1. science
2. social science
3. philosophy

Introduction: How to use this booklet
The purpose of this booklet is to help you select your modules for Part II (the second and third
years). You will be able to choose your modules on line from 24 April – 4 May 2014. Instructions
about how to access this system will be sent to you nearer the time. Although you will be required
to select your third year modules at the same time as selecting your second year modules you will
have the opportunity to change these choices for 2015/2016. Current third years will have the
chance to choose again or confirm their options.
In order to select your modules you need to understand how the Part II structure works. At
Lancaster a degree is composed of 360 credits. 120 of these are used in the first year. In the second
and third years the remaining 240 credits must be used (120 in the second year and 120 in the third
year).
There are basically three kinds of modules in PPR. Second year 15 credit modules (one term) and
30 credit modules (two term). All of our third year modules are 15 credits. Our dissertation
module (PPR.399) is 30 credits.
Your degree scheme will either be a single major, a joint major, or a triple major. You will be
required to choose a number of options from the core lists for your major, and then you may
choose freely from anything on offer in PPR. The module descriptions should help you to decide
whether a module is suitable for you. If you are in any doubt ask the module convenor.
On all degree schemes students must choose a range of modules from the second year lists and a
range from the third year lists. On all degree schemes (except joint History majors) third year
students are allowed to choose one second year module as a part of their third year choices.
However, second years cannot choose third year modules. The dissertation is an option for all third
year students.
We try to deliver as many modules as possible. However, in any given year some members of staff
will be unavailable and so some modules might not run. In addition, we keep a few modules on our
lists so that we can vary the selection from year to year. Having said this, we try to keep as many of
our second year modules running as possible as both second and third years can select from this list.
If modules become available that are not currently listed as available we will advertise this via an
email announcement.
Page 2 presents a list of all the modules which are running in the department in 2014/2015. On the
core lists (pages 5-8) we have indicated all the possible modules for that degree scheme but have
highlighted in bold those which are running in 2014/2015. The reason for listing modules that are
not running in 2014/2015 is that they might be available in future years. Students currently
choosing for their second and third years should bear this in mind when making their selections.
1
POLITICS, PHILOSOPHY AND RELIGION
Part II modules available in 2014-2015
PPR.305
PPR.321
PPR.324
PPR.325
Logic and Language
Reading Political Theory
The Politics of Global Danger
International Political Economy of
Globalization
PPR.330 Britain in the World
PPR.339 Elections, Voters & Political Parties
PPR.341 Contemporary Issues in Human Rights
PPR.344 Politics of Cultural Diversity
PPR.350 Indian Religious and Philosophical
Thought
PPR.354 Reading Buddhism
PPR.356 Religion in Schools
PPR.360 Modern Christian Thought
PPR.361 The Ritual and Social Contexts of Spirit
Possession
PPR.363 Media, Religion and Politics
PPR.391a Religions in the Modern World
PPR.391b China in the Modern World
PPR.392a Future Generations
Lent Term
PPR.301 Aesthetics
PPR.307 History of Twentieth Century Philosophy
PPR.309 Practical Philosophy
PPR.328 Understanding External Intervention in
Violent Conflicts
PPR.333 Contemporary Issues in the Middle East
PPR.336 Africa and Global Politics
PPR.340 Islamic Politics
PPR.343 Corporations, Global Political Economy
and the Law
PPR.345 Exploring the Persian Gulf
PPR.351 Modern Religious and Atheistic Thought
PPR.352 New Religions and Alternative
Spiritualities
PPR.357 Religion and Politics
PPR.362 Religion and Violence
PPR.390 PPR in Education
PPR.391c Philosophy of Medicine
PPR.392d The Imagination
Michaelmas and Lent
PPR.393 Dissertation with Field Studies
PPR.394 Dissertation with External Collaboration
PPR.399 Dissertation
Second Year
Michaelmas Term 15 credit modules
PPR.211 Philosophical Questions in the Study of
Politics and Economics
PPR.212 Metaphysics
PPR.250 Christianity in the Modern World:
Traditions and Transformations
PPR.252 Buddhism and Modernity in Asian
Societies
Lent Term 15 credit modules
PPR.210 Philosophy of Science
PPR.213 Epistemology
PPR.251 Islam: Tradition, Community and
Contemporary Challenges
PPR.253 Hinduism in the Modern World
Michaelmas and Lent 30 credit modules
PPR.201 History of Philosophy
PPR.202 Ethics: Theory and Practice
PPR.204 Philosophy of the Mind
PPR.220 Modern Political Thought
PPR.221 International Relations and Security
PPR.222 The Politics of Development
PPR.223 The United Kingdom: State, Politics &
Policies
PPR.224 Politics of the European Union
PPR.225 Introduction to Peace Studies
PPR.226 Comparative Politics of the Asia Pacific
and the Middle East
PPR.227 Foreign Policy of Contending Powers
PPR.239 Indian Politics, Society and Religion
PPR.242 Religion and Society
PPR.243 Constructing Ethics: Christianity and
Islam
Summer Vacation 2014
PPR.359 Religion in Contemporary Indian Life
Third Year
All modules are 15 credits and run in either
Michaelmas or Lent (except PPR.359 and
PPR.399 which are 30 credits).
Michaelmas Term
PPR.302 Continental Philosophy
PPR.304 Themes in the Philosophy of the
Sciences
2
Scheme of Study Specifications
Single Major
Students are required to take at least 180 credits in Part II. Usually this will be divided evenly across
years two and three.
In the second year three modules must be chosen from the core list below (totalling 90 credits). The
remaining module(s) can be freely chosen from all second year modules.
In the third year there is the option (but not requirement) to take PPR.399 (the dissertation unit – 30
credits).
In the third year the 90 credits will be composed by following one of the following options:
(1)
Six half modules chosen from the core list (below). Remaining modules may be freely
chosen from across the range of third year modules.
(2)
PPR.399, plus 4 half modules chosen from the core list (below). Remaining modules may be
freely chosen from across the range of third year modules.
(3)
PPR.399, plus a maximum of 30 credits chosen from the second year core list (to be counted
as a third year module), plus 2 half modules from the third year list. Remaining modules may be
freely chosen from across the range of third year modules.
Joint Majors (except History joint majors)
Students are required to take at least 120 credits in Part II. Usually this will be divided evenly across
years two and three.
In the second year modules must be chosen from the core list below (totalling 60 credits).
In the third year there is the option (but not requirement) to take PPR.399 (the dissertation unit).
In the third year the 60 credits will be composed by following one of the following options:
(1)
Four half units chosen from the core list.
(2)
PPR.399, plus 2 half modules chosen from the core list (below).
(3)
PPR.399, plus a maximum of 30 credits chosen from the second year list (to be counted as a
third year module).
Triple Majors
Students are required to take at least 60 credits in Part II. There is no requirement for this to be
divided evenly across years two and three.
In the third year there is the option (but not requirement) to take PPR.399 (the dissertation unit).
In both years modules are chosen from the core list below.
V0L0
History, Philosophy and Politics
N.B.
There can be no option to take a second year module in the third year.
L0V0
Philosophy, Politics and Economics
N.B.
There can be no option to take a second year module in the third year.
3
VV56
Ethics, Philosophy and Religion
Students are required to take 240 credits in Part II. Usually this will be divided evenly across years
two and three.
All students will be required to take PPR.399 (the dissertation unit – 30 credits).
In the second year all students must take two of the following (one Philosophy and one Religious
Studies): PPR.202 Ethics: Theory and Practice, PPR.242 Religion and Society, PPR.243 Constructing
Ethics: Christianity and Islam. The remaining two modules must then be selected from the core list.
In the third year the 90 credits will be composed by following one of the following options:
(1)
PPR.399, plus 4 half modules chosen from the core list (below). Remaining modules may be
freely chosen from across the range of third year modules in PPR.
(2)
PPR.399, plus a maximum of 30 credits chosen from the second year core list (to be counted
as a third year module), plus 2 half modules from the third year list. Remaining modules may be
freely chosen from across the range of third year modules in PPR.
LL92
BA Hons Peace Studies and International Relations
Students are required to take 240 credits in Part II. Usually this will be divided evenly across years
two and three.
In the second year all students must take PPR.225 (Introduction to Peace Studies). The remaining
three modules must be chosen from the International Relations core list below.
In the third year there is the option (but not requirement) to take PPR.399 (the dissertation unit – 30
credits).
In the third year students must take at least four options from the Peace Studies and IR core list
(below). PPR.399 (Dissertation) may be taken and will count as two of the six options (30 credits).
The balance must be made of options from the International Relations core list.
VL16 History Joint Majors
Students are required to take at least 120 credits in Part II. Usually this will be divided evenly across
years two and three.
In the second year modules must be chosen from the core list below (totalling 60 credits).
In the third year the 60 credits will be composed of four half units chosen from the core list, or two
half units plus PPR.399 (dissertation unit).
N.B.
There can be no option to take a second year module in the third year.
4
Core Options Lists
Politics
PPR.349
Politics and Ethics in Indian
Philosophy
PPR.357 Religion and Politics
PPR.359 Religion in Contemporary Indian
Life
PPR.360 Modern Christian Thought
PPR.362 Religion and Violence
PPR.363 Media, Religion and Politics
PPR.390 PPR in Education
PPR.391b China in the Modern World
PPR.393 Dissertation with Field Studies
PPR.394 Dissertation with External
Collaboration
PPR.399 Dissertation
Year-two core options
PPR.202
PPR.220
PPR.222
PPR.223
PPR.224
PPR.225
PPR.226
PPR.227
PPR.239
Ethics: Theory and Practice
Modern Political Thought
The Politics of Development
The United Kingdom: State, Politics
and Policies
Politics of the European Union
Introduction to Peace Studies
Comparative Politics of the Asia
Pacific and the Middle East
Foreign Policy of Contending
Powers
Indian Politics, Society and
Religion
International Relations
Year-two core options
Year-three core options
PPR.308
PPR.309
PPR.311
PPR.320
PPR.321
PPR.322
PPR.328
PPR.330
PPR.331
PPR.332
PPR.333
PPR.336
PPR.337
PPR.339
PPR.340
PPR.341
PPR.342
PPR.343
PPR.344
PPR.345
PPR.221
PPR.222
PPR.223
Moral, Legal and Political Philosophy
Practical Philosophy
Applied Philosophy
Political Ideas: Liberal Thought
Reading Political Theory
Liberals and Communitarians
Understanding External
Intervention in Violent Conflicts
Britain in the World
The European Union and the World
United States Foreign Policy Since
1945
Contemporary Issues in the Middle
East
Africa and Global Politics
Society and Politics in Latin America
Elections, Voters and Political
Parties
Islamic Politics
Contemporary Issues in Human
Rights
Global Political Economy and the
World Today
Corporations, Global Political
Economy and the Law
Politics of Cultural Diversity
Exploring the Persian Gulf
PPR.224
PPR.225
PPR.226
PPR.227
PPR.239
International Relations and Security
The Politics of Development
The United Kingdom: State, Politics
and Policies
The Politics of the European Union
Introduction to Peace Studies
Comparative Politics of the Asia
Pacific and the Middle East
Foreign Policy of Contending
Powers
Indian Politics, Society and Religion
Year-three core options
PPR.323
PPR.324
PPR.325
PPR.326
PPR.328
PPR.330
PPR.331
PPR.332
5
Ruling the World: Global Governance
and Legal Structures
Politics of Global Danger
International Political Economy of
Globalization
Globalization and Transnational
Politics
Understanding External
Intervention in Violent Conflicts
Britain in the World
The European Union and the World
United States Foreign Policy Since
1945
PPR.333
PPR.336
PPR.337
PPR.340
PPR.341
PPR.342
PPR.343
PPR.344
PPR.345
PPR.359
PPR.360
PPR.362
PPR.390
Contemporary Issues in the Middle
East
Africa and Global Politics
Society and Politics in Latin America
Islamic Politics
Contemporary Issues in Human
Rights
Global Political Economy and the
World Today
Corporations, Global Political
Economy and the Law
Politics of Cultural Diversity
Exploring the Persian Gulf
Religion in Contemporary Indian
Life
Modern Christian Thought
Religion and Violence
PPR in Education
Peace Studies and International Relations
Year-two core options
Students must take:
PPR.225 Introduction to Peace Studies
The remaining options must be chosen from the
IR core list.
Year-three core options
Students must take at least four of the following
options:
PPR.328
PPR.330
PPR.331
PPR.332
PPR.391b China in the Modern World
PPR.393 Dissertation with Field Studies
PPR.394 Dissertation with External
Collaboration
PPR.399
PPR.333
Dissertation
PPR.336
PPR.337
PPR.341
PPR.342
PPR.343
PPR.345
PPR.357
PPR.360
PPR.362
PPR.390
Understanding External
Intervention in Violent Conflicts
Britain in the World
The European Union and the World
United States Foreign Policy Since
1945
Contemporary Issues in the Middle
East
Africa and Global Politics
Society and Politics in Latin America
Contemporary Issues in Human
Rights
Global Political Economy and the
World Today
Corporations, Global Political
Economy and the Law
Exploring the Persian Gulf
Religion and Politics
Modern Christian Thought
Religion and Violence
PPR in Education
PPR.391b China in the Modern World
PPR.393 Dissertation with Field Studies
PPR.394 Dissertation with External
Collaboration
PPR.399 Dissertation
The remaining options must be chosen from the
IR core list.
6
Philosophy
Religious Studies
Year-two core options
Year-two core options
PPR.201
PPR.202
PPR.204
PPR.210
PPR.211
PPR.202
PPR.239
PPR.242
PPR.243
PPR.212
PPR.213
PPR.220
PPR.243
PPR.244
History of Philosophy
Ethics: Theory and Practice
Philosophy of the Mind
Philosophy of Science
Philosophical Questions in the Study
of Politics and Economics
Metaphysics
Epistemology
Modern Political Thought
Constructing Ethics in Christianity
and Islam
Western Philosophy and Religious
Thought
PPR.244
PPR.250
PPR.251
PPR.252
PPR.253
Ethics: Theory and Practice
Indian Politics, Society and Religion
Religion and Society
Constructing Ethics in Christianity
and Islam
Western Philosophy and Religious
Thought
Christianity in the Modern World:
Traditions and Transformations
Islam: Tradition, Community and
Contemporary Challenges
Buddhism and Modernity in Asian
Societies
Hinduism in the Modern World
Year-three core options
Year-three core options
PPR.301
PPR.302
PPR.303
PPR.304
PPR.305
PPR.306
PPR.307
PPR.308
PPR.309
PPR.310
PPR.311
PPR.320
PPR.321
PPR.322
PPR.349
PPR.350
PPR.351
PPR.360
PPR.390
PPR.391c
PPR.392a
PPR.392d
PPR.394
PPR.399
Aesthetics
Continental Philosophy
Issues in the Philosophy of Mind
Themes in the Philosophy of the
Sciences
Logic and Language
Reading Philosophical Texts
History of Twentieth Century
Philosophy
Moral, Legal and Political Philosophy
Practical Philosophy
Philosophy of the Human Sciences
Applied Philosophy
Political Ideas: Liberal Thought
Reading Political Theory
Liberals and Communitarians
Politics and Ethics in Indian
Philosophy
Indian Religious and Philosophical
Thought
Modern Religious and Atheistic
Thought
Modern Christian Thought
PPR in Education
PPR.302
PPR.309
PPR.311
PPR.321
PPR.349
PPR.350
PPR.351
PPR.352
PPR.354
PPR.355
PPR.356
PPR.357
PPR.358
PPR.359
PPR.360
PPR.361
PPR.362
PPR.363
PPR.390
Philosophy of Medicine
Future Generations
The Imagination
Dissertation with External
Collaboration
Dissertation
Continental Philosophy
Practical Philosophy
Applied Philosophy
Reading Political Theory
Politics and Ethics in Indian
Philosophy
Indian Religious and Philosophical
Thought
Modern Religious and Atheistic
Thought
New Religions and Alternative
Spiritualities
Reading Buddhism
Reading Islam
Religion in Schools
Religion and Politics
Early Christianity
Religion in Contemporary Indian Life
Modern Christian Thought
Spirit Possession in Social Contexts
Religion and Violence
Media, Religion and Politics
PPR in Education
PPR.391a Religions in the Modern World
PPR.399 Dissertation
7
Ethics, Philosophy and Religion
Year-two
Two modules must be chosen from the following
list:
PPR.202
PPR.242
PPR.243
PPR.244
PPR.362
PPR.363
PPR.390
Philosophy
Moral, Legal and Political Philosophy
Practical Philosophy
Applied Philosophy
Political Ideas: Liberal Thought
Reading Political Theory
Liberals and Communitarians
Understanding External Intervention
in Violent Conflicts
Islamic Politics
Contemporary Issues in Human
Rights
Politics and Ethics in Indian
Philosophy
Indian Religious and Philosophical
Thought
Modern Religious and Atheistic
Thought
New Religions and Alternative
Spiritualities
Religion in Schools
Religion and Politics
Religion in Contemporary Indian Life
Modern Christian Thought
The Ritual and Social Contexts of
Spirit Possession
Religion and Violence
Media, Religion and Politics
PPR in Education
PPR.391a
PPR.391c
PPR.392a
PPR.392d
PPR.399
Religions in the Modern World
Philosophy of Medicine
Future Generations
The Imagination
Dissertation
PPR.308
PPR.309
PPR.311
PPR.320
PPR.321
PPR.322
PPR.328
Ethics: Theory and Practice
Religion and Society
Constructing Ethics in Christianity
and Islam
Western Philosophy and Religious
Thought
PPR.340
PPR.341
PPR.349
The remaining two modules must be chosen
from the list below:
PPR.350
PPR.351
PPR.201
PPR.202
PPR.220
PPR.225
PPR.239
PPR.242
PPR.243
PPR.250
PPR.251
PPR.252
PPR.253
History of Philosophy
Ethics: Theory and Practice
Modern Political Thought
Introduction to Peace Studies
Indian Politics, Society and Religion
Religion and Society
Constructing Ethics in Christianity
and Ethics
Christianity in the Modern World:
Tradition and Transformations
Islam: Tradition, Community and
Contemporary Challenges
Buddhism and Modernity in Asian
Societies
Hinduism in the Modern World
PPR.352
PPR.356
PPR.357
PPR.359
PPR.360
PPR.361
Year-three core options
PPR.302
Continental Philosophy
PPR.307
History of Twentieth Century
8
MODULE DETAILS
Second year modules
9
PPR.201 History of Philosophy
Tutor:
Terms:
TBC (Michaelmas) and Dr Cain Todd (Lent)
Michaelmas and Lent
30 CREDITS
Course Description: Western philosophy has a long and rich history, and many of the questions that occupy present-day philosophers
have been around for hundreds or even thousands of years.
This module looks at some figures and debates from philosophy’s past and considers how they bear on philosophy in the present. The
exact make-up of the course will vary from year to year, but themes covered may often relate closely to religion and politics. In particular,
themes covered may include:

