Politics, Philosophy and Economics BA

Core modules:

Principles in Politics, Philosophy & Economics (PPE)

This module is designed to provide students on the PPE course with an understanding of how politics, philosophy, and economics are interrelated, as well as articulate the reasons why PPE is such an exciting interdisciplinary field of study. It will cover key theories and approaches in politics, philosophy, and economics that provide the foundation for the study of PPE as an interdisciplinary degree.

20 credits

Economy, Society and Public Policy (ESPP)

ESPP is for students who are interested in the big policy problems facing societies today; inequality within and between countries, environmental sustainability, the future of work, health and wellbeing, wealth creation and financial instability and so on.
This module has been created specifically for social science students who are NOT economists, but who want to understand how the economy works, and how it can be made to work better.
The module will give you an understanding of the ways in which we can interpret the evidence on the social and economic issues of today, and formulate appropriate public policy interventions. We emphasise issues of power, social norms, fairness, institutions, etc, and illustrate throughout with real-world data.

20 credits

Optional politics modules - one from:

Introduction to Comparative Politics

This module examines the utility of the comparative approach to politics with a particular focus on democracies, dictatorships, and semi-democratic regimes. The key features of each regime type are considered and these are used to explain the nature of the comparative method, its strengths and weaknesses. This course also applies a comparative lens to processes such as democratisation, modernisation, and mobilisation. This course will draw on a wide range of examples from democratic, authoritarian, and semi-democratic countries.

20 credits

Introduction to International Relations

This module will introduce students to the discipline of International Relations (IR) and therefore the study of global politics. IR is a complex, multi-level and multi-actor field whose terrain spans global to individual issues. To provide a comprehensive introduction to IR, the module will focus on two questions: 1) What is the subject matter of IR? And 2) What is the unit of analysis? Structuring the module as such will introduce students to key debates in IR and provide a broad overview of the subject matter (from global governance to individual activism) and different actors (from the UN to terrorists).

20 credits

British Politics

This module will introduce students to key concepts and debates in British politics through an examination of post-1976 British political history. Each lecture will take as its starting-point one day in recent British history and will describe what happened on that day and what happened as a result of that day. Each of the seminars will then follow that discussion: paying particular attention to concepts and ideas within the study of politics which can help us make sense of those events.

20 credits

Introduction to Global Political Economy

This module provides an introduction to global political economy (GPE). It covers key mainstream and critical theories and considers critically what GPE is. Following this, the main focus will be on sketching the outlines of the global economy (past and present) by considering particular commodities. This provides a novel way to introduce the student to the major processes of global trade, finance and production. It also considers the political economy of race, class and gender as core theoretical themes that interweave the empirical examination of the global political economy, from roughly 1500 through to the 21st century.

20 credits

Introduction to Western Political Thought

This module provides an introduction to key themes and thinkers in Western political thought. It explores the different meanings of the nature of politics and the political in this tradition. One key theme will be the relation between human nature and politics. This will be explored through a series of deep conflicts between reason and desire, the state and individual, and the public and private. These conflicts are examined through the different visions of politics of a selection of ancient and early modern thinkers. The module will also engage with critiques of the canon of Western political thought itself, in particular from a postcolonial perspective.

20 credits

Optional philosophy modules - one from:

Self and Society

This course introduces students to central questions in political philosophy: Do we need a state, and if so, must we obey its laws? When, why and how may states punish citizen for failing to obey the law? What is freedom, and when are we free? Is equality a moral value, and if so, what are its implications for how governments ought to act? What is justice, and how does it relate to freedom, equality, and punishment? Should states be organised democratically, and what does it mean to live in a democracy? The course encourages students to think carefully and clearly about the relationship they have, as citizens, to each other and the state, and to develop their analytical and critical skills in the process. Readings will include influential, historical and contemporary discussions of the state, equality, freedom, justice, and democracy.

20 credits

Philosophy of Religion

This course will pose and try to answer philosophical questions about religion. These include questions about the nature of religion. For instance does being religious necessarily involve believing in the existence of a God or Gods? And is religious faith compatible with adherence to the scientific method? Other questions that the course will cover include questions about the theistic notion of God. Does the idea of an all-powerful being make sense? Is an all-knowing God compatible with human freedom? And is an all-powerful, all-knowing and perfectly good creator of the universe compatible with the existence of evil? Further questions concern God and morality. Is it true that if there is no God, then there is no right and wrong? The course will examine philosophical arguments for the existence of God, and question whether these arguments are sound.

10 credits

Reason and Argument

Arguments are everywhere - in our newspapers, on our television screens and radios, in books and academic papers, on blogs and other websites. We argue with our friends, families, teachers and taxi drivers. These arguments are often important; they help us to decide what to do, what to believe, whom to vote for, what car to buy, what career path to follow, or where we should attend university (and what we should study). The ability to recognise, evaluate and produce arguments is therefore immeasurably valuable in every aspect of life.

This course will teach you how to recognise an argument, how to understand it, how to evaluate and criticise it, and how to produce your own. Students in this module will learn how to extract an argument from a complex text, how to uncover hidden assumptions, and how to recognise and critique bad reasoning

10 credits

History of Ethics

How should we live? What is the right thing to do? This module offers a critical introduction to the history of western ethical thought, examining some of the key ideas of Plato, Aristotle, Hume, Kant, Wollstonecraft, Douglass, Bentham, Mill, Taylor Mill, Nietzsche, Rawls and Gilligan. It provides a textual introduction to some of the main types of ethical theory: the ethics of flourishing and virtue; rights-based approaches; utilitarianism; contractualism. We explore the close interconnections between ethics and other branches of philosophy (e.g. metaphysics, epistemology, aesthetics), as well as the connections between ethics and other disciplines (e.g. psychology; anthropology).

