| Unit name | International Political Economy and Social Policy |
|---|---|
| Unit code | SPOL20063 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | I/5 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24) |
| Unit director | Professor. Kennett |
| 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 for Policy Studies |
| Faculty | Faculty of Social Sciences and Law |
The main aim of the unit is to understand the connections between the economy, politics and policy from a global and transnational perspective. Having established the historical context, institutions, policies and ideologies through which the international political economy has been developed a key focus of the unit will be to think about how these different elements interact and overlap, and impact on our everyday lives.
The unit will consider different perspectives for explaining the development of national welfare systems and the evolving nature of the state in social policy and social protection instruments in different parts of the world. It will then move beyond the territorial boundaries of the state to consider the international political economy of transnational and global social policy in the context of neoliberal globalisation and post-colonialism and the implications for national welfare systems and well-being. It will go on to highlight the multi-scalar dynamics, local specificity, power relations and contestation shaping international political economy, social policy and everyday life with an empirical focus on a range of topics such as global inequality, class and stratification; trade, production and finance; cities and housing; and climate change and the environment..
By the end of this unit students will be:
Depending on broader context, this unit plans to have a 1-2 hour lecture and a 1 hour seminar.
Part 1: Annotated bibliography (1000 words) (25%)
Part 2: Encyclopaedia of Comparative Political Economy and Social Policy entry (2000 words) (75%)
The first assessment build towards the second one. The Second Assessment will follow a specific structure that encourages the student to engage explicitly with theory and the connections between the everyday, social policy and political economy as set out and defined in the unit description and ILOs.
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. SPOL20063).
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.