What is the nature of the mind, and how does it relate to the body?

Can we have any reliable knowledge of the world outside our minds?

To what extent does thought depend on language?

Is there a God?

What is the relation between religious faith and knowledge?

What is history, and has there been progress over the course of world history?

Most generally, how should we understand the relation between philosophy and its history?
These problems and others are studied by close consideration of a selection of texts from the history
of Western philosophy. This may include the ‘early modern’ period, i.e. the 17th and 18th centuries,
encompassing Descartes, Spinoza, Leibniz, Locke, Berkeley, Hume and Kant. Figures from the
medieval period may sometimes be studied, and so may figures from 19th century philosophy such as Hegel, Feuerbach, Kierkegaard and
Marx.
Learning Outcomes: On successful completion of this module students will be able to:
•
Explain what is involved in most of the problems covered.
•
Set out some of the influential arguments that have been made in relation to each.
•
Relate these arguments to the philosophers of the period.
•
And begin an independent evaluation of them.
Assessment:
40% coursework and 60% exam.
Coursework: 2 essays of 2500 words each. Exam: 3 hours.
Teaching Method:
Lecture (1.5 hours) and seminar (1 hour) weekly.
Introductory Reading:
Scruton, R,
Solomon, R & Higgins, K
A Short History of Modern Philosophy, Routledge 1995
A Short History of Philosophy, Oxford University Press 1996.
PPR.202 Ethics: Theory and Practice
Tutor:
Term:
TBC (Michaelmas) and Dr Christopher Macleod (Lent)
Michaelmas and Lent
30 CREDITS
Course Description: This module will address central issues in ethics by means of several strands:
The critical reading of classic texts in the history of the subject (such as Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics, David Hume’s Enquiry Concerning
the Principles of Morals; Immanuel Kant’s Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals; or John Stuart Mill’s Utilitarianism);
•
Selected topics in moral philosophy (such as the nature, strength and weakness of consequentialism, deontology, and virtue
ethics);
•
Selected topics in meta-ethics (such as the ‘moral problem’, non-cognitivism, realism and quasi-realism);
•
Topics in applied and practical ethics (such as, issues in life and death in biomedical practice, the ethics of war, and the ethics of
the personal life).
Learning Outcomes: On successful completion of this module students will be able to:
•
Explain in outline what is involved in ethical approaches to particular issues.
•
Set out some of the influential arguments that have been developed and defended in respect of these approaches.
•
Acquire and apply critical reading skills.
•
Write critically about philosophical debates on the topics covered.
Assessment:
40% coursework and 60% exam.
Coursework: 2 essays of 2500 words each. Exam: 3 hours.
Teaching Method:
Lecture (1.5 hours) and seminar (1 hour) weekly.
Introductory Reading:
Baron, M, Pettit, P & Slote, M
David Copp (ed)
Hugh LaFollette (ed)
Richard Norman
Peter Singer (ed.)
Three Methods of Ethics: A Debate, Blackwell, 1997
The Oxford Handbook of Ethical Theory, Oxford University Press, 2006
The Oxford Handbook of Practical Ethics, Oxford University Press, 2006
The Moral Philosophers 2nd ed, Oxford University Press, 1998
Companion to Ethics, Blackwell, 1993.
10
PPR.204 Philosophy of the Mind
Tutors:
Terms:
Dr Cain Todd (Michaelmas); and Dr Rachel Cooper (Lent)
Michaelmas and Lent
30 CREDITS
Course Description: We start by examining issues in the metaphysics of mind. What is the relation between mentality and life? How do
mental states connect up with behaviour? Is the mind really just the brain? Is the mind a kind of computer? Do we think in a ‘language of
thought’? How do our thoughts manage to reach out to reality and be about anything? Can we explain consciousness? We then move on
to epistemological issues: How can we gain knowledge of our own mental states, or of other people’s? How should psychologists seek to
investigate the mind? For the most part, this course will be structured around contemporary texts.
Learning Outcomes: On successful completion of this module students will be able to:


Outline and expand upon some of the main issues and theoretical positions in philosophy of mind.

Begin an independent evaluation of these problems and be in a position to make some progress towards developing
authoritative views of their own.
Set out some of the influential argumentation that has been developed in relation to the various issues and problems discussed
in this module.
Assessment:
40% coursework and 60% exam.
Coursework: 2 essays of 2500 words each. Exam: 3 hours.
Teaching Method:
Lecture (1.5 hours) and seminar (1 hour) weekly.
Introductory Reading:
Dennett, D
Lyons, W
Searle, J
Consciousness Explained
Matters of the Mind
Minds, Brains and Science. Especially ch.1.
PPR.210 Philosophy of Science
Tutors:
Terms:
Dr Brian Garvey
Lent
15 CREDITS
Course Description: This course considers philosophical issues that arise in connection with the sciences. It will consider what scientific
method is, how science relates to the rest of knowledge, whether it provides an ideal model for rational inquiry in general, and whether
we should think of science as describing reality.
In the first few weeks we will consider traditional accounts of scientific method and theory-testing, and then examine philosophical
challenges to the status of science as a rational form of enquiry. We give particular consideration to three of the most important
twentieth-century philosophers of science: Popper, Kuhn, and Feyerabend. Next we will consider whether and in what sense we should be
confident that our best current scientific theories are accurate descriptions of reality.
It is not assumed that students have an extensive knowledge of science: the relevant scientific concepts will be presented in a simple and
accessible way, and there will be no maths.
Learning Outcomes: On successful completion of this module students will be able to:
•
Engage critically with the arguments of major twentieth-century philosophers of science and philosophical critics of science.
•
Have a considered critical opinion on whether it is possible to clearly distinguish between science and pseudo-science
•
Have a considered critical opinion on whether there is such thing as a single scientific method that is common to all the
sciences
•
Have a considered critical opinion on whether we should think of entities we can’t directly observe (e.g. subatomic particles) as
real.
•
Take a critical perspective towards the currently-popular scientistic view that science is an appropriate tool for approaching a
great number of questions that are not traditionally considered scientific - e.g. moral and religious questions.
Assessment:
40% coursework and 60% exam.
Coursework: 1 essay of 2500 words. Exam: 2 hours.
Teaching Method:
Lecture (1.5 hours) and seminar (1 hour) weekly
Introductory Reading:
A.J. Chalmers
What is this Thing Called Science? (Third ed., Open University, 1999)
Susan Haack
Defending Science – Within Reason: Between Scientism and Cynicism (Prometheus, 2007)
Ian Hackin
Representing and Intervening (Cambridge U.P., 1983)
James Ladyman
Understanding Philosophy of Science (Second ed., Routledge, 2014)
11
PPR.211 Philosophical Questions in the Study of Politics and Economics
Tutors:
Terms:
Dr Garrath Williams
Michaelmas
15 CREDITS
Course Description: This module considers some of the difficulties involved in gaining knowledge about human societies. We focus
especially on economins and politics, disciplines which raise some of the largest questions about society – for example: Who gets what?
Who rules whom? Can individual choices generate social change?
In this module we will not address such questions empirically, but instead step back to ask what sort of methods have been used to
answer them, what sorts of modes of explanation or understanding are appropriate, and what assumptions are built into the ways
economists and political scientists frame their enquiries. The aim of the module, then, is to critically examine methods and assumptions in
both disciplines, in order to appreciate the scope and limits of their claims to knowledge.
Learning Outcomes: This module aims to develop:

The capacity to analyse complex arguments and construct responses and evaluations of those arguments.

Written and verbal communication skills through course reading, seminar discussions, and course work assessments.

Confidence in approaching written materials, including the ability to analyse the key claims and arguments, and to offer critical
Interpretation and evaluation of them.
Independent research skills and the ability to undertake self-directed reading around a topic.
Assessment:
40% coursework and 60% exam.
Coursework: 1 essay of 2500 words. Exam: 2 hours.
Teaching Method:
Lecture (1.5 hours) and seminar (1 hour) weekly
Introductory Reading:
Barry Barnes (1995)
Jon Elster (1989)
D Hausman (ed)
Martin Hollis
Steven Lukes
Michael Martin and Lee C. McIntyre (eds),
Mancur Olson
Alexander Rosenberg
Alan Ryan
The Elements of Social Theory (UCL Press)
Nuts and Bolts for the Social Sciences (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press)
(1994) The Philosophy of Economics: an anthology (2nd ed, Cambridge University Press)
(1994) The Philosophy of Social Science: An Introduction (Cambridge University Press)
(1974/2005) Power: a Radical View (Macmillan)
Readings in the Philosophy of Social Science (MIT, 1994)
(1971) The Logic of Collective Action: Public Goods and the Theory of Groups (Harvard
University Press, Cambridge MA)
(1988/1995/2008) Philosophy of Social Science (Westview Press)
(1970) The Philosophy of the Social Sciences (MacMillan)
PPR.212 Metaphysics
Tutors:
Terms:
Dr Nick Unwin
Michaelmas
15 CREDITS
Course Description: Studying this module should improve students' knowledge and understanding of some key issues in metaphysics as
determined by the syllabus. This focuses primarily on some issues concerning space and time, the nature of physical objects and persons,
and some key philosophical distinctions. Studying this module should also enable them to see connections between various philosophical
issues that should be of value to them with regard to other philosophy modules that they are studying.
Learning Outcomes: On successful completion of this module students will be able to:

Demonstrate a good understanding of some key philosophical distinctions and a good knowledge of some basic metaphysical
issues.