10 credits

Knowledge, Justification and Doubt

In our age of post-truth politics and fake news, this course aims to introduce students to philosophy by investigating some basic problems in epistemology (i.e. the philosophical study of knowledge). We will address questions such as: what knowledge is and why it is important; what truth is; what kinds of things can be known and how; if and how perceptual experience gives us knowledge of an external world; whether all knowledge has to be grounded in experience; whether knowledge is socially constructed (and if so whether that is necessarily problematic); what role justice plays in our epistemic practices.

10 credits

History of Philosophical Ideas

The history of philosophy is made up of a series of debates between competing philosophical traditions and schools: for example, idealists argue with realists, rationalists with empiricists. And at different times, distinctive philosophical movements have dominated the discussion, such as pragmatism, existentialism, phenomenology, analytic philosophy, and critical theory. This module will introduce you to some of these central movements and traditions in the history of philosophy from Plato onwards, and the key philosophical concepts and issues that they have brought in to western thought.

10 credits

Optional economics modules - one from:

Classical and Contemporary Thinkers in Economics

This module introduces students to a range of classical and contemporary economists, including the founders of the discipline and some Nobel Prize winners, past and present. For each economist, a senior member of the department will give a short biography, outline their contributions to the discipline of economics and the development of the subject, and explain how they have influenced their own thinking and research that is undertaken in economics today. Examples of the contribution of these economists to a range of economic issues will be used to illustrate the continuing relevance and application of their ideas.

20 credits

Mathematical Methods for Economics 1

The aims of this module are: 1. To give an insight into the importance of mathematical methods in economic analysis. 2. To introduce a range of mathematical techniques. 3. To give an understanding of how and when to apply the techniques. The module will include revision of basic concepts, algebra, equations, exponential and logarithmic functions, differential calculus, optimisation, geometry

20 credits

Mathematical Methods for Economics 2

The aims of this module are: 1. To give an insight into the importance of mathematical methods in economic analysis. 2. To introduce a range of mathematical techniques. 3. To give an understanding of how and when to apply the techniques. The module will include revision of basic concepts, algebra, equations, exponential and logarithmic functions, differential calculus, optimisation, geometry

20 credits

Economic History of Britain and the Modern World

This module surveys the economic history of Britain since the mid-eighteenth century (in the first semester) and of the global economy (in the second semester) in order to better understand the forces which determine why some people and countries are rich, and have the capacity for sustained economic growth, whereas others are poor. In particular, we wish to understand the role of government and institutions in driving or retarding economic development, and to provide ideas from the comparative experience of different countries about what policies have been successful in enabling poor people and countries to escape from poverty.

20 credits

Plus one other first year module on this page.

Core modules:

Policy Analysis and Programme Evaluation

This module will teach students about the methods of policy analysis and programme evaluation, including (but not limited to) randomised-control trials (RCTs) and methods of causal inference. Students will also learn how to read and critique published research, as well as carry out these techniques using software.

20 credits

Case Studies in Politics, Philosophy & Economics (PPE)

This module will present students with in-depth, real-world case studies of policies implemented to tackle problems in PPE such as climate change, healthcare, inequality, and crime. Students will analyse how organisations developed and implemented specific policies, and (with hindsight) evaluate their efficacy. Guest speakers may be invited to present selected examples of policy analysis and/or programme evaluation from their respective organisations.

20 credits

Optional politics modules - one from:

The Left: Past, Present & Future

This module considers the past, present, and future of 'The Left'. From its origins in the French Revolution, this movement has struggled to balance equality, liberty and solidarity. Implementing these values has given rise to many different stands of leftist thought, leading to debates between radicals and proponents of meliorism. This module gives students the historical, theoretical and empirical tools to understand 'The Left' as a continuing project. Core topics include: defining 'The Left', its origins and theoretical development, its relation to political economy, as well as the current state of the left in the UK and around the world.

20 credits

The Politics and Government of the European Union

This module will provide students with a working knowledge of European integration, and of the main institutions of the European Union, including the Council of Ministers, the Commission and the Parliament. The module consists of a series of lectures on the history and institutions of the European Union, and seminars to discuss issues raised in the lectures.

20 credits

The Political Economy of Global Capitalism

This module will begin by providing students with an account of the major theoretical traditions which seek to interpret and explain the global political economy. These are liberalism and interdependence theory; mercantilism, nationalism and hegemonic stability theory; and marxism, dependency and world systems theory. It then explores different aspects of the contemporary global political economy - finance, development, trade and production - and ends by reviewing the intellectual debate about the meaning of globalisation.

20 credits

International Relations Theory

This module provides an introduction to international relations theory. The module examines the beginnings of the Discipline and demonstrates how these origins have continued to shape contemporary international relations theory. The module then outlines hte key areas of theoretical debate, including Realism, Liberalism, Marxism, Postmodernism, Constructivism, Neorealism, Feminism and Critical Theory

20 credits

Political Theory in Practice

This module explores key debates in political theory, and the implications of those debates for current political practice. It first examines debates surrounding justice, and what these mean for welfare and taxation policies. It then analyses disputes over the meaning of well-being, and their implications for policies surrounding disability and health. It introduces students to different ideas of toleration, and how these influence laws on free speech. It also explores controversies over multiculturalism, and in particular its impact upon women. Finally, it examines care ethics and its implications for how we value the environment.

20 credits

Development

This module explores development, through a focus on the key debates about, approaches to, and strategies for engendering it that have prevailed in different parts of the world at different points in history. It emphasises how development is not just about what happens in poor countries: it has always been historically, ideologically and spatially rooted. It moves forward chronologically and geographically, starting with classical debates about British industrialisation, before examining contending visions of development in the post-war era; the diverse experiences of Asia, Latin America, Africa and the Caribbean; and the contemporary rise of China. It ends by returning to Britain and its growth crisis; itself a manifestation of a peculiar development problem.

