Unit information: Contemporary Political Theory in 2023/24

Unit name	Contemporary Political Theory
Unit code	POLI22202
Credit points	20
Level of study	I/5
Teaching block(s)	Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12)
Unit director	Dr. Fowler
Open unit status	Not open
Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units)	None
Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units)	None
Units you may not take alongside this one	None
School/department	School of Sociology, Politics and International Studies
Faculty	Faculty of Social Sciences and Law

Unit Information

This unit provides a comprehensive introduction to analytic political theory from the 1970s to the present day, with a focus on leading liberal theorists and their critics. It does so via a discussion of normative theorising around key topics and themes, and shows how these theories bear on various applied questions

The unit aims to:

• provide a comprehensive overview of the main traditions and issues in contemporary political theory
• provide students with a detailed understanding of liberal theories of justice
• provide students with a familiarity with normative reasoning, and apply those skills to selected case studies.
• enable students to grasp the practical relevance of contemporary political theoretical debates to current issues in policy and politics.
• To enable students to engage in reasoned debate with their peers, and be able to identify the areas of either shared values or disagreement which underly their different ideological perspectives.

Your learning on this unit

At the end of the unit a successful student will be able to:

1. Describe the core theories in contemporary political theory.
2. Identify various moral issues at stake in public policy and articulate different reasonable views that are appropriate on each question.
3. Analyse and compare liberal theories of justice from a variety of different perspective.
4. Construct articulate, concise and persuasive arguments in written essays, which apply these debates to current issues in policy and politics.

How you will learn

The unit will be taught through blended learning methods, including a mix of synchronous and asynchronous teaching activities

How you will be assessed

2,000 word essay 1 (25%) 2,000 word essay 2 (75%)

Both assessments test all learning outcomes listed above

Resources

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. POLI22202).

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 University 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. For appropriate assessments, if you have self-certificated your absence, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (for assessments at the end of TB1 and TB2 this is usually in the next re-assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any exceptional circumstances and operates within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.