Articulate and analyse several of the problems that arise in this area, and show how they relate to each other and to other
problems within philosophy.
Assessment:
40% coursework and 60% exam.
Coursework: 1 essay of 2500 words. Exam: 2 hours.
Teaching Method:
Lecture (1.5 hours) and seminar (1 hour) weekly
Introductory Reading:
Baldwin, Thomas,
Crane, Tim and Katalin Farkas,
Loux, Michael J.,
Lowe, E. J.,
Merricks, Trenton,
Kant, Immanuel,
Wiggins, David,
Williams, Bernard,
Metaphysics : key concepts in philosophy. London : Continuum, 2008
Metaphysics: A Guide and Anthology. Oxford: OUP, 2004
Metaphysics : a contemporary introduction / Michael J. Loux. - 2nd ed. London : Routledge, 2002.
A survey of metaphysics. Oxford : Oxford University Press, 2002
Objects and Persons. Oxford: Clarendon, 2001
Critique of Pure Reason, Introduction
Sameness and Substance. Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1980
Problems of the Self. Cambridge: CUP, 1973
12
PPR.213 Epistemology
Tutors:
Terms:
Dr Neil Manson
Lent
15 CREDITS
Course Description: The aim of this course is to give you a good, broad introduction to some of the key themes in epistemology (the theory
of knowledge). We being with the question what is knowledge? This then leads us on to questions about how knowledge relates to other
things, like belief, and truth. Our answers to these questions have implications for how we think about the structure of knowledge (e.g.,
must all of our knowledge rest upon a “firm foundation”?). Throughout the term we will see that it is much harder to answer our core
question than you might think and this raises the question of why it is so hard to give a clear, general, account of what knowledge is. We
also look at different sources of knowledge - especially, perception, self-knowledge and “testimony” (other people’s say-so) and, towards
the end of term explore some of the relationships between epistemology and ethics, ending the term with the question whether we ever
ought to refrain from seeking knowledge.
Learning Outcomes: On successful completion of this module students will be able to...
•
Explain some of the central problems of epistemology and explain how epistemology relates to other areas of philosophy.
•
Understand and apply key epistemic concepts in the critical analysis of epistemological problems and more widely
•
Explain and critically assess some of the central theories and approaches to epistemological problems and understand their
implications for wider concerns
Assessment:
40% coursework and 60% exam.
Coursework: 1 essay of 2500 words. Exam: 2 hours
Teaching Method:
Introductory Reading:
Duncan Pritchard
Dan O’Brien
Dancy, J. 1985.
Huemer, M. and Audi, R eds.
What is this thing called knowledge? Routledge 2008 (especially Chapters 1-8)
An Introduction to the Theory of Knowledge Polity 2006 (especially chapters 1,2, 4-8)
Introduction to Contemporary Epistemology. Oxford: Blackwell.
Epistemology: Contemporary Readings. Routledge 2002
PPR.220 Modern Political Thought
Tutors:
Terms:
Dr Matthew Johnson (Michaelmas) and Dr Patrick Bishop (Lent)
Michaelmas and Lent
30 CREDITS
Course Description: This course explores a range of ideas which are central to any understanding of politics focusing on four related
themes: Liberty, the Individual, Equality, and Community. It proceeds by reading and discussing some of the core-texts of modern political
thinkers. The course is divided into two sections over two terms. In the first term we will read, examine and discuss thinkers who make a
contribution to our understanding of the notions of liberty and the individual (Hobbes, Locke, J S Mill, and Hayek). In the second term we
will explore the thought of thinkers who are associated with the ideas of equality and community (Rousseau, Marx, the Fabians, and
Rawls).
Learning Outcomes: On successful completion of this module students will be able to:
 Have an understanding of the key ideas of the thinkers under review.
 Be able to assess the contribution that these thinkers have made to our wider understanding of politics.
 Be able to recognise the relevance of these thinkers to our current political debates, and to be able to employ their ideas within those
debates.
 Evaluate the key features of an argument, be confident to express their own views, and evaluate the responses of others.
Assessment:
40% coursework and 60% exam.
Coursework: 2 essays of 2500 words each. Exam: 3 hours.
Teaching Method:
Lecture (1.5 hours) and seminar (1 hour) weekly.
Introductory Reading:
Boucher D & Kelly P
Hampsher-Monk I
McClelland J S
Political Thinkers: From Socrates to the Present
A History of Modern Political Thought: Major Political Thinkers from Hobbes to Marx
A History of Western Political Thought.
13
PPR.221 International Relations and Security
Tutors:
Terms:
TBC (Michaelmas) and Dr Astrid Nordin (Lent)
Michaelmas and Lent
30 CREDITS
Course Description: The principal objective of this course is to provide a relatively comprehensive and integrated foundation to the study
of international relations by introducing students to its basic conceptual vocabulary and theoretical concerns and by applying this
conceptual knowledge to an understanding of changes and developments in the international system.
The course covers the historical development of the discipline in the 20th century into the 21st century, moving from the orthodoxy that
has come to dominate mainstream Anglo-American international relations (Realism and Liberalism) through to the various challenges that
have emerged from critical schools of thought. The course examines how different theories of international relations illuminate and
interrogate some of the central ethico-political problems of the 'international' in modern history.
Learning Outcomes: On successful completion of this module students will be able to:
•
Demonstrate an understanding of the key positions in Security studies and International Relations theories.
•
Demonstrate an understanding of the key concepts employed in the debates on security and international politics.
•
To be able analyse and review the arguments of key thinkers in both verbal and written assessment.
•
Articulate their own position in relation to the thinkers and debates examined in the course.
Assessment:
40% coursework and 60% exam.
Coursework: 2 essays of 2500 words each. Exam: 3 hours.
Teaching Method:
Lecture (1.5 hours) and seminar (1 hour) weekly.
Introductory Reading:
Baylis J & Smith S
Burchill S & Linklater A
Dunne T
Weber C
The Globalisation of World Politics
Theories of International Relations
International Relations Theories
International Relations Theory: A critical introduction (2nd edition).
PPR.222 The Politics of Development
Tutors:
Terms:
Dr Ngai-Ling Sum (Michaelmas) and Dr Julie Hearn (Lent)
Michaelmas and Lent
30 CREDITS
Course Description: This course introduces students to the main approaches to development. It provides students with an overview of
the main theoretical approaches, especially modernisation theory, World Systems Analysis, feminist theories, and postcolonialism. It
relates these theories to issues and case studies from the South, including the debt question, the impact of globalisation, intellectual
property rights, corporate social responsibility, poverty and inequality, social movements and the activities of NGOs.
The course comprises two interrelated parts. The first term deals with the main theoretical approaches to development and applications
to global issues. The second term pursues the links between the conceptual issues raised in term one and connects them to global- and
national-focused perspectives on the politics of development. These perspectives are illustrated by examples and cases drawn from Africa
and Latin America.
Learning Outcomes: On successful completion of this module students will be able to:
•
Outline and analyze the different theoretical conceptions of ‘development’.

Understand and examine the impact of globalization upon developing countries and its unevenness.

Understand and examine the roles of international organizations, multinational corporations, and non-government
organizations upon North-South relations.
•
Apply these issues to cases and regions (e.g., Asia, Latin America and Africa) in the development of North-South relations.
•
Develop the capacity to think creatively about how to assess questions of national development, globalization and north-south
relations.
Assessment:
40% coursework and 60% exam.
Coursework: 2 essays of 2500 words each. Exam: 3 hours.
Teaching Method:
Lecture (1 ½ hours) and Workshop (1 hour) weekly.
Introductory Reading:
Cammack P et al.
Elson D
Escobar A
Hoogvelt A
McMichael P
Peet R
Schuurman F (ed)
Slater David
Third World Politics (2nd edition)
Male Bias in the Development Process
Encountering Development: the Making and Unmaking of the Third World
Globalisation and the Postcolonial World (2nd edition)
Development and Change: A Global Perspective (2nd edition)
Theories of Development
Beyond the Impasse: New Directions in Development Theory
Geopolitics and the Post-Colonial: Rethinking North-South Relations.
14
PPR.223 The United Kingdom: State, Politics and Policies
Tutors:
Terms:
Dr Mark Garnett
Michaelmas, Lent and Summer
30 CREDITS
Course Description: The course aims to deepen students' understanding of the major ideas, arrangements, policies and controversies
which have characterised post-war British politics.
The course examines the evolution of the politics of the United Kingdom from an era broadly characterised by consensus and stability
(1945-70) to one which has proved much more turbulent in a variety of ways (1970 onwards). This examination is set within the context of
rival political traditions and of competing theories of representative government. Topics covered in the first term include changes in
electoral behaviour and developments in the political parties, as well as consideration of the problems of governing the component parts
of the United Kingdom (Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland). In the second term the focus is on the key institutions of central government
(Parliament and the executive) and on the UK's changing relationship with Europe. The last part of the course examines the development
of public policy in the areas of welfare and the economy.
Learning Outcomes: On successful completion of this module students will be able to:

Explain in detail a range of contrasting interpretations of major developments in UK politics since 1945;

Evaluate the role of key institutions, such as parliament, the cabinet and the media;

Understand the effects on UK politics of changes in the global context since 1945.
Assessment:
40% coursework and 60% exam.
Coursework: 2 essays of 2500 words each. Exam: 3 hours.
Teaching Method:
Lecture (1 hour) and seminar (1 hour) weekly.
Introductory Reading:
Beer S H ,
Budge I et al,
Denver D,
Dunleavy P et al (eds)
Fisher J et al (eds)
Garnett M & Lynch P
Richards D & Smith M
Britain Against Itself: the Political Contradictions of Collectivism
The New British Politics
Elections and Voters in Britain
Developments in British Politics 8
Central Debates in British Politics
Exploring British Politics
Governance and Public Policy in the UK.
PPR.224 The Politics of the European Union
Tutors:
Terms:
Dr Karolina Follis (Michaelmas) and Dr Martin Steven (Lent)
Michaelmas and Lent
30 CREDITS
Course Description: ‘There is no more important time to study and understand European politics’
This 20 week module focuses on all aspects of European politics, government, economics and public policy. At a time of unprecedented
financial crisis and the prospect of a British exit from the EU itself, the module offers a comprehensive focus on all key issues. It includes an
analysis of the process and dynamics of European integration, especially since the collapse of the Soviet Union; an account of the various
European institutions which have developed (including the work of the Commission in Brussels), a discussion of key public policy areas
(with an emphasis on the European Social Model) and finally a focus on European party politics, covering influential European ideologies
such as Social Democracy, Christian Democracy and also Euro-scepticism.
Learning Outcomes: On successful completion of this module students will be able to:

Assess the merits of the different theories of European integration

Come to a view about the nature of the democratic deficit in the European Union

Identify the main policy areas in the EU, including economic and social

Be aware of the importance of different European political parties and ideologies
Assessment:
40% coursework and 60% exam.
Coursework: 2 essays of 2500 words each. Exam: 3 hours.
Teaching Method:
Lecture (1.5 hours) and seminar (1 hour) weekly.
Introductory Reading:
M. Cini and N. Borragan (eds.)
I. Bache, S. George and S. Bulmer
S. Hix and B. Høyland
J. McCormick
European Union Politics (2013)
Politics in the European Union (2011)
The Political System of the European Union (2011)
European Union Politics (2011)
15
PPR.225 Introduction to Peace Studies
Tutors:
Terms:
Dr Simon Mabon (Michaelmas) and Dr Amalendu Misra (Lent)
Michaelmas and Lent
30 CREDITS
Course Description: To investigate and critically examine the theoretical and practical issues surrounding peace and violence within
modern society. To examine the conditions of peace and war, and assess the scope for conflict resolution, non-violence and reconciliation.
To understand the main approaches to peace studies and apply them to contemporary issues.
The first term introduces the main approaches within peace studies, exploring the development of ideas in the field as they bear on the
roots of violence and the understanding of peace and peace-making. In the second term we apply this thinking to contemporary conflicts
and focus on policies of conflict prevention and conflict resolution. The course is taught in a non-dogmatic and interdisciplinary manner,
and students are encouraged to develop their own perspectives and come to their own conclusions following discussion and debate
throughout the year.
Learning Outcomes: On successful completion of this module students will be able to:

Demonstrate an understanding of the recent political history of the Balkans and the Caucasus

Compare the two regions and identify key dynamics and underlying causes

Discuss competing views of the causes of conflict in the two regions

Critically examine attempts made at resolving the conflicts.
Assessment:
40% coursework and 60% exam.
Coursework: 2 essays of 2500 words each. Exam: 3 hours.
Teaching Method:
Lecture (1 hour) and workshop (1 hour) weekly.
The course is supported by online materials on the dedicated course web-site.
Introductory Reading:
Axelrod R
Barash D
Cochrane F
Jeong Ho-won
Lederach J P
Miall, H, Ramsbotham O & Woodhouse T
Misra A
Rapoport A
Smoker P
Vayrynen R (ed)
Wallensteen P (ed)
Walzer M
The Evolution of Co-operation
Introduction to Peace Studies
Ending Wars
Peace and Conflict Studies: An Introduction
Building Peace: Towards Sustainable Reconciliation
Contemporary Conflict Resolution
Politics of Civil Wars
'Introduction' to Clausewitz , On War (Penguin edition)
Reader in Peace Studies
The Quest for Peace
Peace Research: Achievements and Challenges
Just and Unjust Wars.
PPR.226 Comparative Politics of the Asia Pacific and the Middle East
Tutors:
Terms:
Dr Sossie Kasbarian (Michaelmas) and Dr Kunal Mukherjee (Lent)
Michaelmas and Lent
30 CREDITS
Course Description: This module will survey the comparative politics of Asia Pacific and the Middle East respectively. The syllabus will
typically include the following topics: Introducing the region: a theoretical framework; Nationalism and nation-building; Democratisation;
Colonialism and its Legacies; Gender and Politics; State and Citizenship; Social and Political Movements; Political Culture.
Learning Outcomes: On successful completion of this module students will be able to:





Demonstrate an understanding of the key issues in the Middle East and Asia Pacific;
Demonstrate an understanding of the key debates in and about the Middle East and Asia Pacific;
Demonstrate an understanding of a range of case studies;
Be able to review and assess the main arguments and positions, demonstrated through verbal and written assessment;
Articulate their own position in relation to these arguments.
Assessment:
40% coursework and 60% exam.
Coursework: 2 essays of 2500 words each. Exam 3 hours.
Teaching Method:
Lecture (1.5 hours) and workshop (1 hour) weekly.
Introductory Reading:
H Afshar
C Baxter
D Butenschon and Hassassian (eds)
R Khalidi
I H Malik
R Owen
I Pappe
Women and Politics in the Third World
Government and Politics in South Asia
Citizenship and the State in the Middle East
Resurrecting Empire: Western Footprints and America’s Perilous Path
Islam, Nationalism and the West: Issues of Identity in Pakistan
State, Power and Politics in the Making of the Modern Middle East
The Modern Middle East.
16
PPR.227 Foreign Policy of Contending Powers
Tutors:
Terms:
DrTom Mills, Dr Astrid Nordin, Dr Simon Mabon
Michaelmas and Lent
30 CREDITS
Course Description: The aim of this module is to examine the foreign policy developments of the USA, China and Iran, to provide an
understanding of their historical development, key concepts and issues, as well as an evaluation of key challenges. The module will
consider and explore:

The logics that underpin the foreign policies of three states that are of central importance to contemporary world politics: the
USA, China and Iran

How these three states have developed distinct foreign policies with greatly varying policy processes and interests

The ways that these foreign policies have been developed on distinct traditions of thought, each deploying a different set of
concepts rooted in a different history of ideas

The history of thought on which foreign policy is based, its recent historical development, key concepts, key issues,
implementation and policy making process, and finally crises and future challenges.
Learning Outcomes: On successful completion of this module students will be able to:

Demonstrate an understanding of the key issues, concepts and challenges in the foreign policies of the USA, China and Iran

Demonstrate an understanding of the development of foreign policy from different philosophical-cultural traditions
Assessment:
40% coursework and 60% exam.
Coursework 2 essays of 2500 words each. Exam: 3 hours.
Teaching Method:
Lecture (1.5 hours) and seminar (1 hour) weekly.
Introductory Reading:
Ansari, A.
Callahan, William A.& Barabantseva, E.
Cox, M. & Stokes, D.
Ehteshami, A.
Lanteigne, M.
Wittkopf, Eugene R.
Confronting Iran, New York: Basic Books, 2006
China orders the world?: normative soft power and foreign policy,Washington, D.C.; Baltimore,
MD; Woodrow Wilson Center Press: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2011
US Foreign Policy, 2nd edition, Oxford University Press, 2012
After Khomeini: The Iranian Second Republic, London, Routledge, 1995
Chinese Foreign Policy: An Introduction, 2nd edition, Abingdon, Routledge, 2013
American Foreign Policy: Pattern and Process, 7th edition, Belmont, Calif: Wadsworth
Publishing, 2008.
PPR.239 Indian Politics, Society and Religion
Tutors:
Terms:
Katan Alder (Michaelmas) and Dr Anderson Jeremiah (Lent)
Michaelmas and Lent
30 CREDITS
Course Description: This module aims to introduce and familiarise students to the interplay between politics, society and religion in the
world’s largest democracy, India. At a time when India is emerging as a global power and economic powerhouse despite persistent
poverty and various socio-political fissures, a critical balance must be struck in our understanding between its potential and its problems.
India offers powerful lessons on the challenges and achievements of democracy in a deeply pluralistic and unequal society. An
examination of these issues opens up our conceptual preconceptions about democracy, religion, secularism, discrimination, globalization
and political mobilization, which tend to be structured by knowledge of Western polities. The particular issues concerning large
populations of many different religions and huge social differences offer pathways of understanding to many pressing global issues.
Learning Outcomes: On successful completion of this module students will be able to:

Demonstrate an understanding of the nature of democracy and change in India’s complex society

Demonstrate an understanding of the various dynamics of discrimination and political responses to it in the Indian polity

Review and assess the strengths of a range of arguments and viewpoints about the nature of Indian society and politics

Articulate their own views about various factors at work in the complex relationship between religion, politics and society in
India
Assessment:
40% coursework and 60% exam.
Coursework: 2 essays of 2500 words each. Exam: 3 hours.
Teaching Method:
Lecture (1 hour) and workshop (1 hour) weekly.
Introductory Reading:
Brown J
Chaudhuri, M (ed)
Frykenberg, R E
Khilnani, S
Mehta, N (ed)
Shah, G (ed)
Modern India. The Origins of an Asian Democracy
Feminism in India
Christianity in India: from beginnings to the present
The Idea of India
Television in India: satellites, politics and cultural change
Caste and Democratic Politics in India.
17
PPR.242 Religion and Society
Tutors:
Terms:
Dr Mairi Levitt (Michaelmas) and Dr Andrew Dawson (Lent)
Michaelmas and Lent
30 CREDITS
Course Description: In the main, this course introduces the sociological study of religion. Two major themes will run through the course:
it will deal with selected key figures in the history of the sociological study of religion and also tackle a selection of basic issues. Examples
drawn from a range of contexts will also be considered. Topics covered may include: Marx, Weber, Durkheim or others; secularisation,
definitions of religion, religious organisation, and so on.
Learning Outcomes: On successful completion of this module students will be able to:

Demonstrate knowledge of key concepts, topics and debates associated with the sociology of religion.