20 credits

Human Rights, Power and Politics

The module introduces students to the big debates about human rights. It explores the achievements of the human rights agenda, as well as its failures. The module interrogates a number of important questions about the relationship between human rights and politics. How do human rights work in domestic and international politics? What are effective strategies for realising rights? What role do non-state actors play in the realisation of human rights? Finally, by focusing on the methodological and ethical challenges of researching and measuring human rights, the module makes space for equipping students for their own future research projects.

20 credits

Oppression and Resistance

This module considers oppression and resistance from a variety of perspectives. Although the Enlightenment sought to liberate individuals from social/political domination, it failed to address many forms of oppression at home and was bound to European projects of colonialism. Addressing these forms of violence has been the major project of post-Enlightenment thought and global social movements. This module gives students the historical, theoretical and empirical tools to understand modern oppression and resistance. It explores: the legacy of the Enlightenment, feminism, sexuality, racism, post-colonial and decolonial thought, intersectionality, and social movement case studies such as Black Lives Matter and #MeToo.

20 credits

Autocracies and Democracies

This module looks at autocracies and democracies and investigates several aspects of regime transitions. It highlights the complexities associated with defining and measuring regimes. It examines numerous theories and modes of transition to democracy. It analyses the difficulties and challenges of building democracies and asks when (or if) democratisation is complete. It looks at various institutional arrangements and their effects on different regime types. It analyses the persistence and performance of authoritarian regimes. It discusses threats to democracies and reversals to authoritarianism. The module uses extensively examples from around the world to analyse transitions and question various theories.

20 credits

Optional philosophy modules - one from:

Theory of Knowledge

The aim of the course is to provide an introduction to philosophical issues surrounding the knowledge. We will be concerned with the nature and extent of knowledge. How must a believer be related to the world in order to know that something is the case? Can knowledge be analysed in terms of more basic notions? Must our beliefs be structured in a certain way if they are to be knowledge? In considering these questions we will look at various sceptical arguments that suggest that the extent of knowledge is much less than we suppose. And we will look at the various faculties of knowledge: perception, memory, introspection, and testimony.

20 credits

Feminism

Feminists have famously claimed that the personal is political. This module takes up various topics with that methodological idea in mind: the family, cultural critique, language. We examine feminist methodologies - how these topics might be addressed by a feminism that is inclusive of all women - and also turn attention to social structures within which personal choices are made - capitalism, and climate crisis .

20 credits

Plato

The philosopher and mathematician A. N. Whitehead once characterised western thought as a series of footnotes to Plato. The thought of Plato and his teacher Socrates, who both lived in Greece around 400 years before the start of the Christian era, set the agenda for much subsequent philosophy and did much to define our ideas of what philosophy is. This course will introduce students to the study of the philosophy of Plato through a close and critical study of a small number of his dialogues in English translation.

20 credits

The Rationalists

This module is an introduction to the major works of Descartes, Spinoza, Leibniz, and Kant. Their work is both fascinating in itself and enormously influential today. The emphasis will be on topics in metaphysics and epistemology, such as whether there is a god, whether you and I are material or immaterial, whether the physical or even the mental world is real or apparent, whether anything could have been otherwise than it is, and what it is possible to know. Readings will be mainly from primary sources. Discussion will focus on philosophical problems rather than on historical context.

20 credits

Ethics: Theoretical and Practical

There are some things we morally ought to do, ways we ought to live. Those of us who are not moral sceptics will agree so far. Indeed, we may even agree extensively about what we ought to do or how we ought to live. But why? Ethicists don't just ask what we ought to do. They also try to work out, as systematically as possible, what explains the demands, obligations and requirements that stem from morality. That is what this module will explore. Is morality all about promoting the well-being of humans and other creatures? Does it stem from the requirements of rationality? Is it aimed at achieving the distinctive kinds of excellence that creatures like us can attain?

20 credits

Political Philosophy

We are citizens in a democratic capitalist society, we vote and choose our representatives and our government, our representatives make laws that we must then follow. We do not only obey the laws only for fear of being punished; we believe that our system of government is just, and that it is just for us to obey the laws. We believe that - by and large - we live in a just society. Do we? What justifies our system of government? Are there alternative possible relations, alternative forms of citizenship; alternative forms of government, alternative ways of organising a society? Is ours the only just one?
We will look at the history of political philosophy and explore various systems of citizenship, government and economic arrangements. Our main aim will be to understand how these different systems justify or legitimise the existence of government and its authority to make and enforce laws. We will also look at the more general notion of 'justice' that accompanies and grounds these systems of government.
Two side concerns will be:-
1. The relation between a philosopher's view of ethics and her political philosophy.
2. The relation between a philosopher's view of human nature and her political philosophy.

20 credits

Philosophy of Science

It is virtually impossible to overstate the importance that science has in our everyday life. Here is a brief list of things that would not exist without modern science: computers, phones, internet, cars, airplanes, pharmaceutical drugs, electric guitars. Imagine your life without these things. It looks very different doesn't it? Science, however, is not important only in virtue of its practical applications. in fact, many would agree that the the primary value of science is that of being the best available source of knowledge about the world. Indeed, it seems fair to say that we made more discoveries after the 17th century scientific revolution [e.g. the laws of planetary motion, the principles underlying biological evolution, the laws governing quantum phenomena, the structure of DNA, the cellular architecture of the brain] than in all the previous millenia. This raises important philosophical questions.

