualifying Examination route should also take this module.

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LAW1041C: Criminal Law 2 Companies and Organisations

This module is designed to follow on from LAW1040C 'Criminal Law: Foundations', giving you the space and opportunity to practice using criminal law to specialize within the subject and to understand the laws of England within a comparative legal context. By the end of the module you should be able to approach questions of criminality from your understanding of the principles of criminal law and your experience of applying those principles to an area of specialism within criminal law, in this case corporate criminal liability. During this module you will learn how to learn how complete legal research to analyse the law and its operation critically at a foundational level. You will also learn to plan, structure and write your own small research project on corporate and organisational criminal responsibility.

This module is one of the seven foundations of legal knowledge required by the Bar Standards Board and it is therefore compulsory for all who wish to progress onto the vocational stage of training to become a barrister. Students interested in becoming solicitors under the Solicitors Qualifying Examination route should also take this module.

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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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POC1028: Modern Political Theory

This course will provide you with a foundation in core political concepts through a reading of canonical texts of modern political theory. Authors will include major political theorists throughout the modern period from Machiavelli to Marx. We will address a number of crucial political questions including: what is the basis of legitimate government and political obligation? What is the relationship between individuals and the state? What is the nature of liberty and equality? How does the institution of private property interact with the exercise of political power? In exploring these questions, we will observe the development of central political concepts against the backdrop of the French and American revolutions. Core readings will reflect upon the conceptual framework through which we interpret political practices and institutions and will provide a crucial foundation for future study.

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 and History.

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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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LAW2016C: Environmental Regulation and Redress

If you are concerned about environmental destruction and ensuring accountability on a global basis, then learning to articulate your argument and back it up with a sound grasp of the law might help you to make a real difference! The module will help you establish a working knowledge of how the law can be used as a mechanism to reconcile competing values in the protection of the environment and seeks to develop an understanding of the legal avenues available to mitigate environmental harm. As an environmentally aware individual, how can you use the law to prevent harm and what can you do if you feel that another individual or business has committed an environmental wrong? How can legal tools be used to redress and repair environmental harm? As you progress through the module, you will discover answers to these and other questions.

You will look at the role of national and international law in setting environmental standards. You will critically reflect on the extent to which the law across the world, including indigenous laws and cultural norms, might be used to embed pro-environmental and sustainable behaviour.

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LAW2174C: Employment Law

Employment Law is a dynamic and fast-moving area of the law, often at the forefront of social change. Knowledge of employment law is empowering for both individuals on the cusp of entering the workplace and for those planning to set up their own businesses. If you intend to train as a lawyer this is a fascinating area of practice incorporating non-contentious work advising on contracts, policies, grievances and redundancies as well as contentious work ranging from unfair dismissal to discrimination, equal pay and disputes over employment status.

In this module you will be introduced to contracts of employment and the issue of employment status as well as examining various statutory protections for employees and workers and considering the role of trade unions.

While you may benefit from having previously studied Legal Foundations LAW1023C this module is suitable for interdisciplinary pathways and no pre-requisites or co-requisites are required to choose this module.

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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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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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POC2098: Comparative Politics

In Comparative Politics, our focus is the origins and effects of national political institutions. Using the comparative method, our goal is to understand the differences between forms of government and what effects they have within the polity. We will compare different types of regime, including democracies, hybrid regimes and authoritarian regimes, but also look at variation within these regime types. You will learn different theoretical schools or approaches within comparative politics, as well as a consideration of the relative merits of these approaches in answering different questions about political institutions.

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 and History.

Our aim is that by the end of the module you should be able to explain, through comparative analysis, what the key determinants of regime stability and regime change are, how political regimes and institutions vary, and how their effects are mediated or constrained by other factors. You should be able to respond to particular questions about these institutions, drawing on the relevant literature. You should also be able to deal in the abstract with the issue of the relative merits of different comparative approaches and methods.

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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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POC2130: Political Behaviour across Generations and the Life Course

Democracy depends on an engaged and active citizenry, prepared to hold elites to account and promote their interests. Yet recent trends in electoral participation show successive generations are becoming increasingly unlikely to vote or interact with political parties. At the same time, the growth of protest politics raises questions about whether young people are disengaging from democracy or driving the evolution of democratic participation. This module therefore introduces you to the study of political behaviour, how it is shaped by political socialisation and the political life cycle, and its evolution across political generations. This module will also consider debates about the implications of this evolution for inequalities in political representation and the future health of democracy. Finally, you will also consider the effectiveness of policy measures intended to reduce inequalities in political participation.

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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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LAW2004C: Contract Law

So much of everyday life is regulated by contract - for example, buying food or a train ticket, renting a house, or getting a job. Contract also regulates multi-million pound transactions, such as the corporate take-over of another company, building a new factory, or commissioning a container ship. Understanding how contracts work empowers us to understand these transactions and resolve disputes between the parties to them. Small wonder, then, that contract law is a central part of the law of the England and Wales, knowledge of which is treated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority and the Bar Standards Board as a fundamental requirement for those wishing to practise law.

In this module, you will explore the process of making a contract, learn about contract terms, and also about what happens when a contract is broken or comes to an end.

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LAW2015C: The Law of Torts

The law of obligations concerns obligations which we voluntarily enter into (contract law), and obligations which the law imposes on us (tort law). A 'tort' is a legal wrong (e.g. assault, or trespass, or negligently causing psychiatric injury). When someone commits such a wrong, the law provides a personal remedy - that is, a remedy against the person who has wronged us (e.g. by requiring the wrongdoer to pay us money). On this module, you will study how tort law identifies whether one person is under an obligation to another, and under what circumstances breach of that obligation will give rise to a remedy. You will work together with other students in 'law firms' on a tort law problem, developing your oral and written skills of argument and building a case for argument in a legal exercise.

The law of obligations, including tort law, is a foundation subject for professional legal practice, and therefore compulsory for all students wishing to obtain the LLB. Students must have taken LAW1023C, 'Legal Foundations' prior to taking this module.

The aims of this module are

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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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