Demonstrate understanding of the methods (theoretical and practical) employed in the academic study of religion in its social
contexts.

Use appropriate resources to formulate a coherent argument that takes account of divergent opinions and their implications
for the sociological study of religion.
Assessment:
40% coursework and 60% exam.
Coursework: 2 essays of 2500 words each. Exam: 3 hours.
Teaching Method:
Lecture (2 hours) weekly, and seminar (1 hour) fortnightly.
Introductory Reading:
Davie, G
Dawson., A
Hamilton, M
Kurtz, L
McGuire, M
O'Toole, R
The Sociology of Religion
Sociology of Religion
The Sociology of Religion: Theoretical and Comparative Perspectives
Gods in the Global Village: The World's Religions in Sociological Perspective
Religion: The Social Context
Religion: Classic Sociological Approaches.
PPR.243: Constructing Ethics: Christianity and Islam
Tutors:
Terms:
Dr Gavin Hyman (Michaelmas) and Dr Shuruq Naguib (Lent)
Michalemas and Lent
30 CREDITS
Course Description: This course explores the emergence and construction of ethics within the context of two world religions: Christianity
and Islam. It examines the ways in which religious attitudes to ethical concern and practice are influenced by traditional, textual and
cultural factors. Some of the ethical concerns to be covered throughout the course are: Politics and Economics; Justice and War; Sex and
Sexual practice; Rights and Law. Finally, the course will encourage students to explore some of these areas cross-culturally through the
consideration of questions of difference and otherness.
Learning Outcomes: On successful completion of this module students will be able to:

Describe, analyse and evaluate the ethical discourses of two major religious traditions.

Discuss and appraise the manner in which these ethical discourses treat a number of concrete ethical issues.

Recognise, summarise and evaluate the ways in which the ethical discourses of tehse traditions present and develop
contending narratives of identity, life and purpose.

Demonstrate intelligent and critical use of primary and secondary sources in written presentation and articulate their own
judgements of ethical decision making in oral and written form.
Assessment:
40% coursework and 60% unseen examination
Coursework: 2 essays of 2500 words each. Examination: 3 hours.
Teaching Method:
Lecture (2 hours) weekly, and seminar (1 hour) fortnightly
Introductory Reading:
Boulton, W, Kennedy, T & Brockopp, J
Brown, Malcolm
Fakri, M
Le Roy Long, E
Verhey, A (eds)
Islamic Ethics of Life
Tensions in Christian Ethics
Ethical Theories in Islam
A Survey of Recent Christian Ethics
From Christ to the World: Introductory Readings in Christian Ethics.
18
PPR.244 Western Philosophy and Religious Thought
Tutor:
Terms:
Dr Gavin Hyman
Not available in 2014/15
30 CREDITS
Course Description: This course aims to encourage students to think philosophically about religious issues. Using the work of both
classical and contemporary philosophers and religious thinkers, it addresses some of the central philosophical questions raised by religious
belief. In addition, students will be encouraged to think historically and contextually, in order to understand the ways in which
understandings of the role of philosophy in relation to religion in the west has changed over time. The course introduces students to the
work of some of the most important philosophers from Plato to Wittgenstein and the implications of their thought for religion. It will also
address themes and issues which may vary from year to year but will be drawn from the following: the nature of theism, immortality, the
problem of evil, religious experience and the implications of postmodern thought for religious belief.
Learning Outcomes: On successful completion of this module students will be able to:

Demonstrate a thorough grounding in both historical and contemporary debates in philosophy and religious thought.

Use developed critical and philosophical skills in order to address some of these questions for themselves.

Think historically and contextually, showing an awareness of the implications of changing contexts for philosophy and religious
belief.

Begin to reflect systematically and argue coherently about the fundamental philosophical issues raised by religious belief.
Assessment:
40% coursework and 60% exam.
Coursework: 2 essays of 2500 words each. Exam: 3 hours.
Teaching Method:
Lecture (2 hours) weekly, and seminar (1 hour) fortnightly.
Introductory Reading:
Davies, B
Sherry, P J (ed.)
Smart, J J C & Haldane, J
An Introduction to the Philosophy of Religion
Philosophers on Religion
Atheism and Theism.
PPR.250 Christianity in the Modern World: Traditions and Transformations
Tutors:
Terms:
Professor Christopher Partridge
Michaelmas
15 CREDITS
Course Description: This module aims to:

Survey and critically examine the main themes, key concepts, debates and approaches to the study of Christianity and
theological change in the modern word.

Develop an analytical and interpretive framework within which to situate competing Christian traditions and theologies in a
historical context.
Learning Outcomes: On successful completion of this module students will be able to:

Demonstrate a systematic understanding and critical awareness of established debates, theoretical literature and emerging
insights in respect of the modern history of Christianity

Evidence an understanding and critical evaluation of developments and debates within Christian theology and history.

Critically analyse developments in Christianity in relation to changing social and cultural contexts.

Apply various theoretical frameworks and critical tools in order to understand, explain and analyse developments in the field.
Assessment:
40% coursework and 60% exam.
Coursework: 1 essay of 2500 words. Exam: 2 hours.
Teaching Method:
Lecture (2 hours) weekly, and seminar (1 hour) fortnightly.
Introductory Reading:
Steve Bruce,
George Chryssides & Margaret Wilkins
Jenny Daggers
Fundamentalism, second edition (London: Polity Press, 2008)
Christians in the 21st Century (Sheffield: Equinox, 2011)
Postcolonial Theology of Religions: Particularily and Pluralism in World Christianity
(Abingdon: Routledge, 2013)
Ben Pink Dandelion
An Introduction to Quakerism (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007)
David Ford (ed.)
The Modern Theologians, third edition (Oxford: Blackwell, 2007)
Lisa Isherwood and Dorothea McEwan
Introducing Feminist Theory, second edition (Sheffield, Sheffield Academic Press, 2001)
Philip Kennedy
A Modern Introduction to Theology: New Questions for Old Beliefs (London: I.B.Tauris, 2006)
Christopher Rowland (ed.)
The Cambridge Companion to Liberation Theology ( Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
1999)
Linda Woodhead
An Introduction to Christianity (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004)
Linda Woodhead, Hiroko Kawanami, Christopher Partidge (eds)
Religions in the Modern World: Traditions and Transformations (London: Routledge, 2009)
19
PPR.251 Islam: Tradition, Community and Contemporary Challenges
Tutors:
Terms:
Dr Shuruq Naguib
Lent
15 CREDITS
Course Description: This module examines the historical formation of Islam; its renewal movements past and present; and modern
reform discourses on gender, politics, and law. The aim is to grain an understanding of continuities and discontinuities in the Islamic
tradition in relation to religious authority, theology, politics and contemporary practice. Some of the topics studied include: the formation
of Shari'a (Islamic law); competing Sunni and Shi'i orthodoxies; the rise of radical political movements and global Jihad; Islamic feminisms;
Islam and the West; and Islam in Britain. The module offers a strong foundation for more specialised study in second and third year
courses.
Learning Outcomes: On successful completion of this module students will be able to:

Demonstrate a systematic understanding and critical awareness of established debates, theoretical literature and emerging
insights in respect of the pre-modern and contemporary history of Islam;

Evidence a critical awareness of developments and debates within Muslim history, juristic thought and religious practice;

Critically analyse developments in Islam in relation to its encounter with modernity in various contexts;

Apply various theoretical frameworks and critical tools in order to understand, explain and analyse developments in the field.
Assessment:
40% coursework and 60% exam.
Coursework: 1 essay of 2500 words each. Exam: 2 hours.
Teaching Method:
Lecture (2 hours) weekly, and seminar (1 hour) fortnightly
Introductory Reading:
Ira Lapidus,
A History of Islamic Societies.
Andrew Rippin,
Muslims: their religious beliefs and practices, Vol.2: The contemporary period.
Yvonne Haddad,
Contemporary Islam and the Challenge of History.
David Waines,
An Introduction to Islam, [Part III] (Available in the University Bookshop).
Daniel Brown,
A New Introduction to Islam [Part IV].
William Shepherd,
Introducing Islam.
Linda Woodhead, Hiroko Kawanami, Christopher Partridge (eds), Religions in the Modern World: Traditions and Transformations.
PPR.252 Buddhism and Modernity in Asian Societies
Tutors:
Terms:
Dr Hiroko Kawanami
Michaelmas
15 CREDITS
Course Description: This module aims to provide:

Solid knowledge base and understanding of a range of important issues, key concepts, contemporary debates, and approaches
regarding Buddhist and modernity in Asian countries.

Understanding of different historical, social, political, and economic factors that have impacted on the development of
Buddhism in respective societies.

Understanding of the intersection between secular power and religious authority.

An analytical and interpretive framework within which to situate issues of modernity in Buddhist countries.
Learning Outcomes: On successful completion of this module students will be able to...

Make informed judgements and present their own views on key concepts and important issues that have impacted on
Buddhism in the past and present of select countries in Southeast Asia and in the Far East.

Articulate the differences and describe critically the transformations taking place in regard to Buddhism through discussing
concepts of modernity, authority, gender, development, and power.

Demonstrate and awareness of the variety of issues that exist in Buddhist countries in Asia as well as the problems and
potential of imposing Western categories in the study of Buddhism.

Demonstrate a solid foundation and understanding of issues regarding Buddhism and modernity in Asian societies.
Assessment:
40% coursework and 60% exam.
Coursework: 1 essay of 2500 words. Exam: 2 hours.
Teaching Method:
Lecture (2 hours) weekly, and seminar (1 hour) fortnightly
Introductory Reading:
Harris, Ian, ed.
Buddhism and Politics in Twentieth-Century Asia. London: Pinter, 1999.
Gombrich, Richard and Gananath, Obeyesekere.
Buddhism Transformed: Religious Change in Sri Lanka. Princeton, NJ: PUP, 1988.
Jerryson, Michael, K. and Mark, Juergensmeyer, eds. Buddhist Warfare. Oxford: OUP, 2010.
Lopez, Donald, S. Jr. ed.
Religions of China in Practice. Princeton, NJ: PUP, 1996.
Pittman, D. A.
Toward a Modern Chinese Buddhism: Taixu’s Reforms. Honolulu: UHP, 2001.
Queen, Christopher. S. and Sallie, B. King, eds.
Engaged Buddhist:Buddhist Liberation Movements in Asia. Albany, NY: SUNY, 1996.
Reader, Ian & George J. Tanabe. Practically Religious: Worldly Benefits and the Common Religion of Japan. Honolulu: UHP, 1998.
Woodhead, Linda, et al., eds.
Religions in the Modern World. London: Routledge, 2002.
20
PPR.253 Hinduism in the Modern World
Tutors:
Terms:
Dr Brian Black
Lent
15 CREDITS
Course Description: This course surveys and critically examines the main themes, key concepts, debates and approaches to the study of
Hinduism. It pays particular attention to Hinduism in the modern world and Hinduism's relationship with other religions of South Asia
during and since the 19th century. In this course, students will develop an analytical and interpretative framework within which to situate
competing Hindu traditions in a historical context. Lectures will include topics such as: religious pluralism, the limitations of the term
'Hinduism', the impact of colonialism on Indian religious traditions, gender, the caste system, yoga, and the relationship between
Hinduism and politics.
Learning Outcomes: On successful completion of this module students will be able to:

Demonstrate a systematic understanding and critical awareness of issues and debates relating to the study of Hinduism

Critically analyse developments in Hinduism in relation to changing social and cultural contexts;

Apply various theoretical frameworks and critical tools in order to understand, explain and analyse developments in the field
Assessment:
40% coursework and 60% exam.
Coursework: 1 essay of 2500 words. Exam: 2 hours.
Teaching Method:
Lecture (2 hours) weekly, and seminar (1 hour) fortnightly
Introductory Reading:
Dalrymple, William
Flood, Gavin
-- (ed)
Fuller, Chris
Hirst, Jacqueline Suthren and Zavos, John
Jha, D.N.
Kumar, Pratap (ed)
Larson, Gerald
Mittal, Sushil and Thursby, Gene (eds)
--
(2009) Nine Lives: In Search of the Sacred in Modern India. London: Bloomsbury.
(1996) An Introduction to Hinduism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
(2003) The Blackwell Companion to Hinduism. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing.
(1992) The Camphor Flame: Popular Hinduism and Society in India. Princeton: Princeton
University Press.
(2011) Religious Traditions in Modern South Asia. London: Routledge.
(2009)Rethinking Hindu Identity. London: Equinox.
(2013) Contemporary Hinduism. Durham: Acumen.
(1995) India’s Agony Over Religion. Albany: State University of New York Press.
(2004) The Hindu World. New York: Routledge.
(2008) Studying Hinduism: Key Concepts and Methods. New York: Routledge
21
22
Third year modules
All 15 credits each
23
PPR.301 Aesthetics
Tutor:
Term:
Professor Alison Stone
Lent
Course Description: This module introduces central issues, problems and theories in philosophical aesthetics by critically examining
specific topics in the philosophy of art and by examining the theories of major figures who have contributed to the tradition of
philosophical aesthetics. The course uses concrete examples from most of the arts, including painting, literature, film, and music, to
illuminate theoretical debates and issues.
Topics and major aesthetic theorists covered may include the following (note this list is indicative and not all topics or theorists will be
covered each year):• Aesthetics in the analytic and continental traditions of philosophy • The aesthetic theories of Plato, Hume, Kant,
Hegel, Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, the Frankfurt School • Definitions of art • What is tragedy and what is its aesthetic significance? •
Beauty and its definition • The relations between art, religion and philosophy • The connections between art and morality: Can or
should ethical evaluations affect aesthetic evaluations? • The changing historical context and circumstances of art, including in the
ancient world and in modernity • The ‘culture industry’ and its impact on our responses to art • Can aesthetic judgements ever be
objective? If so, how? • Disinterestedness • The relations between aesthetics and politics: Should art be politically committed? If so, in
what ways?
Learning Outcomes: On successful completion of this module students will be able to:

Demonstrate a solid grasp of some central issues in philosophical aesthetics.

Show understanding of how these issues are connected to other issues in philosophy.