First, what is science? What are the criteria that demarcate science from non-science? For example, what is the difference between science and religion? Second, how does science work? What are the methods and eplanatory strategies that make it so successful? Is there such a thing as the scientific method, and what counts as a scientific explanation? Third, is science objective? That is, is science a form of rational and unbiased inquiry, or does it reflect ethical, political, and social factors? Finally, is science the fundamental source of knowledge about the world? Does science tell us how things really are? These are some of the questions that we will tackle in this course.

20 credits

Optional economics modules - one from:

International Economics

International Economics covers core aspects of international trade and international macroeconomics. The first part of the module analyses the patterns and volume of international trade, and its effects on growth and income distribution. The second part covers international capital flows, their causes and their effects on growth and macroeconomic stability.

20 credits

Labour Economics

This module develops theoretical models of the labour market, starting with the competitive model of the labour market through an analysis of supply and demand for labour. A range of issues that can affect outcomes in the labour market will be considered, with an emphasis on the study of empirical evidence concerning these issues.

20 credits

Public Economics

The module is concerned with the economic aspects of public policy. It employs tools of economic analysis to develop a framework for the study of government decision making.

20 credits

Macroeconomic Policy

The module will focus on applying macroeconomic theory to a variety of economic policy issues. The module will consider fiscal and monetary policy and will include how policy responds to economic shocks. The course builds on the knowledge of the core first year economics modules.

20 credits

Or one of these economics modules, if the relevant modules were taken in year one:

Intermediate Microeconomics

This module builds on Level 1 modules in microeconomics and mathematical economics, using the mathematical training to allow a more rigorous investigation of the principles of microeconomics. It aims to develop an understanding and ability to undertake economic analysis of models of the behaviour and interaction of economic agents (consumers, firms and government) in a market economy, the functioning of different types of industries, decision making under uncertainty and economic welfare.

20 credits

Intermediate Macroeconomics

The aims of this course are to provide firm grounding in the analytical tools of modern macroeconomics; to use these tools to understand critically the conduct of economic policy nationally and internationally. The course builds on level 1 modules in macroeconomics. The main subject areas covered are: Basic macroeconomic models: consumption/leisure choice, closed economy one period-macro models, models of search and unemployment; Savings, investment and government deficits: consumption/savings choice (two-period model), credit market imperfections, real intertemporal model with investment; Money and business cycles: flexible price models, New Keynesian economics (sticky prices), inflation; International macroeconomics: international trade, money in open economy; Economic growth: Malthus and Solow growth models, convergence, endogenous growth model.

20 credits

Core module:

Dissertation in Politics, Philosophy & Economics

Students will prepare, organise, conduct, and report original research using policy analysis or programme evaluation on a topic of their choosing. Students will either be expected to collect original material to investigate the topic, or to perform secondary analysis on information drawn from existing sources. The finished product is presented in the style and length of a long journal article (and similar to that of a UK government Command Paper in many ways). It represents the culmination of learning and skills development within the interdisciplinary PPE course and demonstrates a student's ability to select a suitable topic, find and evaluate the relevant and available evidence, and recommend a course of action.

40 credits

Plus four modules from at least two groups.

Optional politics modules:

Political Ecology: Power, Nature, & Society

The Political Economy of Africa

The module investigates the inter-relations between state power and economic change in Africa. The conceptual focus of the module is how Africa has acted and reacted within a global political economy. The underlying interest of the module is in the way Africans¿ well-being is affected by state action and international order. Accordingly, the module covers topics such as trade, conflict, and poverty. Conceptually, the module explores the nature of capitalist expansion in Africa, both in terms of changes within countries and in terms of connections to the global political economy.

20 credits

Civilisation, Empire and Hegemony

With American power seemingly all powerful today, this unit provides a rethink of the origins of great power politics/economics. Mainstream Eurocentric theories in International Relations view great power politics/economics as having universal materialist properties. And they view America and Britain as hegemons that provide global public goods for the benefit of all. This module problematises this view by revealing the differing moral foundations and 'standards of civilisation' that inform the various directions that great power can take. It examines Britain and China in the pre-1900 era, contemporary America, Japan, and the potential role of China in the coming decades.

20 credits

Terrorism, Violence and the State

This module aims to provide students with an understanding of the nature and legitimacy of forms of protest against the modern state. In particular the module focuses on issues of contemporary terrorism. However, in order to understand the nature and motivations of terrorism it is necessary to understand the nature of the modern state and other, non-violent forms of protest such as civil disobedience.

20 credits

War, Peace and Justice

This module provides a practical and theoretical overview of contemporary war, peace and justice. It explores key conversations, issues and conceptual responses relating to: the challenges and ethics of researching war; the construction of ethics and notions of justice in war and peace; the politics of technology in contemporary warfare; the politics of peace, resistance and pacifism; the politics of war, memory and commemoration; embodied and emotional registers of war; and the politics of death and grievability. Students will explore the practice, experience, representation and cultural imaginary of war in the 21st century and consider implications for peace and justice.

20 credits

Marx and Contemporary Marxism

This module will familiarise students with Marx's corpus and enable them to evaluate key historical processes-such as the development of capitalism and modernity, the birth of the nation-state and the international system-through a Marxist lens. The first part of the module surveys the development of Marx's thought against the background of the socio-economic and political transformations of the nineteenth century. The second part focuses on thematic issues, reviewing how Marx engaged with the questions of strategy, mobilisation, gender, culture, imperialism, and colonialism. This puts Marx and Marxism into dialogue with other critical approaches, including feminism, postcolonialism, and poststructuralism.

