Power and Contest: Living in a Political World
| Code | School | Level | Credits | Semesters |
| PHIR1019 | Politics and International Relations | 1 | 10 | Spring Malaysia |
- Code
- PHIR1019
- School
- Politics and International Relations
- Level
- 1
- Credits
- 10
- Semesters
- Spring Malaysia
Summary
This module will provide an introduction to the study of contemporary politics and will ground students in the key concepts and disciplinary language needed for more advanced study in cognate areas of politics, such as: regional / area study, international relations and development studies. The module will expose students to different understandings of what makes political life, how political systems are designed / managed and the main ideas that underpin the functioning of the modern nation-states. The lecture program approaches the study of power and will explore such themes as: political socialisation, political culture, identity, nationalism, global politics, public policy and states / political regimes. As a core module for all PHIR students, the module will incorporate the study and assessment of the key learning skills required for UG study at university and which had hitherto been delivered by the Foundations in International Studies module.
Target Students
Available to JYA/Erasmus students. This Module has been identified as being particularly suitable for first year students, including those from other Schools.
Classes
- One 1-hour seminar each week for 12 weeks
- One 2-hour lecture each week for 12 weeks
Assessment
- 60% Coursework 1: 1000 words - Research Essay
- 40% Test: Test (24 hours)
Assessed by end of spring semester
Educational Aims
By the end of the module students will:demonstrate a particular knowledge of different approaches to power: understanding of how power shapes the political world, including identity, public policy and contests in global politicsdemonstrate an understanding of how different political issues can be analysed and explained in different ways (to be assessed by coursework and a one and a half hour exam).Learning Outcomes
a)Knowledge and understanding:
- Students will be able to empirically describe and define key concepts in political science
- Students will be able to critically interpret their own political views
- Students will be able to analyse public policy as a process of power
b)Intellectual skills:
- ability to think about the connection between theory and empirical analysis in a reflective and critical way;
- ability to assess a variety of approaches and methods for the study of problems in politics;
c)Professional/Practical skills:
- evidence gathering and evaluation;
- writing skills under exam conditions;
- independent learning.
d)Transferable & Key skills:
- the capacity to engage in a structured and well informed discussion about complex questions (to be practised in class discussions);
- the ability to write in a structured and concise way under time pressure (to be assessed in the exam);
- the skill to write a thought through, well argued longer piece of work (to be assessed in the coursework essays).
v)IT skills:
- understand how technology can be used as a research tool as well as to facilitate the transfer of knowledge.
Conveners
- Dr Khairil Izamin Ahmad