Be able to present this knowledge and understanding in a systematic written form.
Assessment:
40% coursework and 60% exam.
Coursework: 1 essay of 3000 words. Exam: 2 hours.
Teaching Method:
Lecture (1.5 hours) and seminar (1 hour) weekly.
Introductory Reading:
Bowie, A
Cazeaux, C
Hammermeister, J
Lamarque, P & Olsen, S H (eds)
Neill, A & Ridley, A (eds)
From Romanticism to Critical Theory, Routledge 1997
The Continental Aesthetics Reader, Routledge 2000
The German Aesthetic Tradition, Cambridge University Press, 2002
Aesthetics and the Philosophy of Art: The Analytic Tradition, Blackwell 2003
Arguing about Art: Contemporary Philosophical Debates, Routledge 2001.
PPR.302 Continental Philosophy
Tutor:
Term:
Dr Garrath Williams
Michaelmas
Course Description: This module considers the work of three figures in nineteenth and twentieth century continental philosophy:
Nietzsche is primarily a theorist of morality. Foucault and Arendt are two of the most important political thinkers of the twentieth century.
We begin by looking at Nietzsche’s polemic on the origins and development of morality (Toward a Genealogy of Morality). His speculative
but insightful history aims to undermine the self-evidence of morality’s claim to be the ‘value of values.’ He also tries to suggest the
desirability of different perspectives on human action and flourishing – although he offers little practical guidance concerning the
implications his critique.
We next turn to Foucault, who adapts Nietzsche’s method of historical analysis in order to challenge our assumptions – in his case, about
progress toward freedom and welfare in modern societies. For example, in his book Discipline and Punish, Foucault suggests that modern
societies can be interpreted as systems of discipline on the model of the prison, rather than as liberal regimes of freedom and rights.
We then turn to Hannah Arendt. Her political thought begins with totalitarian politics. Using a parallel method of historical analysis, Arendt
pictures disparate elements – anti-semitism, racism, imperialism, bureaucratic secrecy and more – as coming together in the totalitarian
ambition to remake the world. She subsequently develops a picture of politics that places great value on human differences and political
freedom.
Learning Outcomes: On successful completion of this module students will be able to:
•
Explain in outline what is involved in the theories and perspectives of the philosophers studied on the course.
•
Set out some of the influential argumentation that has been developed in relation to each.
•
Develop an informed evaluation of these views and arguments, and offer your own judgments as to their insights and
limitations.
Assessment:
40% coursework and 60% exam.
Coursework: 1 essay of 3000 words. Exam: 2 hours.
Teaching Method:
Lecture (1.5 hours) and seminar (1 hour) weekly.
Introductory Reading:
Critchley, S
Continental Philosophy: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002)
Downing, L
The Cambridge introduction to Michel Foucault (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008)
Kohn, J
‘Three Essays: The Role of Experience in Hannah Arendt’s Political Thought’ on-line at
www.memory.loc.gov/ammem/arendthtml/special.html
Nietzsche, F
Toward a Genealogy of Morality [1884] - either Carol Diethe's translation (Cambridge University Press) or
Douglas Smith's (Oxford University Press) - NB please do not use any other translations
Solomon, Robert
Living with Nietzsche: what the great “immoralist” has to teach us (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003)
Tanner, M
Nietzsche: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995)
24
PPR.303 Issues in the Philosophy of Mind
Tutor:
Term:
Dr Rachel Cooper
Not available 2014/15
Course Description:
This course will introduce students to some advanced topics in the philosophy of mind. Through the debates examined students will be
exposed to a number of methodological approaches in the philosophy of mind - including the use of empirical evidence in philosophy,
conceptual analysis, ordinary language philosophy and thought experimentation. Topics examined will vary from year to year but may
include:










consciousness
understanding other minds
self-knowledge
emotions
understanding abnormal mental states
the self
perception
evolutionary psychology
animal minds, alien minds and computer minds
mental causation
Learning Outcomes: On successful completion of this module students will be able to:
•
Outline and critically assess a number of debates in the philosophy of mind.

Understand the uses of a variety of methods in philosophy.

Develop their own philosophical arguments present philosophical ideas clearly both orally and in writing.
Assessment:
40% coursework and 60% exam.
Coursework: 1 essay of 3000 words. Exam: 2 hours.
Teaching Method:
Lecture (1.5 hours) and seminar (1 hour) weekly.
Introductory Reading:
Robert Kirk (2003)
Mind and Body.
PPR.304 Themes in the Philosophy of the Sciences
Tutor:
Term:
Dr Brian Garvey
Michalemas
Course Description: The theme this year is “Darwinism and Philosophy”
The module will look at philosophical issues that arise out of Darwin’s theory of evolution. These include questions about how best to
understand the theory of evolution, and questions about what evolution implies for our view of the world, and in particular of ourselves.
The course breaks down into three broad areas:
•
Different ways to understand the theory of evolution, e.g. Is evolution, as some would have us believe, all about genes?
Is natural selection the only important factor in evolution?
•
Conceptual issues relating to biology, e.g. How do we define ‘function’? Is there one right way to classify living things?
•
Implications of Darwinism for understanding human nature, e.g. Does the fact that we have evolved affect how we should see
human nature? Why are evolutionary theories of human nature so controversial? Does Darwinism have any implications for
moral questions?
Learning Outcomes: On successful completion of this module students will be able to:
•
Demonstrate an understanding and ability to discuss key philosophical issues that arise from the theory of evolution
•
Demonstrate an ability to see what the theory of evolution does and does not imply for broader issues.
•
Assess the relative merits of different arguments and critically engage with competing arguments derived from academic
literature.
•
Take a more critical stance towards popular and semi-popular presentations of evolution and its implications.
Assessment:
40% coursework and 60% exam.
Coursework: 1 essay of 3000 words. Exam: 2 hours.
Teaching Method:
Lecture (1.5 hours) and seminar (1 hour) weekly.
Introductory Reading:
B Garvey
T Lewens
A Rosenberg and D McShea
K Sterelny and P Griffiths
Philosophy of Biology, Acumen 2007
Darwin, Routledge, 2007
Philosophy of Biology: A Contemporary Introduction, Routledge, 2008
Sex and Death, University of Chicago Press, 1999.
25
PPR.305 Logic and Language
Tutor:
Term:
Dr Nick Unwin
Michaelmas
Course Description: The module provides an introduction to formal logic together with an examination of various philosophical issues
that arise out of it. The syllabus includes a study of the languages of propositional and quantificational logic, how to formalize key logical
concepts within them, and how to prove elementary results using formal techniques. Additional topics include identity, definite
descriptions, modal logic and its philosophical significance, and some criticisms of classical logic.
Learning Outcomes: On successful completion of this module students will be able to:
 Prove results using truth-tables and trees.
 Translate English sentences into quantificational logic and vice versa.
 Explain the philosophical significance of certain technical results.
 Understand certain controversies that arise in logic, and present these ideas in an essay format.
Assessment:
40% coursework and 60% exam.
Coursework: 2 in-class unseen tests and 2 essays of 1000 words. Exam: 2 hours.
Teaching Method:
Lecture (2 hours) weekly, and seminar (1 hour) fortnightly.
Introductory Reading:
Peter Smith
An Introduction to Formal Logic, Cambridge University Press, 2003.
PPR.306 Reading Philosophical Texts
Tutor:
Term:
Dr Nick Unwin
Not available 2014/15
Course Description:
This course gives students the opportunity to read and study the thought of seminal thinkers in the
philosophy. In so doing we develop a more thorough understanding of the ideas of the thinker in question, and see how those ideas linkup into a wider systematic and philosophic whole. Possible works of philosophy include:
Aristotle
Hegel
David Hume
Kant
John Locke
J.S.Mill
Nietzsche
Nicomachean Ethics (Harmondsworth; New York: Penguin, 1976)
Phenomenology of Spirit (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1977)
A Treatise of Human Nature (Oxford University Press, 1978)
Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002)
Essay Concerning Human Understanding (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1975)
On Liberty (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1985)
Beyond Good and Evil (Harmondsworth, Penguin, 1973)
Learning Outcomes: On successful completion of this module students will be able to:




A knowledge and understanding of the thinkers under review.
An understanding and appreciation of the contribution to wider debates generated by those thinkers.
An appreciation of the benefits of a close and deep reading of a thinker.
The ability to explain, discuss and reflect on the themes raised by the thinkers.
Assessment:
40% coursework and 60% exam.
Coursework: 1 essay of 3000 words. Exam: 2 hours.
Teaching Method:
Lecture (1.5 hours) and seminar (1 hour) weekly.
26
PPR.307 History of Twentieth Century Philosophy
Tutor:
Term:
Dr Neil Manson
Lent
Course Description: This course focuses upon some key aspects of the history of Twentieth Century Philosophy. We start off by
examining a “revolution” in philosophy at the very start of the C20 with the origins of analytic philosophy. We then focus on
Wittgenstein’s radical philosophy (or “anti-philosophy”). Wittgenstein’s own philosophical development brings to the fore a deep schism,
or tension, that has existed throughout C20 philosophy: the schism between those who hold that philosophy should align itself with
natural science and mathematics, and those who reject this view. We ask whether philosophy should seek to emulate the natural sciences
and illustrate the tension between “scientistic” and “humanistic” philosophy via mid-C20 debate about the nature of historical
explanation. The final two lectures look at the distinction between analytic and continental philosophy in C20, and upon the emergence of
applied philosophy in the late C20, asking whether philosophy can ever really be “applied” to real-life problems.
Learning Outcomes: On successful completion of this module students will be able to:


Expound and critically assess the arguments and positions in Twentieth Century philosophy introduced in this module.

Begin an independent evaluation of these problems and be in a position to make some progress towards developing
authoritative views of their own.
Set out some of the influential argumentation that has been developed in relation to the various issues and problems discussed
in this module.
Assessment:
40% coursework and 60% exam.
Coursework: 1 essay of 3000 words. Exam: 2 hours.
Teaching Method:
Lecture (1.5 hours) and seminar (1 hour) weekly.
Introductory Reading:
Avrum Stroll
Steve Schwartz,
Marie McGinn's
Neil Levy
‘Twentieth Century Analytic Philosophy’ in Richard H. Popkin (ed) The Pimlico History of Western
Philosophy (London: Pimlico Press, 1999)
A Brief History of Analytic Philosophy: From Russell to Rawls. (Wiley 2012).
Routledge Philosophy Guidebook to Wittgenstein and the Philosophical Investigations (Routledge, 1997).
‘Analytic and Continental Philosophy: Explaining the Differences’ Metaphilosophy 2003, 284-304
PPR.308 Moral, Legal and Political Philosophy
Tutor:
Term:
TBC
Not available 2014/15
Course Description: This module will address central issues in contemporary ethical (including meta-ethical), legal and political
philosophy, and will allow a systematic critical exploration of the connections between ideas and arguments in each of the three areas of
the subject.
Topics covered will include some of the following: modern theory of moral motivation, value theory, contractualism, the ‘moral problem’;
responsibility and criminal liability, the justification of punishment, the proper scope of the law; democratic theory, egalitarianism, justice,
nationalism, multiculturalism, liberty and human rights.
Learning Outcomes: On successful completion of this module students will be able to:

Explain in outline what is involved in the different philosophical views and positions covered in the module.

Set out some of the influential arguments that have been developed and defended in respect of these perspectives.

Write critically about philosophical debates on the topics covered.
Assessment:
40% coursework and 60% exam.
Coursework: 1 essay of 3000 words. Exam: 2 hours.
Teaching Method:
Lecture (1.5 hours) and seminar (1 hour) weekly.
Introductory Reading:
R. Goodin and P. Pettit (eds.)
H.L.A. Hart
S. Scheffler (ed.)
M. Smith
M. Tebbit
W. Kymlicka
Contemporary Political Philosophy: An Anthology, Blackwell 1997
Punishment and Responsibility, Oxford University Press 1968
Consequentialism and its Critics, Oxford University Press 1988
The Moral Problem, Wiley-Blackwell 1994
Philosophy of Law: An Introduction, 2nd edition, Routledge 2005
Contemporary Political Philosophy 2nd edition, Oxford University Press 2002.
27
PPR.309 Practical Philosophy
Tutor:
Term:
Dr Sam Clark
Lent
Course Description: In this module, we will make a philosophical investigation of a pressing ethical problem: capitalism, the form of life
which has transformed the world over the last few hundred years and which deeply shapes how all humans now live. We will pursue
central normative concerns potentially including the morality of markets; the demands and worth of freedom, democracy, equality, wellbeing, and other values; the goals and possibilities of capitalist and other forms of social organization; the ethics of work and workplaces;
and the structure of historical change. Our aim is to develop both a better understanding of some important features of our world, and the
philosophical craft and imagination needed to engage with the ethical problems they pose. Please note that this is not a module on public
policy or applied ethics: we will focus on foundational philosophical questions which arise from thinking about our topic, not on answering
particular political or personal dilemmas.
Learning Outcomes: On successful completion of this module students will be able to:
•
Describe and evaluate a range of philosophical views on selected practical philosophical topics, and the reasons offered for and
against them.
•
Grasp the deeper questions about freedom, responsibility, well-being, etc., which underlie the topic(s).
•
Critically examine the application of philosophical concepts and skills to practical problems and dilemmas.
Assessment:
1 essay of 5,000 words.
Teaching Method:
2 workshops (2 hours) one each at the start and end of term, and 1 seminar (2 hours) weekly for the
remaining eight weeks. In addition, there is an optional essay-planning tutorial.
Introductory Reading for Lent 2012:
William Cronon,
Nature’s Metropolis: Chicago and the Great West (W. W. Norton 1991)
F. A. Hayek,
The Constitution of Liberty (Routledge 1960)
William Morris,
News From Nowhere (various edns)
Russell Muirhead,
Just Work (Harvard University Press 2004)
Erik Olin Wright,
Envisioning Real Utopias (Verso 2010)
PPR.310 Philosophy of the Human Sciences
Tutor:
Terms:
Dr Garrath Williams
Not available 2014/15
Restriction: PPR.203
Course Description: This module considers key philosophical issues in the sciences of human societies and social structures, such as
sociology, economics or history. As well as considering whether these subjects should be considered as sciences, strictly speaking, we look
at a number of philosophical issue, such as those arising in the understanding of other societies (for instance, in anthropology),
individualism versus collectivism in social explanation (for example, in sociology and history), and the scientific status of social models
based on postulates of rational choice (for example, in economics and politics).
Learning Outcomes: On successful completion of this module students will be able to:
•
Explain and critically assess some of the key debates and disputes in the philosophy of social science.
•
Appreciate the different views that can be taken in respect of the particular problems we will have covered.
•
Explain why different theories and methods may be appropriate to explain different phenomena.
•
Understand and apply key philosophical concepts that are relevant to a range of problems in the philosophy of social science.
•
Write critically about the philosophical and methodological debates we have covered.
Assessment:
Teaching Method:
N.B.
40% coursework and 60% exam.
Coursework: 1 essay of 3000 words. Exam: 2 hours.
Lecture (1.5 hours) and seminar (1 hour) weekly.
Lectures for PPR.310 will be shared with PPR.203 this year.
It is important that you check the lecture times for PPR.203 and attend these lectures.
Introductory Reading:
Alan Chalmers
Brian Fay
Martin Hollis
Peter Winch
What is this thing called science?, Open University Press, 1999
Contemporary Philosophy of Social Science, Oxford: Blackwell, 1996
The Philosophy of Social Science: An Introduction, Cambridge University Press, 1994
The Idea of a Social Science and its Relation to Philosophy, London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1958.
28
PPR.311 Applied Philosophy
Tutor:
Term:
Dr Neil Manson
Not available 2014/15
Course Description: This module focuses on selected topics in Applied Philosophy. Applied Philosophy involves the application of
philosophical methods and knowledge to a range of problems that face institutions, professions, policymakers and regulatory bodies.
Further questions arise about the nature and limits of applied philosophy. Examples of topics that may be studied include:

Philosophy of Privacy and Data Protection.

Philosophical Bioethics.

Philosophy of the Media.

Philosophy and psychiatric classification.

Applied epistemology.

Selected topics in Medical Ethics.

Philosophy of Education.

The Metaphilosophy of Applied Philosophy.

Applied Philosophy of Language.

Applied Philosophy of Science and Technology.
Learning Outcomes: On successful completion of this module students will be able to:

Describe and evaluate a range of philosophical views on selected applied philosophical topics, and the reasons offered for and
against them.

Engage in critical analysis and the assessment of arguments over a range of topics in applied philosophy.

Discuss the nature and limitations of applied philosophy.

Grasp the deeper principles and issues which underlie the topic(s).