20 credits

The Making of the Modern Middle East

This module offers an interdisciplinary examination of the socio-economic and political dynamics of the modern Middle East by exploring the region's major historical developments from a non-Eurocentric perspective, and investigating how the region has been represented and analysed in the social sciences. Students will have the opportunity to reassess the imperial and colonial legacies by retracing the trajectories of state formation and economic development in the past two centuries. The overall aim is to equip students with the knowledge and skills to 'de-exceptionalise' the Middle East and enable them to study it as any other region in the international system.

20 credits

Anti-Politics and Democratic Crisis

Recent years have seen a tide of pressures impact on policy makers. Fuelling distrust and disaffection with public policy making, populist politicians have blamed civil servants for alleged corruption. Political leaders have also pushed for fundamental changes in how states operate. From the bottom up, social movements have put pressure on policy makers to revolutionise racial and gender equality, and respond to climate catastrophe. Technological innovations confront policy makers with a new and alienating future.

Amidst a plethora of global crises, and with historically tight budgets and rapidly reducing timeframes, policy makers at multiple levels, from transnational bodies to local authorities, are now under extreme pressure to deliver. They need to find solutions for sustainability, stop pandemics, end inequality and protect fundamental rights. How can they make radical change happen? This module examines precisely this question. Students will gain a nuanced understanding of the pressures everyday policy makers face and how they manage these pressures with the aim of successfully implementing radical shifts in how we respond to the most pressing policy issues of our time.

 



 

20 credits

Legitimate and Illegitimate Violence

This module examines under what circumstances political violence is deemed legitimate or illegitimate. We will not treat this as a question to be answered by normative political theory, but rather as an empirical question of power and politics. The key organizing questions for the module will thus be: when is violence treated as legitimate in the world? who gets to determine this? and how and when do the boundaries between legitimate and illegitimate violence change? Specific cases may include the distinction between civilians and combatants, the use of violence in war vs. peace-time, terrorism, torture, domestic/family violence, and police brutality.

20 credits

Narcopolitics

Drugs are big business and politically salient, yet their production, trade, distribution and regulation are understudied in politics. Narcotics are rooted in complex webs of public, private and criminal power, with diverse consequences for growth, development, security and health. This module explores this evolving panorama: it traces the political evolution of therapeutic/psychotropic substances from the opium wars to prohibition, before analysing the 'War on Drugs', the attendant creation of mafia violence, and the emergence of 'narco-states'. Later classes address contemporary experiments in legalisation and decriminalisation, the development of licit recreational narcotics industries, and the implications for the global prohibitionist architecture.

20 credits

Justice in World Politics

This module interrogates normative issues in world politics. We will first discuss the theoretical perspectives of cosmopolitanism, nationalism and statism, before applying these perspectives to contemporary global issues. Questions to be addressed may include: how ought we to respond to global poverty and inequality? Do we need a global democracy? What does a just global trade regime look like? Who bears responsibility for climate change mitigation? Can states' territorial claims be justified? Should there be a right to global freedom of movement? And what kinds of political institutions do we need in order to realise a globally just order?

20 credits

Contemporary U.S. Foreign Policy

This module explores the foreign policy of the United States: the world's only superpower, possessing global interests and a military capacity to protect them far surpassing that of any potential rival. The module will explore contemporary issues such as climate change, human rights, terrorism, and weapons of mass destruction. Together, we will analyse the role of the media, the president, congress, public opinion, social movements and lobby groups, and the current and historic role of race, gender, and colonialism, in shaping U.S. foreign policy.

20 credits

Contemporary Chinese Politics

This module is a comprehensive introduction to contemporary politics in the People's Republic of China, focussing on the country's domestic politics. It examines China's recent political history focussing on the politics of the Maoist era. We then move to the post-1978 reform and opening-up period, through various topics including the Chinese Communist Party, political economy, policymaking, rural governance, political reform, state-society relations, and major challenges facing the country such as environmental degradation, corruption, and ethnic unrest. It encourages students to think critically about how politics works in China, and to evaluate where China is heading politically in the short, medium, and long-term.

20 credits

Politics and Power in the Global Food System

Politics and power are at the heart of how food is produced, distributed, consumed, governed and regulated, both globally and locally. Globally, one billion people are hungry whilst one billion people are overweight or obese. This unit investigates this and other inequities by exploring a range of approaches to understanding the global food system, how it has changed over time, and the importance of relations of gender, race, class, state and capital. It uses food as a lens to ask bigger questions about the nature of global capitalism and how this intersects with relations between humans and the environment.

20 credits

The Political Economy of Social Policy

This module examines the political economy of social policy. It explores different ideas about the relationship between the state and citizens and will consider different views about the roles of state, market and civil society in meeting citizens’ needs. The analysis will be deepened by detailed consideration of two specific areas of social policy. The overall aim is to equip students with the knowledge and skills to critically analyse different social policy regimes, measures and approaches. While it will focus largely on examples from the UK, social policy in other societal contexts will be considered.

20 credits

The Politics of Security

This module explores the changing character of security studies and global (in)security, examining the proliferation of discourses and practices of security, threat, and risk in contemporary society. It introduces a range of advanced theoretical debates about security, exploring key concepts (including discourse, practice, identity, emancipation, securitization, and risk) and how they might help us to make sense of security politics by looking at a range of cases (such as terrorism, energy security, religion, technology and development). It asks you to think critically about the function of security, and the ethical and analytical assumptions that shape how security is theorised/practiced.

20 credits

Hunger in the Global North

This module will explore the phenomenon of hunger in the Global North. Interrogating the political economy of hunger, the module will look at the role played by economies of poverty, welfare, charity and food. At a time of welfare retrenchment, proliferation of voluntary food aid and the persistent failure of the world food economy to address hunger, it is more important than ever to take a fresh look at the drivers of contemporary hunger and explore evidence-based solutions. This module will enable students to do so, drawing on country case studies across North America and Europe.

