Unit name | Britain and the EU: The Politics of Brexit |
---|---|
Unit code | POLI30042 |
Credit points | 20 |
Level of study | H/6 |
Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24) |
Unit director | Dr. Perez-Solorzano Borragan |
Open unit status | Not open |
Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units) |
N/A |
Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units) |
N/A |
Units you may not take alongside this one |
N/A |
School/department | School of Sociology, Politics and International Studies |
Faculty | Faculty of Social Sciences and Law |
This unit fills in a gap in SPAIS’ undergraduate curriculum by evaluating the process of the UK’s departure from the EU and its outcome. Specifically, the unit introduces students to the complex and unprecedented process of a member state leaving the European Union. It draws on the case study of the United Kingdom's exit from the European Union (Brexit) and its consequences. In this unit Brexit is conceived of as a critical juncture in the development of European integration with far-reaching consequences for the UK and the EU and their future relationship. The unit traces the nature of British exceptionalism in Europe to provide a context to the June 2016 referendum and its outcome. It discusses the process of leaving the EU in detail by focusing on actors, agendas and balance on power. A solution to the internal border in the island of Ireland and the end to free movement of people in the UK will be analysed in detail in order to unpack the complexity of the Brexit negotiations. Drawing on IPE and IR the unit explores scenarios for the future relationship between the UK and the EU. The unit concludes with an analysis of the impact of Brexit for the EU and an assessment of the scholarly contributions theorising Brexit as European disintegration and de-Europeanisation.
The aim of this unit is to develop students’ critical understanding of:
The Weekly Content for the unit is organised as follows:
Week 13 - Introduction to the Unit
Week 14 - British Exceptionalism in the EU
Week 15 - The 2016 Brexit Referendum
Week 16 - Reading Week
Week 17 - Article 50: Purpose, Content and Implementation
Week 18 - Negotiating Brexit: The EU’s Negotiating Position and Strategy
Week 19 - Negotiating Brexit: The British Government's Negotiating Position and Strategy
Week 20 - The Withdrawal Agreement: the Irish Protocol
Week 21 - Essay Writing Workshop
Week 22 - Negotiating the Future Relationship: Old Dynamics and the COVID-19 Pandemic
Week 23 - The EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement: Content and Implementation
Week 24 - Brexit and its Effects
At the end of this unit students will:
ILOs 1-5 & 7 are met by seminar participation and engagement with the weekly asynchronous activities
ILOs 1-6 are met by the formative essay plan and summative essay.
Blended learning for this unit is organised as follows:
- A one-hour introductory lecture in week 13. This is available via Re/play on the left-hand side menu. - Ten two-hour weekly seminars. During the seminars the tutor will introduce the week’s topic and students will be able to engage in intellectual discussion by addressing the proposed issues for debate and evaluating key scholarly contributions. To be able to participate actively in seminars, you need to have prepared the weekly reading. - Weekly online asynchronous tasks (1-2 hours) provided and reviewed by Dr Pérez-Solórzano. These will include tasks relevant to each week built around provocations from the academic and practitioner debate as well as the media. These tasks feed into the development the essay question for the unit’s final assessment.The learning components organised by week will be available on Blackboard. Thus, for each week there will be:
Assessment for the Unit
Formative Assessment
Summative Assessment
All assignments will assess the learning outcomes for the unit.
FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT AND DEADLINE
The formative assessment for this unit is a summary of the essay.
Students are offered the opportunity to submit a short summary of their proposed essay topic. This summary of up to 800 words (excluding bibliography) constitutes the formative assessment for this unit.
The deadline is Monday 24 April 2023. This assignment must be submitted via Blackboard.
The essay summary must include:
Students will receive written feedback on their summary. The feedback will also provide confirmation about the suitability of the essay question. If the proposed essay question is considered unsuitable, students should meet with the unit owner ASAP to agree on an essay question. This is an exercise aimed at supporting students will summative assignment.
SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT AND DEADLINE
The summative assessment for this unit is an essay based around a question selected by each student in close consultation with the unit owner. This decides the final mark for this unit. Full details about all requirements and rules regarding essays – including length (3,000 words), formatting, submission, pass marks, extensions, feedback and resubmissions – are in the SPAIS UG Studies handbook, available on Blackboard.
Submission deadline: TBC.
To write a good essay students are advised to observe the following SPAIS principles:
If there is a need for a reassessment, this will be of the same type as the original assessment.
If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.
If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. POLI30042).
How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours
of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks,
independent learning and assessment activity.
See the Faculty workload statement relating to this unit for more information.
Assessment
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit.
The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. If you have self-certificated your absence from an
assessment, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (this is usually in the next assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any extenuating circumstances and operates
within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.