Critically examine the application of philosophical concepts and skills to policy and institutional problems and dilemmas.
Assessment:
40% coursework and 60% exam.
Coursework: 1 essay of 3000 words. Exam: 2 hours.
Teaching Method:
Lecture (1.5 hours) and seminar (1 hour) weekly.
Introductory Reading:
Readings will be supplied according to specific topics studied.
Key Resource: The Journal of Applied Philosophy.
PPR.320 Political Ideas: Liberal Thought
Tutor:
Term:
Dr Patrick Bishop
Not available in 2014/15
Course Description: This course examines central themes in the liberal branch of contemporary Anglo-American analytic political
philosophy. The liberal positions on justice, liberty, equality, the state, power, rights and utility are all explored. The approach is
philosophical rather than applied; its focus is on the ideas of liberal politics: how individual liberty can be maximised while not harming
others; how an individual philosophical position can guide political determinants of a society and places the developments of liberal ideas
in their appropriate historical contexts. The course also examines the connection between the ideas of liberalism and the idea of
democracy to explore the philosophical tensions between the two and how these might be resolved. The course is a survey of major topics
and concepts in Anglo-American liberal political ideas. The syllabus will include the following topics: Questions about Justice: Analytic
philosophy and liberalism; Visions of the state: Liberalism, Republicanism, Socialism; Liberty and individuality; Liberalism and democracy;
Negative and positive liberty; Equality; Utility and rights; Toleration and Multiculturalism: Responses to diversity; Neutrality and the
market: private property and public goods; Power: freedom or oppression.
Learning Outcomes: On successful completion of this module students will be able to:

Identify the central themes in an argument.

Compare and contrast differing political arguments and assess their validity.

Demonstrate an ability to apply theory to empirical cases and problems.

Demonstrate an understanding of key concepts in liberal democratic political thought.

Demonstrate an understanding of how ideas influence and shape politics.

Be able to review and assess the major texts/thinkers under review demonstrated through verbal and written assessment.

Articulate their own position in relation to the thinkers/themes of the course.
Assessment:
40% coursework and 60% exam.
Coursework: 1 essay of 3000 words. Exam: 2 hours.
Teaching Method:
Lecture (1.5 hours) and seminar (1 hour) weekly.
Introductory Reading:
Goodin R E & Pettit P
Held D
Kymlicka W
A Companion to Contemporary Political Philosophy
Models of Democracy
Contemporary Political Philosophy.
29
PPR.321 Reading Political Theory
Tutor:
Term:
Dr Christopher Macleod
Michaelmas
Course Description: This module gives students the opportunity to read and study the thought of two of the seminal thinkers in political
theory. This module is, therefore, an opportunity to explore the texts slowly, methodically and in depth. It is also an opportunity to link
that thought to the wider literature that has developed as a response to the thinkers’ ideas. In so doing we develop a more thorough
understanding of the ideas of the thinker in question, and see how those ideas link-up into a wider systematic and philosophic whole.
Learning Outcomes: On successful completion of this module students will be able to:

A knowledge and understanding of the thinkers under review.

An understanding and appreciation of the contribution to wider debates generated by those thinkers.

An appreciation of the benefits of a close and deep reading of a thinker.

The ability to explain, discuss and reflect on the themes raised by the thinkers.
Assessment:
40% coursework and 60% exam.
Coursework: 1 essay of 3000 words. Exam: 2 hours.
Teaching Method:
Lecture (1.5 hours) and seminar (1 hour) weekly.
Introductory Reading:
Grant, R
Oakeshott, M
Skinner, Q
Political Theory, Political Science, and Politics, Political Studies, 2002, 30:4, 577-595
What is Political Theory? in What is History? And Other Essays, 2004
Meaning and Understanding in the History of Ideas, History & Theory, 1969, 8:1, 3-53.
PPR.322 Liberals and Communitarians
Tutor:
Term:
TBC
Not available in 2014/15
Course Description: This module examines the central debates about politics and justice between liberals and communitarians in
contemporary Anglo-American analytic philosophy. Whereas liberals stress the importance of the individual and the need for them to
pursue their own good in their own way, communitarians stress the embedded, interconnected, and social nature of the persons and
politics. The module asks three major questions. First, what does it mean to be engaged in political theory (how does thinking about
politics illuminate our political practices, and what are the limits to this activity)? Second, how should we understand the idea of justice
(who gets what and why)? Finally, what implications does our view of justice have for our political arrangements (what role does politics
have in the delivery of justice, and how would we have to modify our arrangements to achieve justice)?
The module is divided into two main sections. First we concentrate on the central figure of this debate: John Rawls and his seminal work A
Theory of Justice. We then look at how the debate has widened, initially by looking at the libertarian criticisms raised by Nozick before
moving on to consider the communitarian positions advanced by Sandel, Walzer, Okin, and Pateman. The course ends by considering
alternative forms of liberalism offered by Raz, Rorty, and Gray, which respond to the communitarian critiques.
Learning Outcomes: On successful completion of this module students will be able to:

Identify the central themes in an argument.

Compare and contrast differing political arguments and assess their validity.

Demonstrate an ability to apply theory to empirical cases and problems.

Demonstrate an understanding of key concepts in liberal democratic political thought.

Demonstrate an understanding of how ideas influence and shape politics.

Be able to review and assess the major texts/thinkers under review demonstrated through verbal and written assessment.

Articulate their own position in relation to the thinkers/themes of the course.
Assessment:
40% coursework and 60% exam.
Coursework: 1 essay of 3000 words. Exam: 2 hours.
Teaching Method:
Lecture (1.5 hours) and seminar (1 hour) weekly.
Introductory Reading:
Mulhall S & Swift A
Rawls J
Liberals and Communitarians
A Theory of Justice (original edition).
30
PPR.323 Ruling the World
Tutor:
Term:
Professor Christopher May
Not available 2014/15
Course Description: The principle objective of this module is to introduce students to the central legal and organisational issues that
underpin the political economy of contemporary global governance, through the combination of historical and political economic
approaches to the various elements of the current international legal structure. The module is divided into four sections, commencing
with a brief exploration of the multifaceted pre-history and early history of international political economic governance. In the second
section of the course, the specific political economic factors that prompted and facilitated the development of the contemporary system
of global governance are explored, and then in the third section this history is subjected to a number of competing analyses. In the last
section of the course, the focus shifts to current debates about global governance, identifying key areas of current political economic
debate and contestation.
Learning Outcomes: On successful completion of this module students will be able to:

Demonstrate knowledge of the legal and organisational issues that underpin the political economy of contemporary global
governance

Explain and assess the current international legal structure.

Evaluate competing analyses.
Assessment:
40% coursework and 60% exam.
Coursework: 1 essay of 3000 words. Exam: 2 hours.
Teaching Method:
Lecture (1.5 hours) and seminar (1 hour) weekly.
Introductory Reading:
Ba A D & Hoffman M J (eds)
Fuchs D
Held D & McGrew A (eds)
Kennedy P
Monbiot G
Wilkinson R (ed)
Global Governance: Coherence, Contestation and World Order
Business Power in Global Governance
Governing Globalization
The Parliament of Man: The United Nations and the Quest for World Government
Age of Consent
The Global Governance Reader.
PPR.324 Politics of Global Danger
Tutor:
Term:
Dr Mark Lacy
Michaelmas
Course Description: What makes the world dangerous? Is global politics the extension of war by other means? Do security policies
inscribe peace with the logic of war? How has the RMA, and the digital and molecular revolutions changed the ways in which we think
about security and war? In what ways have these revolutions made the world more rather than less dangerous? What happens to security
and war when these take the life of the human species rather than sovereign territoriality as their referent object? How and why does
securing life pose a wholly different security problem from that of securing states? Why does securing life appear to increase rather than
decrease global danger? In the process of exploring these and related questions this course will introduce students to the ways in which
biopolitical dismodules of security and war differ from geostrategic dismodules of security and war. The world is said to be dangerous in
many changing and conflicting ways. Dismodules of security and war teach us what to fear and prioritise danger differently. They
challenge how we think. Part One introduces students to ways of thinking about the problematisation of security and war, including new
approaches to understanding power. Part Two applies these new perspectives to interrogate changes in the practices of security and war;
especially those introduced by the informationalisation of weapons and the weaponisation of information.
Learning Outcomes: On successful completion of this module students will be able to:

Demonstrate an understanding of the key positions in critical security studies

Demonstrate an understanding of the key concepts employed in the debate

To be able analyse and review the arguments of key thinkers in both verbal and written assessment

Articulate their own position in relation to the thinkers and debates examined in the course
Assessment:
40% coursework and 60% exam.
Coursework: 1 essay of 3000 words. Exam: 2 hours.
Teaching Method:
Lecture (1.5 hours) and seminar (1 hour) weekly.
Introductory Reading:
Arquilla J & Ronfeldt D
Castells M
DeLanda M
Duffield ,
Edkins J & Zehfuss M
Foucault M
Foucault M
Mazarr M
Molander R C et al
Poster M
Virilio P
In Athena's Camp: Information Warfare
The Information Age: Economy, Society and Culture
War in the Age of Intelligent Machines
Post-modern War
Global Politics
Society Must Be Defended
Security, Territory, Population
The Revolution in Military Affairs
Strategic Information Warfare
The Second Media Age
Pure War.
31
PPR.325 International Political Economy of Globalization
Tutor:
Term:
Dr Ngai-Ling Sum
Michaelmas
Course Description: Globalization remains a buzzword in academic and policy discourses. It is often related to the acceleration of global
communication as well as internationalization of the economic, political and social processes. This module addresses some of these
changes especially those related to trade, production and investment in the international political economy. There are many approaches
in understanding these changes, this module introduces students to both liberal and critical ones (e.g., neo-Gramscianism). Drawing from
their insights, it investigates and analyzes the roles of state and non-state actors (e.g., transnational corporations and NGOs) in rebuilding
the governance of global production and finance. Finally, it examines the rise of transnational justice movements in offering alternatives to
globalization and its uneven development, before and after the financial crisis of 2007.
Learning Outcomes: On successful completion of this module students will be able to:

Describe and evaluate the different ways in which the 'economy' is defined and studied in international politics.

Identify and interpret a range of global processes that are reshaping international political economy.

Describe the rise of global economic actors (e.g., transnational corporations) and their impact as political agents in the
international political economy.

Transfer these analytical skills to new phenonema (e.g., corporate social responsibility and global financial crisis).

Evaluate the uneven impact of these changes and locate counter-hegemonic politics in this context.
Assessment:
40% coursework and 60% exam.
Coursework: 1 essay of 3000 words. Exam: 2 hours.
Teaching Method:
Lecture (1.5 hours) seminar (1 hour) weekly.
Introductory Reading:
Appelbaum R & Robinson W
Foster J & McChesney R
Peet R
Rupert M & Solomon S
Steger M B
Critical Globalization Studies
The Endless Crisis
Geography of Power
Globalization and International Political Economy,
Globalism: the New Market Ideology.
PPR.326 Globalization and Transnational Politics
Tutor:
Term:
Dr Ngai-Ling Sum
Not available 2014/15
Course Description: Globalization is often related to increased connectivity and integration in economy, politics, culture, and people in
diasporas. Drawing from liberal and critical theories on globalization, this module first examines the rise of the neoliberal world order
under the 'Washington Consensus', which mobilizes state and non-state actors (e.g., transnational corporations and NGOs) to rebuild the
global economy. These changes have an uneven impact on class, ethnic and gender relations and have prompted the emergence of
counter-hegemonic movements such as the Global Justice Movement and the World Social Forum. The rise of transnational political
mobilization also involves migration. Uprooted migrants are increasingly organized through transnational diasporic networks that are
engaged in both: a) hostland politics of citizenship and racism; and b) homeland politics of memory and transformation. One specific focus
of this module is the rise of transnational and home-grown Jihadists along with the growth of far-right politics and 'racial supremacism' in
and beyond Europe.
Learning Outcomes: On successful completion of this module students will be able to:

Understand and appreciate the emergence of the 'transnational' scale as a new area of political studies.

Critically analyse key concepts and approaches that have framed debates on the complex relations between different
dimensions of globalization and the rise of transnational politics.

Apply these concepts and approaches to selected recent examples of transnational social movements and solidarity politics in
relation to economic globalization in general.

Understand the relevance of these theoretical perspectives to interpreting recent and current phenonema linked specifically to
the politics of migration (e.g., rise of transnational diasporic networks and Jihadist politics).

Define and contrast religious fundamentalism and racial supremacism, identify key tensions between them, and explore their
impact in contemporary politics.

Critically evaluate the transformative potential of suggested alternatives to these transnational forms of 'extremist politics'.
Assessment:
40% coursework and 60% exam.
Coursework: 1 essay of 3000 words. Exam: 2 hours.
Teaching Method:
Workshop (2 hours) weekly.
Introductory Reading:
Amoore L (ed)
Appelbaum R, & Robinson W
Castles, S
Ellinas J
Young R
Global Resistance Reader
Critical Globalization Studies
Ethnicity and Globalization
The Media and the Far Right in Western Europe: Playing the Nationalist Card
Postcolonialism: A Very Short Introduction.
32
PPR.328 Understanding External Intervention in Violent Conflicts
Tutor:
Term:
Dr Kunal Mukherjee
Lent
Course Description: This module will examine the politics of external intervention in violent political conflicts and the attempts made to
manage, prevent and transform these wars into more peaceful situations. The course aims to develop student understanding of how
international organisations have attempted to intervene within conflict zones to prevent an escalation in conflict, to enforce UN
resolutions or to assist externally mediated peace 'settlements'. The module also aims to provide students with an in-depth knowledge of
how violent conflict has changed since the end of the Cold War and how transnational organisations such as the EU, UN and NATO have
attempted to deal with the new challenges and opportunities presented since the beginning of the 1990s until the present day.
Conceptually, the course will examine the principles of the liberal peace; state failure; international conflict prevention; peace keeping;
and global governance. Empirically, the course will focus on post Cold War conflicts such as Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and China.
Learning Outcomes: On successful completion of this module students will be able to:

Be able to demonstrate through verbal discussion, written coursework and examinations, the different ways in which external
third parties and in particular transnational organisations such as the UN, NATO and the World Bank have responded to
changing patterns of violent conflict since the end of the Cold War.

Demonstrate, through classroom participation and written work, an understanding of the concept and practice of international
conflict prevention, peace-keeping and peace-enforcement operations and norms such as ‘conditionality’ ‘responsibility to
protect’ and ‘international peace and security’.

Demonstrate through classroom participation and written work, an understanding of the complex relationship between conflict
actors engaged in warfare and external agencies who seek to intervene within such regions, diplomatically, militarily or to
provide humanitarian relief to the victims of violence.

Be able to critically examine, through written course work, comparative examples in the analysis of issues such as peacekeeping; post-conflict reconstruction; global governance and the impact of the media on international engagement within
violent conflicts.
Assessment:
40% coursework and 60% exam.
Coursework: 1 essay of 3000 words. Exam: 2 hours.
Teaching Method:
Lecture (1.5 hours) and workshop (1hour) weekly.
Introductory Reading:
Brown M E
Cochrane F
Hauss C
Kaldor M
Rogers P
Weiss T
The International Dimensions of Internal Conflict
Ending Wars
International Conflict Resolution
New and old wars: organised violence in a global era
A War On Terror: Afghanistan and after
Humanitarian Intervention.
PPR.330 Britain in the World
Tutor:
Term:
TBC
Michaelmas
Course description: This course presents a detailed analysis of the major developments in British foreign policy since 1945. It explains
these developments within a global context, offering rival interpretations of Britain’s changing role and status. The major themes include:
the consequences of Britain’s participation in the Second World War; the retreat from Empire after 1945; the ‘special relationship’ with
the United States; and the prolonged attempt to redefine Britain’s global role in the context of perceived economic and geopolitical
decline. Understand the major developments in Britain's role in the world since the Second World War.
Learning Outcomes: On successful completion of this module students will be able to:

Explain the major interpretations of British foreign policy since 1945.

Understand British foreign policy within a rapidly changing global context.

Analyse the foreign policy making process in Britain.