20 credits

Sexual Violence in Armed Conflict

This module will address when, why, and how widespread sexual violence occurs in armed conflicts. The module will
(1) examine how academics and international actors understand and research what sexual violence is and why it occurs in certain conflicts;
(2) assess the international efforts to prosecute and prevent sexual violence in armed conflict; and
(3) undertake in-depth case study analysis to assess the various long-term consequences of sexual violence in armed conflict for individuals, communities, and processes of reconciliation.
Resultantly the module will assess what can be done to address this security issue and its numerous violent consequences.

20 credits

Corporations in Global Politics: Possibilities, Tensions, and Ambiguities

Corporations are ubiquitous, affecting everything from mundane individual consumption choices, to the investment decisions of both weak and powerful states. Importantly, their authority extends beyond the economic sphere and into political, as they shape and execute policies and activities for some of the world's most pressing problems. This module explores the multifaceted political roles of corporations, and challenges students to critically reflect on their implications. Drawing upon international relations, political economy, and global governance literatures, it analyses the corporation theoretically, but also empirically drawing upon diverse case studies ranging from environmental sustainability and development, to war-making and peacekeeping.

20 credits

The Psychology of Politicians

The Psychology of Politicians explores the intersection between psychology and political science with a focus on those individuals that actually stand for and win elected office. This is a topic that fuels public and media debate and has grown in significance since the emergence of populist leaders all over the world. And yet despite its potentially far-reaching implications for the future of democracy the psychology of politicians remains an under-researched topic of analysis. What drives politicians? What motivates them? Are they all really self-serving and self-interested? Is hubris syndrome the most dangerous political malady in the world?

20 credits

Britain and the European Union

The course seeks to make sense of: Britain's relations with the EU; the problems within UK politics associated with the European issue; and the Europeanisation of British politics/policy. The course will cover the pre-history of membership and accession. It will set out the analytical toolkit for understanding the UK's impact on the EU and then explore Britain's European diplomacy. It will also explore the EU's impact on the UK, using the Europeanisation literature to understand the impacts on British governance, its political forces and public policy within the EU. A short comparative section will put Britain in context.

20 credits

Party Politics: Competition, Strategies & Campaigns

This module provides an in-depth analysis of party politics. It offers a detailed exposition of the multiple issues related with parties, looking at the interactions both within and outside parties. The module covers key aspects of party politics such as the different types of parties, their organization, party membership, types of party systems, political competition and issue positioning, campaign strategies, formation of new parties, the effects of cleavages, coalition formation, party financing and the number of parties.

20 credits

Liberalism and its Critics

The aim of this module us to assess the state of contemporary liberal politics and political theory, and to address the question of whether liberalism is in retreat in the West. The course will provide students with an in-depth examination of key themes within liberal political theory (e.g. distributive justice, freedom, multiculturalism, neutrality, public reason) as a way of exposing them to the numerous variations within the liberal tradition. It will also examine and assess critics of liberalism (e.g. communitarian, republican, realist) as well as discuss several of the key contemporary challenges to liberal politics (e.g. the rise of populism, post-truth politics, identity politics, post-humanism, nationalism).

20 credits

Parliamentary Studies

This module focuses on how parliaments and legislatures operate and is founded on the basis of theoretically-informed but policy-relevant teaching. It therefore attempts to provide students with a sense of why cultures, traditions and informal relationships matter as much (if not more) than formal procedures. Although the House of Commons and the House of Lords provide the main institutional focus for this module students will be encouraged to adopt a comparative approach whenever possible and to situate their analysis within an appreciation of the changing role of parliament within evolving frameworks of multi-level governance.

20 credits

Peacekeeping, State-building and International Intervention

This module looks at the way international intervention has changed in recent years. It draws on a number of different areas - humanitarian intervention, peacekeeping, development and state-building. It draws these areas together by exploring what they have in common and how there has been a shift in the way that international intervention deals with these issues. In particular, the international community has moved from direct involvement towards a form of governance that operates from a distance by encouraging local ownership, capacity building and resilience.

20 credits

Pandemics and Panics: Health, Security and Global Politics

In today's globalized world, infectious diseases and other health issues have increasingly come to be seen as security threats - a shift that has challenged traditional notions of what 'Security Studies' is all about. This module seeks to provide an understanding of the contemporary politics of health and security, identifying the health issues which have been seen as security threats and the major policy responses to them. The module locates health and disease within the key approaches to Security Studies (including state-centric and human security approaches), and requires students to critically engage with the politics and ethics of securitizing health.

20 credits

Practical Politics: How to Make Policy and Influence People

This course will provide a practical, hands on account of how policy is formulated, implemented and why it sometimes doesn't work. Focussing on environmental politics, the course draws on the experiences of policy experts including civil servants, lobbyists and politicians. It will an assessment that mirrors tasks routinely undertaken by those within or seeking to influence government.

20 credits

The Ethics of Political Leadership

This module investigates the ethics of political leadership via an engagement with the western tradition of political thought and contemporary analytical political theory. Its overall objective is to enable students to analyse and evaluate normative arguments on the significance and function of political leaders in contemporary politics. The module examines competing theories of leadership in their historical and intellectual contexts and a number of issues of contemporary ethical significance, including the problem of 'dirty hands', the nature of political integrity, and the ethics of political compromise. The approach is theoretical and philosophical and examples of political leaders will be used to highlight strengths and weaknesses of competing theories of leadership, and to emphasise their ideological assumptions and implications.

20 credits

Animals, Ethics and Politics

This unit explores the debates surrounding what we owe to animals politically. It introduces students to the main debates in animal ethics, and asks how they affect our political practices, norms, institutions and policies. Particular attention is focused on the tensions between animal welfare and other political values and goods, with students exploring such controversial policy debates as animal experimentation, animal agriculture, conservation and the use of animals for entertainment. The overall aim of the unit is to investigate the implications of taking animals seriously for current political practice.

