Unit name | Understanding Public Policy |
---|---|
Unit code | SPOL20054 |
Credit points | 20 |
Level of study | I/5 |
Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12) |
Unit director | Professor. Ayres |
Open unit status | Not open |
Pre-requisites |
None |
Co-requisites |
None |
School/department | School for Policy Studies |
Faculty | Faculty of Social Sciences and Law |
Policy affects, directly or indirectly, every aspect of our lives. Questions regarding, for example, how policy is made and who has influence over the content of policy are therefore of the utmost importance. This unit provides students with an overview of social scientific analysis of the policy process, drawing primarily on the policy studies literature. The students will be introduced to a range of theoretical perspectives on policy making, and given a sense of how thinking has developed over time. The unit will also explore recent debates at a political level and it will seek to evaluate current thinking by placing it in the context of the academic literature on how policy is made.
This unit aims to:
By the end of the unit students will:
Lectures and seminars.
Formative assessment: (max) 2000 word essay chosen from a list of titles reflecting the learning outcomes and content of the unit.
Summative assessment: 3000 word essay chosen from a list of titles reflecting the learning outcomes and content of the unit.
All assessments will be assessed against the published marking criteria for Level 5 (programme handbook).