Have developed oral presentation skills and contributed to critical debates.
Assessment:
40% coursework and 60% exam.
Coursework: 1 essay of 3000 words. Exam: 2 hours.
Teaching Method:
Lecture (1.5 hours) and seminar (1 hour) weekly.
Introductory reading:
Dumbrell, J A
Gamble, A
Reynolds, D
Wallace, W
Special Relationship, Palgrave Macmillan
Between Europe and America, Palgrave Macmillan
Britannia Overruled, Longman
The Foreign Policy Process in Britain, Allen & Unwin.
33
PPR.331 The European Union and the World
Tutor:
Term:
Dr Basil Germond
Not available in 2014/15
Course Description: This course introduces students to the external dimension of the European Union’s politics and policies with a
particular emphasis on security aspects. It comprehensively discusses the EU’s foreign and security policies. It explores various aspects of
the EU’s encounter with the external world, including peace operations in the Balkans and Africa, the struggle against piracy at the Horn of
Africa, counter immigration in the Mediterranean, transatlantic relations, EU-China relations, and EU’s reactions to 2011 North African
events. Finally, it considers the limitations to the EU’s power, and questions the Union’s achievements as a security actor.
Learning Outcomes: On successful completion of this module students will be able to:

Understand and critically assess the EU’s role, leverage and activities as a global actor;

Understand and critically assess the scope, successes and failures of the EU’s foreign and security policies and activities;

Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the EU as a global actor;

Develop an analytical and interpretative framework within which to situate ongoing issues regarding the EU as a global actor;

Demonstrate a systematic understanding and critical awareness of established debates, theoretical literature and emerging
insights in the field;

Be able to review and assess the major texts/thinkers in the field (demonstrated through verbal and written assessment) and to
articulate their own position in relation to the thinkers/themes/key concepts/debates of the course;

Demonstrate they have acquired presentational and organisational skills through the seminar component of the course;
Assessment:
40% coursework and 60% exam.
Coursework: 1 essay of 3000 words. Exam: 2 hours.
Teaching Method:
Lecture (1.5 hours) and seminar (1 hour) weekly.
Introductory Reading:
Biscop, S & Andersson, J
Bretherton, C & Vogler, J
Howorth, J
Smith, K
The EU and The European Security Strategy
The European Union as a Global Actor
Security and Defence Policy in the European Union
European Union Foreign Policy in a Changing World.
PPR.332 United States Foreign Policy Since 1945
Tutor:
Term:
Dr Thomas Mills
Not available in 2014/15
Course Description: The course examines theories of US foreign policy, the structure of the policy making process in the US, and the
major themes in the development of American foreign policy since 1945. The course starts with an overview of the main competing
theoretical conceptions of US foreign policy, and an exploration of the foreign policy making process, looking in particular at the
Presidency and Congress, and the way in which relationships between these two bodies have developed over the past fifty years. We then
go on to look at the conduct of foreign policy since 1945, focusing on: the origins and early development of the Cold War; US engagement
in the Vietnam war; détente and the eventual ending of the Cold War; the first Gulf war and ‘the new world order’; 9/11 and the war on
terror; and, finally, new directions in US foreign policy being pursued by the current administration.
Learning Outcomes: On successful completion of this module students will be able to:

Show a detailed analytical understanding of the main developments in US Foreign Policy since 1945.

Explain the institutional background to the making of US Foreign Policy.

Interpret US Foreign Policy in the context of a variety of International Relations theories.

Have developed oral presentation skills and contributed to critical debates'
Assessment:
40% coursework and 60% exam.
Coursework: 1 essay of 3000 words. Exam: 2 hours.
Teaching Method:
Lecture (1.5 hours) and seminar (1 hour) weekly.
Introductory Reading:
Ambrose S
Cox, M & Stokes, D
Daalder I & Lindsay J M
Gaddis J L
Garthoff R L
Garthoff R L
Halberstam D
Halliday F
Herring G C
Kegley C W & Wittkopf E R
Nathan J A & Oliver J K
Rise to Globalism: American Foreign Policy since 1938
US Foreign Policy
America Unbound: The Bush Revolution in Foreign Policy
Strategies of Containment
Détente and Confrontation: American-Soviet Relations from Nixon to Reagan
The Great Transition: American-Soviet Relations and the End of the Cold War
War in a Time of Peace: Bush, Clinton and the Generals
The Making of the Second Cold War
America 's Longest War: the United States and Vietnam 1950-1975
American Foreign Policy: Pattern and Process
US Foreign Policy and World Order.
34
PPR.333 Contemporary Issues in the Middle East
Tutor:
Term:
Dr Sossie Kasbarian
Lent
Course Description: This course introduces students to key issues in Middle East politics today. It explores the people, society and
politics of the region and the role that religion, ethnicity, gender
and class have played in shaping contemporary issues. It examines the major internal and external actors in the region; conflict and peace;
the geo-strategic importance of the region; issues of political
economy; political change and reform; the issue of identities in the Middle East and ideologies around this; the emergence of political
Islam; rising anti-Americanism; 9/11 and the fall-out in the
region from the 'war on terror', the ‘Arab Spring’ and the unfolding revolutions.
Learning Outcomes: On successful completion of this module students will be able to:

Show a detailed analytical understanding of the main developments in the Middle East.

Explain the relationship between the major actors.

Evaluate the various approaches to understanding the issues raised by the Middle East.
Assessment:
40% coursework and 60% exam.
Coursework: 1 essay of 3000 words. Exam: 2 hours.
Teaching Method:
Lecture (1.5 hours) and workshop (1hour) weekly.
Introductory Reading:
Chatty, Dawn
Cleveland, W L
Fawcett L (ed)
Filiu, Jean-Pierr
Gerner D & Halliday, F
Milton Edwards, B
Owen, R
Said, E
Schwedler J (eds)
Zubaida, Sami
Displacement and Dispossession in the Modern Middle East. Cambridge University Press, 2010
A History of the Modern Middle East, Westview, 2nd ed., 2000
International Relations of the Middle East
The Arab Revolution, 2011
The Middle East in International Relations: Power Politics and Ideology, Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press, 2004
Contemporary Politics in the Middle East, Cambridge: Polity Press, 2006
State Power and Politics in the Making of the Modern Middle East, rev. edn London: Routledge, 2004
Orientalism, 1978
Understanding the Contemporary Middle East (2nd edition)
Beyond Islam: A New Understanding of the Middle East. IB Tauris, 2010.
PPR.336 Africa and Global Politics
Tutor:
Term:
Dr Julie Hearn
Lent
Course Description: African states are among the poorest, most artificial in the world. This means their relations with the global system
have a critical impact on African politics from the global to the local level. The course has three main aims.
•
To provide an overview of the major issues facing Africa in the global system since independence, such as the debt crisis,
poverty reduction strategies and aid relations.
•
To introduce and assess alternative approaches to the study of the subject, through the analysis of particular issues facing
African states, such as the nature of civil society, democratization both from above and below and the role of NGOs.
•
To contribute one perspective to an overall understanding of the new structure of the global system in the twenty-first century.
This course provides a historical and thematic introduction to the issues facing Africa in the international system today. The course is
divided into four sections. The first section focuses on the impact of colonialism on shaping the economy, the state and perceptions of
race. The second section examines the first four decades of independence. The third and fourth sections look at key contemporary issues
such as HIV/AIDS and actors such as China and South Africa.
Learning Outcomes: On successful completion of this module students will be able to:
•
Demonstrate knowledge of key contemporary themes in African politics such as the impact of Chinese investment and trade.
•
Place these developments within the continent’s history including the Atlantic Slave Trade and European colonialism and its
outsider representations of African reality.
•
Outline and analyze different theoretical and empirical perspectives to understand the role of NGOs, the state and citizens in
poverty alleviation, for example.
Assessment:
40% coursework and 60% exam.
Coursework: 1 essay of 3000 words. Exam: 2 hours.
Teaching Method:
Lecture (1.5 hours) and workshop (1 hour) weekly.
Introductory Reading:
Fanon F
Freund B
Harrison G
Rodney W
The Wretched of the Earth
The Making of Contemporary Africa (2nd edition)
Issues in the Contemporary Politics of Sub- Saharan Africa
How Europe Underdeveloped Africa.
35
PPR.337 Society and Politics in Latin America
Tutor:
Term:
Dr Julie Hearn and Dr Amalendu Misra
Not available 2014/15
Course Description: This module is interdisciplinary in nature, in the sense that it includes several approaches to study the Society and
Politics in Latin America. It is designed on thematic issues that bind all the 21 member nations of the Latin America in one form or another.
The primary aim of this module is to introduce students to an understudied region in the world. This is done through introducing them to
various themes in Latin American Politics. This module is designed for students, who have already had some grounding on politics of
development, conflict and peace, religion and culture and also aimed at those who wish to develop an area studies specialisation in their
intellectual quest.
Learning Outcomes:

Appreciate the dynamics of Latin American Politics and society.

Evaluate its position in contemporary international politics.

Engage with practical contemporary topics such as democracy, development, migration and such.

Articulate and defend their own views on key thematic issues that bind Latin America member nations.

Understand, assess, and critically engage with, key concepts and intellectual debates derived from the literature.

Express and argue their own views.

Pursue intellectual questions in a rigorous and academic manner, employing analytical skills and critical thinking.

Communicate ideas to others in a clear and concise manner through presentation skills including oral and written work.
Assessment:
40% coursework and 60% exam.
Coursework: 1 essay of 3000 words. Exam: 2 hours.
Teaching Method:
Lecture (1.5 hours) and seminar (1 hour) weekly.
Introductory Reading:
Auyero, J
Poor People’s Politics: Peronist Survival Networks and the Legacy of Evita, Durham: Duke University Press,
2001
Barrett, P et al (eds)
The New Latin American Left: Utopia Reborn, London: Pluto Press, 2008
Crabtree, J. & Whitehead, L (eds) Unresolved Tensions: Bolivia Past and Present, Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh, 2008
Galeano, E
Open Veins of Latin America, New York: Monthly Review Press, 1973.
PPR.339 Elections, Voters and Political Parties
Tutor:
Term:
Dr Martin Steven
Michaelmas
Course Description: This module focuses on the most fundamental component of democratic political systems – party politics. In
particular, it analyses key political behaviour issues related to models of voting, party organisation and public policy. It adopts a broadly
comparative approach, with an emphasis on advanced industrial democracies in the west – especially the United Kingdom, but also other
parts of Europe and the United States.
Learning Outcomes: On successful completion of this module students will be able to:
•
•
•
•
•
•
Assess the merits of the different models of voting behaviour
Identify the main elements of party organisation
Understand the main concepts of party system formation and development
Be aware of the causes and consequences of ideological change in political parties
Come to a view about good practice and design in relation to electoral systems
Study government formation and the relationship between elections, parties and policy
Assessment:
40% coursework and 60% exam.
Coursework: 1 essay of 3000 words. Exam: 2 hours.
Teaching Method:
Lecture (1.5 hours) and seminar (1 hour) weekly.
Introductory Reading:
R. Dalton, D. Farrell and I. McAllister
A.Clark
C .Van der Eijk and M. Franklin
P. Webb, D. Farrell and I. Holliday
Political Parties and Democratic Linkage: How Parties Organize Democracy (2013)
Political Parties in the UK (2012)
Elections and Voters (2009)
Political Parties in Advanced Industrial Democracies (2002)
36
PPR.340 Islamic Politics
Tutor:
Term:
Dr Amalendu Misra
Lent
Course Description: The aim of this module is to introduce students in the inner dynamics of political Islam and the attendant challenges
that comes with it. It is a module designed as much for students with little or no background in Islamic Politics, as it is for students who
already have some grounding. This module is built around an examination of the principal debates, features, and manifestations of Islamic
politics in the twentieth century.
Learning Outcomes:

Appreciate the dynamics of political Islam in contemporary international society.

Understand the working of Islam in the governing process.

Evaluate its position in contemporary international order.

Engage with practical contemporary topics such as governance, violence, terrorism and such.

Demonstrate an understanding of key concepts and intellectual debates.

Pursue intellectual questions in a rigorous and academic manner, employing analytical skills and official thinking.

Communicate ideas to others in a clear and concise manner through presentation skills including oral and written work.

Demonstrate written presentation skills.
Assessment:
40% coursework and 60% exam.
Coursework: 1 essay of 3000 words. Exam: 2 hours.
Teaching Method:
Lecture (1.5 hours) and seminar (1 hour) weekly.
Introductory Reading:
Ayubi, N.
Barber, B
Dawood, N.J. (trans.)
Donnan, H (ed.)
Political Islam Religion and Politics in the Arab World, London: Routledge 1991
Jihad vs. McWorld, New York: Ballentine Books 1996
The Koran, Harmondsworth: Penguin 1959
Interpreting Islam, London: Sage 2002.
PPR.341 Contemporary Issues in Human Rights
Tutor:
Term:
Dr Karolina Follis
Michaelmas
Course Description: This module introduces students to human rights as a political and legal concept. It provides a critical overview of
contemporary debates in the field, without losing sight of key theoretical questions. What are human rights? What is their source? In
what sense are they ‘universal’ and ‘inalienable’? Following a discussion of philosophical and historical foundations the module will
examine the post-World War II international legal regime for the protection of human rights. It will explore the political implications of
enshrining human rights at the international level, and engage with questions of culture and diversity, development and globalization,
poverty and health. Students will have the opportunity to research and discuss such issues as gender-based violence, torture in the ‘war
on terror’, treatment of refugees and asylum seekers and HIV/AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa. These empirical case studies of recent human
rights struggles and controversies, will shed light on the complexity of global human rights politics in the early 21st century.
Learning Outcomes: On successful completion of this module students will be able to:

Demonstrate a clear understanding of the key concepts in the field of human rights law and politics.

Show a grounded understanding of the major contemporary issues and debates relating to human rights.

Knowledgably discuss the intersection between theories of human rights and the application of human rights standards in
particular human rights situations.

Show an understanding of the major critiques of the human rights paradigm and their implications for human rights practice.
Assessment:
40% coursework and 60% exam.
Coursework: 1 essay of 3000 words. Exam: 2 hours.
Teaching Method:
Lecture (1.5 hours) and seminar (1 hour) weekly.
The core text for the module is:
Donnelly, J.
Universal Human Rights in Theory and Practice, 3rd ed., Cornell University Press, 2013
Other readings include:
Alston P. & Goodman, R.
Clapham, A.
Ignatieff, M.
Morris, L. (ed.)
International Human Rights in Context: Law, Politics, Morals, 4th ed., Oxford University Press, 2012
Human Rights. A Very Short Introduction, Oxford University Press, 2007
Human Rights as Politics and Idolatry, Princeton University Press, 2001
Rights. Sociological Perspectives, Routledge, 2006.
37
PPR.342 Global Political Economy and the World Today
Tutor:
Term:
Professor Chris May
Not available in 2014/15
Course Description: This module surveys a range of analyses usually grouped together under the term International (or now Global)
Political Economy. The module will further develop knowledge of three main groups of analyses: mainstream liberal analyses; institutional
approaches; and critical theories of global political economy. At the end of the module, students will have enhanced knowledge of the
range of approaches that can be utilised to understand the contemporary global system from a range of political economic perspectives,
appreciate the differences between these approaches and the benefits (and shortcomings) of deploying each general approach and some
of its variants when seeking to explain elements of the current global (economic) crisis. The module uses current discussions and
deliberations about the global political economy to illustrate the approaches being discussed and to help students develop their
appreciation of the complexities of global politics and economics.
Learning Outcomes: On successful completion of this module students will be able to:

Compare and contrast the major approaches of International (or Global) Political Economy.

Understand the broad distinctions between different accounts of the contemporary global system.