20 credits

Sex, Race and Death: Feminist Perspectives on War, Violence and (In)Security

This unit produces a critical take on war, violence and security from feminist perspectives. Particular attention is focused on feminist theories that foreground the interconnectedness or 'intersectionality' of different power relations, including postcolonial, transnational and queer approaches. How are different forms and sites of violence connected? How do technologies of gender, sex and race shape understandings of certain forms of political violence as lawful, legitimate and necessary? What are the gendered legacies of (ongoing) histories of colonialism and imperialism? What are the (feminist) ethics of researching and possibly reproducing violence and suffering? Among the themes we will explore are the erotics of conquest and slavery; military masculinities; sexual violence in conflict; private military and security companies; torture and surveillance; women as agents of violence; Orientalism and the War on Terror; human rights and international law; imperial feminisms and just war theory; occupation and resistance.

20 credits

German Politics: Domestic Contestation and Global Impact

This unit explores the politics of Germany, Europe's leading state and the world's third largest exporting nation. It encompasses history, domestic politics, policy-making, political economy and foreign policy. The module introduces students to the way Germany's tumultuous history has impacted on politics today. It explores the character of contemporary party politics before turning to how they play out in relation to the policy process and Germany's distinctive political economy. Finally, Germany's international role is explored; is reunified Germany Europe's new hegemon? The aim is to give a comprehensive understanding of contemporary German politics and policy.

20 credits

Political Theory in An Age of Total War

This module presents an overview of the major figures and themes in twentieth century continental political theory, ranging temporally from Max Weber to Jacques Derrida. In reflecting on the dynamics of modernity and rationalization, contemporary European political thought responds to the atrocities of Europe's age of total war. Much of this work is an attempt to come to grips with reason and unreason in the capitalist, industrialized, mass democracies of Europe in light of the legacies of two world wars and the rise of totalitarianism. Key themes include: the legacy of the Enlightenment, the role of technology in modern life, the bureaucratization of politics, the possibility of human freedom, collective memory and forgiveness and the role of philosophy in the aftermath of mass genocide. We will approach this material both historically and hermeutically in order to assess the strengths and weaknesses of these responses to these problems.

20 credits

Framing Politics? Economic Ideas as Political Weapons

Throughout the history of capitalism political battlelines and agendas have been set by economic ideas and forms of knowledge being used as political weapons to frame what can be said, done and thought by whom. In this module students will learn how political actors have used economic ideas across time to construct institutions and policies, empower and advantage certain social groupings over others, create shared understandings and expectations amongst citizens, and project (implicit) conceptions of justice. Students will come to an appreciation of how economic thought has shaped politics past and present, and how and why ideas change over time.

20 credits

Optional philosophy modules (Feminism cannot be taken if you completed it in your second year):

Feminism

Feminists have famously claimed that the personal is political, and argued against traditional understandings of the public/private distinction. This module will be devoted to examining a wide variety of areas not traditionally considered to be of political relevance, which feminists have argued are in fact crucial to politics. We will discuss such issues as family structure, feminine appearance, sexual behaviour, science, culture and language.

20 credits

Aristotle

Aristotle (384-322BC) was the most prolific philosopher of the ancient world and one of the most important of any age making hugely important contributions to logic, metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of mind, philosophy of biology, ethics, aesthetics and political philosophy. This module will introduce students to the study of Aristotle through one or more of his many writings. The aim of the module is to encourage students to read important yet difficult Aristotelian texts, to engage critically with the ideas and arguments contained therein and to provide some appreciation of Aristotle's place in the ancient philosophical world and his contribution to contemporary debate.

20 credits

Global Justice

What are the demands of justice at the global level? On this module we will examine this question from the perspective of analytic Anglo-American political philosophy. We will start by looking at some debates about the nature of global justice, such as whether justice demands the eradication of global inequalities. We will then turn to various questions of justice that arise at the global level, potentially including: how jurisdiction over territory might be justified; whether states have a right to exclude would-be immigrants; whether reparations are owed for past international injustices such as colonialism; and how to identify responsibilities for combatting global injustice.

20 credits

Philosophy of Law

Law is a pervasive feature of modern societies and governs most aspects of our lives. This module is about some of the philosophical questions raised by life under a legal system. The first part of the module investigates the nature of law. Is law simply a method of social control? For example, the group calling itself Islamic State issued commands over a defined territory and backed up these commands with deadly force. Was that a legal system? Or is law necessarily concerned with justice? Do legal systems contain only rules or do they also contain underlying principles? Is 'international law' really law?
The second part of the module investigates the relationship between law and individual rights. What kinds of laws should we have? Do we have the moral right to break the law through acts of civil disobedience? What is the justification of punishment? Is there any justification for capital punishment? Are we right to legally differentiate between intended crimes (like murder) and unintended crimes (like manslaughter), or does this involve the unjustified punishment of 'thought crime'? Are we right to legally differentiate between murder and attempted murder, despite the fact that both crimes involve the same intent to kill?

20 credits

The Political Philosophy of Climate Change

Why is climate change a problem of global justice and how could the international community address this problem fairly? In this course we will look at various questions of justice that climate change raises and examine how political philosophers have attempted to answer them. Topics to be considered may include: historical responsibility for climate change, duties regarding future generations, the problem of allocating the burdens of addressing climate change, natural resource justice, the rights of indigenous peoples, moral issues concerning territorial loss or displacement, and the politics of geoengineering the planet.

