Politics and Public Policy module (PO11001)

This module is the introduction to studying politics taken in the first semester of first year. In it, we consider the key themes and concepts in politics in the context of contemporary Britain.

The class involves two weekly lectures and a weekly tutorial. The lectures introduce you to the broad themes and ideas in each area, with you being able to explore each week's topic through discussion and activities in their tutorial groups.

What you will learn

In this module, you will:

• have a general introduction to the study of politics
• assess the power of governmental and non-governmental actors and institutions in the UK and their impact on public policy-making
• be introduced to the key conceptual and analytical skills in the field of politics

By the end of this module, you will be able to:

• understand key political institutions and policy challenges in the UK today
• explain why policy-making is so controversial and difficult in contemporary Britain
• understand the rationale behind constitutional and policy change in the UK
• make use of the key analytical and practical skills in politics to understand problems in power, conflict, and cooperation
• engage with and critically evaluate different explanations of political events and offer an informed opinion on the topic

Assignments / assessment

• Harvard referencing exercise (10%)
  • write a page of quotes with in-text citations and one bibliography
  • given at the start of the module
  • due in week 4
• Essay (50%)
  • 1,500 words
  • given at the start of the module
  • due in week 6
• Exam (40%)
  • in-person and online
  • involves answering a number of short questions and writing a short essay
  • the exam is sat at the end of the semester

Teaching methods / timetable

• Lectures
• Tutorials