POWER AND IDEAS: INTRODUCTION TO POLITICAL IDEOLOGIES - 2020/1

Module Overview

In this module students will develop their knowledge and understanding of Political Ideologies. The course starts with a brief definition of an inclusive model of ideology, which is the one most commonly adopted in political science. Subsequent lectures deal with a range of major ideological traditions, covering the political spectrum from extreme right to extreme left and taking account of recent developments which overflow traditional left/right borderlines. Specific emphasis is placed on the historical and geographical context of the development of ideologies.

Module provider

Politics

Module Leader

LEVERINGHAUS Alex (Politics)

Number of Credits: 15

ECTS Credits: 7.5

Framework: FHEQ Level 5

Module cap (Maximum number of students): N/A

Module Availability

Semester 2

Prerequisites / Co-requisites

none

Module content

Topics discussed are likely to include but not be limited to the following:

•  Introduction to the concept of ideology


•  Fascism, racism, anti-Semitism


•  Neo-fascism, national populism


•  Conservatism, neo-conservatism


•  Classical liberalism, modern liberalism, social democracy


•  Socialism, communism, neo-Marxism


•  Anarchism, antiglobalism, ecologism, fundamentalism

Assessment pattern

Alternative Assessment

N/A

Assessment Strategy

The assessment strategy is designed to provide students with the opportunity to demonstrate

• Critical engagement with the relevant literature, e.g. to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of political ideologies


• Demonstrate understanding and capacity to apply theoretical arguments to the analysis of current political debates


• Capacity to deliver critical analysis of a problem related to the current state of political ideologies in a written essay


• Capacity to provide critical analysis of political ideologies and their relationship among each other and relevance to contemporary politics in an examination

Thus, the summative assessment for this module consists of:

• Essay


• Examination


• (All details above)

Assessment deadlines advised prior to the beginning of each semester.

Formative assessment and feedback

Students will receive verbal feedback on their performance during lectures/seminars and in one to one meetings. Additionally, summative work will be annotated with in situ comments and feedback summarised in a cover sheet. Feedback is module-specific but is also designed to be used for feedforward to other aspects of the degree programme as well.

 

 

Module aims

• To introduce students to competing theoretical models of ideology and political mythology.
• To familiarise students with major currents of ideological thought.
• To show the structure of each ideology, including its core values, beliefs and goals.
• To define the features which distinguish different ideological currents from each other, and to consider the areas in which they overlap.
• To train students in the understanding, description, comparison and analysis of sets of linked political concepts.

Learning outcomes

Methods of Teaching / Learning

The learning and teaching strategy is designed to:

The teaching strategy follows a specifically developed model of engagement with students. This includes a discursive teaching style in which borders between lectures and seminars are fluid. The lectures/seminars will consciously not use any electronic support systems such Microsoft PowerPoint etc and instead focus on engaging students and on their active participation. Hence students will be expected to actively follow and also contribute to discussions during classes based on the reading material and their anticipated knowledge of current affairs. For post-class preparation brief lecture summaries are made available via the virtual learning environment. Students are constantly encouraged to formulate their own lines of enquiry, thus developing and testing their skills in respect of making appropriate critical judgments in respect of both theory and empirics.

The learning and teaching methods include: lectures/seminars, independent study, enquiry-based learning and prescribed reading. Classes are run in 2 hour sessions over an 11 week period.

Indicated Lecture Hours (which may also include seminars, tutorials, workshops and other contact time) are approximate and may include in-class tests where one or more of these are an assessment on the module. In-class tests are scheduled/organised separately to taught content and will be published on to student personal timetables, where they apply to taken modules, as soon as they are finalised by central administration. This will usually be after the initial publication of the teaching timetable for the relevant semester.

Reading list

https://readinglists.surrey.ac.uk
Upon accessing the reading list, please search for the module using the module code: POL2035

Programmes this module appears in

Please note that the information detailed within this record is accurate at the time of publishing and may be subject to change. This record contains information for the most up to date version of the programme / module for the 2020/1 academic year.