20 credits

Moral Theory and Moral Psychology

This course examines the relationship of moral theory and moral psychology. We discuss the relationship of science and ethics, examine the nature of self-interest, altruism, sympathy, the will, and moral intuitions, explore psychological arguments for and against familiar moral theories including utilitarianism, virtue ethics, deontology and relativism, and confront the proposal that understanding the origins of moral thought 'debunks' the authority of ethics. In doing so, we will engage with readings from historical philosophers, including Hobbes, Butler, Hume, Smith, Kant, Mill, Nietzsche and Moore, as well as contemporary authors in philosophy and empirical psychology.

20 credits

Social Epistemology

We know things as individuals, but we also know things collectively. And what we know individually can depend on our relation to other knowers and collective knowledge. These relations are not merely epistemic, they are also practical and ethical. Knowledge can, for instance, be based on trust, while a failure to recognize someone as a knower can be a matter of injustice. Knowledge thereby has a social character and an ethical dimension. This course will introduce a broad range of topics in epistemology that explore this social and ethical turn.

20 credits

The Rationalists

The module will introduce students to some of the great rationalists philosophers of the 17th and 18th centuries, such as Descartes, Spinoza, Leibniz, and Kant. Readings will largely be from primary sources. Discussion will focus on philosophical problems more than on historical context.

20 credits

Sources of Normativity

The module will present some fundamental debates in meta-ethics concerning the foundations of norms, obligations and reasons. We will read parts of Korsgaard's book 'The Sources of Normativity' and more recent literature grappling with the question Korsgaard has raised. We will try to understand what it means to ground a norm, whether norms must be grounded, what could possibly ground them and whether the grounding process has a terminus point.

20 credits

Optional economics modules:

Education Economics

The amount of education possessed by individuals will influence their decisions in future. Education relates to issues such as health and labour market decisions. This module examines the demand for and provision of education, incorporating a mixture of economic theory such as human capital; rates of return to further and higher education and course type all of which directly relate to the labour market. Macroeconomic new growth theories are considered using empirical evidence. The graduate labour market is analysed, incorporating changes in the provision of higher education and an understanding of the rationale for the introduction of top-up fees. A final section considers schools, analysing and evaluating issues such as class size reduction, competition and selection, the performance of teachers, and the importance of pupils' family backgrounds, all in terms of their effect on pupil performance.

20 credits

Health Economics

Economics is the study of how society allocates its scarce resources across competing alternatives. This notion of scarcity is as relevant in the health care sector as it is elsewhere and, thus, it is important that the resources available to health and health care are used in the best possible ways. This course will: look at how best should be defined in the context of health care; consider the roles that market forces and governments might play in achieving the sector's objectives; and discuss what information is needed so that resources can be deployed where they will do the most good. The aims of the module are: 1. To enable students to develop a critical understanding of the basis of health economics.
2. To introduce students to the health economists' toolkit, the ways in which it can be used in to inform health care resource allocation, and its limitations.

20 credits

Economic Analysis of Inequality and Poverty

This module will cover the economic theories used for the analysis of inequality and poverty.
The theories will be backed by evidence from both the developed and the developing countries. The module starts off by a discussion of issues around measurement of inequality and poverty; the different measures that are used and the inherent assumptions behind these measures. We then move on to explain the existing global trends in inequality and poverty. Different theories are used to explain these trends; for example: role of human capital, poverty traps etc. Finally we discuss the policy response of different countries to address the issues of inequality and poverty, drawing on the specific examples of welfare programmes in the developed countries and the conditional cash transfers in the developing countries.

20 credits

Economics of Race and Gender

The Economics of Race and Gender will present economic theories as to why discrimination by race and gender occurs, in labour markets and other settings. Empirical evidence will be presented and used to test for such discrimination, as well as to test and evaluate the economic theories put forward to explain its existence.

20 credits

If Intermediate Microeconomics or Intermediate Macroeconomics were completed in your second year, then you can also choose from:

Political Economy

Important economic processes cannot be fully understood without taking into account political and institutional factors and governments' political motivations. This module introduces insights from politics into the study of public policy and economic performance. In particular, it aims to give students: 1. an opportunity for interdisciplinary study within the undergraduate economics degree; 2. familiarity with the modern literature in theoretical and applied political economy, including topics such as redistributive politics, comparative politics, and electoral/partisan cycles; 3. an opportunity to develop their research and team-working skills through research-oriented group assignments.

20 credits

International Trade

The first part of the course will cover neoclassical trade theories in which countries trade following their comparative advantage. The second part of the course deals with more recent trade theories based on economies of scale and/or imperfect competition that helps us to explain some recent patterns observed in the data. The third part of the course is an introduction to trade policy and the political economy of trade policy.

20 credits

Monetary Economics

This module covers monetary theory and monetary policy. It presents several economic models and discusses what monetary policy can and cannot do, as well as an introduction to the New Keynesian model. The module aims to enable students to apply the skills of economic analysis to the conduct of central banks and to the mechanisms underlying the monetary transmission mechanism.

20 credits

Development Economics

It takes the average worker in the UK less than ten days to produce the same amount of output as the average worker in the Democratic Republic of Congo produces over the course of an entire year. Earning the minimum wage in the UK easily puts you in the top 10% of earners worldwide. This module uses a mix of theory and empirics to seek to understand where these enormous gaps in standards of living between countries come from and how they evolve over time.

20 credits

Behavioural Economics

Standard economic models can successfully model human behaviour. However, the strong assumptions required of economic actors in those models will make systematic mispredictions in some contexts. Behavioural economics tries to overcome the systematic mispredictions by adopting non-standard assumptions, often inspired by insights from other disciplines. The module will discuss empirical evidence that underpins these non-standard assumptions, and will reflect on how insights from behavioural economics can be relevant in real life.

20 credits