Apply specified approaches to understand specific cases, practices and institutions in the field of international or global political
economy.
Assessment:
40% coursework and 60% exam.
Coursework: 1 essay of 3000 words. Exam: 2 hours.
Teaching Method:
Lecture (1.5 hours) and seminar (1 hour) weekly.
Introductory Reading:
Blyth, M.
Gill, S. & Law, D.
O’Brien, R. & Williams, M.
Ronen, P.
Ravenhill, J.
Strange, S.
Routledge Handbook of IPE, 2009
The Global Political Economy – Perspectives, Problems and Policies, 1988
Global Political Economy, 3rd ed., 2010
Global Political Economy – Contemporary Theories, 2nd ed., 2013
Global Political Economy, 3rd ed., 2011
States and Markets, 2nd ed., 1994.
PPR.343 Corporations, Global Political Economy and the Law
Tutor:
Term:
Professor Chris May
Lent
Course Description: This module explores the analysis of the corporation in the (global) political economy. It will help students develop
their knowledge of the character and practices of corporations and place that analysis within the wider context of analyses of International
Political Economy. At the end of the module students will better understand the variance and multi-faceted character of the corporate
(global) sector, be able to account for a range of (political) positions about corporations and have some experience of the interaction
between political economic and legal analyses. The module overall is intended to demystify the corporation as a political economic actor
and support students in developing a nuanced appreciation of their own analyses of the role and practices of (global) corporations.
Learning Outcomes: On successful completion of this module students will be able to:




Compare and contrast the major approaches of International (or Global) Political Economy to the analysis of the (global)
corporation.
Understand the extent of different forms and practices of corporations in the global system.
Account for the range of political positions on the role and practices of corporations.
Appreciate the manner in which IPE and legal studies can be engaged around a specific analytical issue (that of the corporate
form and its governance).
Assessment:
40% coursework and 60% exam.
Coursework: 1 essay of 3000 words. Exam: 2 hours.
Teaching Method:
Lecture (1.5 hours) and seminar (1 hour) weekly.
Introductory Reading:
Bakan, J.
Carroll, W.
Culpepper, P.
Fuchs, D.
Micklethwaite, J. & Wooldridge, A.
Picciotto, S.
Soederberg, S.
The Corporation, 2004
The Making of a Transnational Capitalist Class, 2010
Quiet Politics and Business Power, 2011
Business Power in Global Governance, 2007
The Company – A Short History of a Revolutionary Idea, 2003
Regulating Global Corporate Capitalism, 2011
Corporate Power and Ownership in Contemporary Capitalism, 2010.
38
PPR.344 Politics of Cultural Diversity
Tutors:
Terms:
Dr Matthew Johnson
Michaelmas
Course Description: This module seeks to examine several questions of significance to contemporary politics: What is culture? Is there a
‘Clash of Civilisations’? Can we evaluate cultural practices or say that a culture is harmful or wrong? How should we deal with practices
such as genital cutting and should we mourn the ‘loss’ of cultures Students will develop: the capacity to argue effectively; communication
skills through seminar discussions; written skills by completing the coursework assessments; the ability to work interdisciplinarily by
applying insights from a range of fields to issues of core political importance.
Learning Outcomes: Upon completion of the course, students should be able to:
•
conceptualise culture and cultural processes of concern to politics,
•
understand and examine cultural change and conflict,
•
comprehend and employ normative approaches to the study of culture,
•
evaluate policy responses to cultural diversity,
•
articulate significant knowledge on a selected topic related to the course material.
Assessment:
40% coursework and 60% exam.
Coursework: 1 essay of 3000 words. Exam: 2 hours.
Teaching Method:
Lecture (1.5 hours) and seminar (1 hour) weekly.
Introductory Reading:
Cox, R. B.
Huntington, S.
Johnson, M. T.
Nussbaum, M. C.
‘Thinking about Civilisations’, Review of International Studies, 26, pp. 217–234, 2000
‘The Clash of Civilisations’, Foreign Affairs, 72: 3, 22-49, 1993
Evaluating Culture: Wellbeing, Institutions and Circumstance, London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2013
‘Women and Cultural Universals’, in, M. Baghramian and A. Ingram, eds., Pluralism: The
Philosophy and Politics of Diversity,London: Routledge, pp. 197-227, 2000
PPR.345 Exploring the Persian Gulf
Tutor:
Term:
Dr Simon Mabon
Lent
Course Description: The module aims to help students to gain an in-depth understanding of the main historical events, processes and
actors that have shaped and continue to shape political dynamics in the Persian Gulf. Specific focus will be upon the key challenges to
peace and security within the region. The module will form an academically informed, independent and critical knowledge of the Persian
Gulf and the relations that states within the region have with ‘the West’.
Learning Outcomes: On successful completion of this module students will be able to:

Demonstrate a thorough knowledge of different approaches to studying the Persian Gulf.

Show an academically informed, independent and critical knowledge of key challenges to peace and security in the Persian
Gulf.
Assessment:
40% coursework and 60% exam.
Coursework: 1 essay of 3000 words. Exam: 2 hours.
Teaching Method:
Lecture (1.5 hours) and seminar (1 hour) weekly.
Introductory Reading:
Abir, M.
Ayubi, Nazi N. M.
Bradley, John R.
Halliday, Fred
Hinnebusch, R.
Mabon, S.
Saudi Arabia: Government, Society and the Gulf Crisis, London, 1993
Political Islam: Religion and Politics in the Arab World, London, Routledge, 1991
Saudi Arabia Exposed: Inside a Kingdom in Crisis, New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2005
The Middle East in International Relations: Power, Politics and Ideology, Cambridge University Press, 2005
The International Politic of the Middle East, Manchester University Press, 2003
Saudi Arabia and Iran: Soft power rivalry in the Middle East, London: I.B. Tauris, 2013.
39
PPR.349: Politics and Ethics in Indian Philosophy
Tutor:
Term:
Dr Brian Black
Not available in 2014/15
Course Description: This course will look at Indian source texts on politics and ethics. In particular, we will be looking at sources that
explore the concept of dharma, a term that incorporates issues of justice, religion, ethics, duty, and law. We will examine the sources of
dharma both in their own historical and cultural contexts, as well as in the context of contemporary debates in political theory and ethics.
The texts we will examine will include: the inscriptions of Ashoka, the Buddhist Nikayas, the Arthashastra, the Law Codes of Manu, the
Mahabharata, and the Kamasutra. We will examine these sources in connection with modern political figures, such as Gandhi and
Sarvarkar, as well as in connection with recent debates in India about secularism, democracy and pluralism.
Learning Outcomes: On successful completion of this module students will be able to:

Demonstrate an understanding of the texts and contexts covered in the course

Demonstrate an understanding of the key political and ethical theories covered in the course

Be able to review and assess the major texts/thinkers under review demonstrated through verbal and written assessment

Articulate their own position in relation to the thinkers/themes of the course.
Assessment:
40% coursework and 60% exam.
Coursework: 1 essay of 3000 words. Exam: 2 hours.
Teaching Method:
Lecture (2 hours) weekly, and seminar (1 hour) fortnightly.
Introductory Reading:
Doniger, W & Kakar, S (tr)
Hiltebeitel, A
Olivelle, P (tr)
Smith, J (tr)
Walshe, M (tr)
Kamasutra: A New Translation
Dharma: Its Early History in Law, Religion, and Narrative
The Law Codes of Manu
The Mahabharata
The Long Discourses of the Buddha: A Translation of the Digha Nikaya.
PPR.350 Indian Religious and Philosophical Thought
Tutor:
Term:
Dr Brian Black
Michaelmas
Course Description: This course will introduce major themes and issues in Indian philosophy, focusing on the Hindu and Buddhist
philosophical traditions. Beginning with philosophical sections in the Upanishads and the dialogues of the Buddha, the course will trace
the development of Indian philosophy from the early to the classical periods. We will cover various ethical, metaphysical, and
epistemological concepts, such as: order and virtue (dharma), consequential action (karma), ultimate reality (brahman), the nature of the
self (atman), the highest good (moksha), and the means for attaining knowledge (pramana). Throughout we will look at the dialogical
relationship between the Hindu and Buddhist philosophical traditions, particularly the shared practice of debate.
Learning Outcomes: On successful completion of this module students will be able to:

Show acquaintance with the broad historical and systematic features of Indian philosophy of religion.

Have read and discussed issues central to the intellectual culture of ancient and classical Indian religion.

Acquired a foundation that will enable study of Hindu and Buddhist philosophical traditions at more advanced levels

Demonstrate that they have gained knowledge of comparative issues in Western Philosophy of Religion.
Assessment:
40% coursework and 60% exam.
Coursework: 1 essay of 3000 words. Exam: 2 hours.
Teaching Method:
Lecture (2 hours) weekly, and seminar (1 hour) fortnightly.
Introductory Reading:
Matilal, B K
Logical and Ethical Issues of Religious Belief.
40
PPR.351 Modern Religious and Atheistic Thought
Tutor:
Term:
Dr Gavin Hyman
Lent
Course Description: The aim of this course is to examine and evaluate some of the most central issues in Enlightenment and postEnlightenment Western religious and atheistic philosophical debates. The course will begin by looking the philosophy of G W F Hegel and
its implications for subsequent religious and atheistic thought. It will then proceed to consider the thought of the post-Hegelian ‘masters
of suspicion’: Feuerbach, Marx, Freud and Nietzsche. After this, it will look at ways in which religious and atheistic thought have been
brought together, as manifested in various forms of ‘Christian atheism.’ Finally, it will consider postmodern critiques of modern atheism
and the nature of the associated ‘return of religion.’
Learning Outcomes: On successful completion of this module students will be able to:
•
•

•
Identify, explain and evaluate the modern framework in which religious and atheistic debate has taken place;
Describe and evaluate the thought of some major theistic and atheistic thinkers;
Critically assess a number of theoretical approaches to the questions of the Existence of God;
Engage with major primary and secondary texts in oral presentation and written assignment.
Assessment:
40% coursework and 60% examination.
Coursework: 1 essay of 3000 words. Exam: 2 hours.
Teaching Method:
Lecture (1.5 hours) and seminar (1 hour) weekly.
Introductory Reading:
Avis, P
Buckley, M J
Hyman, G
Martin, M (ed)
Ward, G (ed)
Faith in the Fires of Criticism
At the Origins of Modern Atheism
A Short History of Atheism
The Cambridge Companion to Atheism
The Postmodern God.
PPR.352 New Religions and Alternative Spiritualities
Tutor:
Term:
Professor Christopher Partridge
Lent
Course Description: Institutionalized religion is in decline, both in Britain and in northern Europe as a whole. But a great deal is
happening 'beyond church and chapel'. The course explores what is taking place in this territory. Is Christianity holding its own among
those who do not go to church? Or are 'new' experiential and 'gently' institutionalized spiritualities of life a growing force? Special
attention is paid to the role played by 'new spiritual outlets' (NSOS), as well as the role played by the better known new religious
movements (NRMS). Students will be encouraged to exercise initiative by incorporating case study research in their essay.
Learning Outcomes: On successful completion of this module students will be able to:

You will be provided with the opportunity to become knowledgeable about new spiritualities of life, organized both as NSOS
and as NRMS.

Acquire knowledge from secondary literature, case study research, or both.

Apply theories - drawn from the sociology of religion as well as more general socio-cultural theorizing - to explain the
development and operation of new spiritualities of life.

Demonstrate learning and critically reflect on debates concerning how religion/spirituality is faring as we enter the 21st
century.
Assessment:
40% coursework and 60% exam.
Coursework: 1 essay of 3000 words. Exam: 2 hours.
Teaching Method:
Lecture (2 hours) weekly, and seminar (1 hour) fortnightly.
Introductory Reading:
Heelas, P and Woodhead, L
Heelas, P
Tipton, S
The Spiritual Revolution
The New Age Movement
Getting Saved from the Sixties.
41
PPR.354 Reading Buddhism
Tutor:
Term:
Dr Hiroko Kawanami
Michaelmas
Course Description: This course examines the Buddhist scriptures in the Theravāda and Mahāyāna traditions and offers an opportunity
for students to understand some of the key concepts and ideas by reading select extracts of the Buddhist texts in English from both
schools and traditions. It also allows them to understand the changes in doctrinal emphasis as well as variations in interpretation in the
historical development of Buddhism. This module will be a stand-alone module for third year students but will also be accessible to
students who are new to the subject.
Learning Outcomes: On successful completion of this module students will be able to:

Describe the origins and doctrinal development within the context of historical development of Buddhism.

Identify different strands of schools and traditions of Buddhism and demonstrate how doctrines and concepts have developed
out of internal debates and critiques.

Analyse and evaluate the value systems underlying Buddhist texts.

Appraise some of the academic debates in relation to the study of Buddhism.
Assessment:
40% coursework and 60% exam.
Coursework: 1 essay of 3000 words. Exam: 2 hours.
Teaching Method:
Lecture (1.5 hours) and seminar (1 hour) weekly.
Introductory Reading:
Gethin, R
Warren, H
Wijayaratna, M
Williams, P
The Foundations of Buddhism
Buddhism in Translations
Buddhist Monastic Life
Mahāyāna Buddhism.
PPR.355 Reading Islam
Tutor:
Term:
Dr Shuruq Naguib
Not available in 2014/15
Course Description: Religions may take on partly distinctive forms due to the history and traditions of particular regions or modern
nation states. Islam is no exception. This course will examine varieties of Islam in a range of modern areas and countries such as Turkey,
Iran, Saudi Arabia and Britain.
Learning Outcomes: On successful completion of this module students will be able to:

Identify a range of modern configurations of Islam in particular countries or regions.

Illustrate the socio-political contexts which have contributed to these configurations both historically and in today's world.

Appreciate and articulate some of the key debates that have arisen both within and between them.
Assessment:
40% coursework and 60% exam.
Coursework: 1 essay of 3000 words. Exam: 2 hours.
Teaching Method:
Lecture (2 hours) weekly, and seminar (1 hour) fortnightly.
Introductory Reading:
John Esposito (ed)
Jorgen Nielsen
John O. Voll
David Westurlund & Ingvar Svanberg (eds)
Islam and Development: Religion and Socio-Political Change
Muslims in Western Europe
Islam: Continuity and Change in the Modern World
Outside the Arab World.
42
PPR.356 Religion in Schools
Tutor:
Term:
Dr Mairi Levitt
Michaelmas
Course Description: The aims of this module are to critically examine the teaching of religion in schools as it has developed since 1944,
current controversies and possible futures; and, to provide relevant knowledge and understanding for those going on to a teaching career
in RS/ethics. Topics include social and political values in RE, pluralism and Truth, spirituality in the curriculum, faith schools and secular
worldviews. The focus is on the educational system in England and Wales but with reference to the rest of the UK and Europe.
Learning Outcomes: On successful completion of this module students will be able to:
•
Understand the legal framework for the place of religion in the school system
•
Understand how religion in schools has developed since 1944 in terms of aims, content and methods
•
Discuss and evaluate the political and social role of religion in schools and the ways in which its privileged position is justified
•
Critically reflect upon current controversies over the role of religious education in a pluralist society
•
Understand and evaluate different positions on the place of faith schools in a state maintained system
•
Demonstrate critical analysis of policy documents, agreed syllabuses, teaching materials and secondary literature in essay
writing and the examination
•
Engage in critical reflection on the place of religion in schools in the 21st century
•
Demonstrate a clear grasp of the ways in which religion in schools relates to diverse socio-political and cultural contexts
Assessment:
40% coursework and 60% exam.
Coursework: 1 essay of 3000 words. Exam: 2 hours.
Teaching Method:
Lecture (1.5 hours) and seminar (1 hour) weekly.
Introductory Reading:
Barnes, L P
Copley, T
Thompson, P
Wright, A
Debates in Religious Education Teaching (The Debates in Subject Teaching Series)
Teaching Religion: 60 years of Religious Education in England and Wales
Whatever Happened to Religious Education
Religion, Education and Post-modernity
Journals
British Journal of Religious Education
Journal of Beliefs and Values
Religious Education.
PPR.357 Religion and Politics
Tutor:
Term:
Katan Alder
Lent
Course Description: This course focuses on key contexts and developments in the inter-relationship between religion and politics across
the world. The major themes will be: (i) the thesis that the influence of religion has declined in the western world, and its applicability to
Christianity in the U.S.A; (ii) the thesis that there has been a resurgence of religion in politics in the world, and its relevance to the
interpretation of politics in selected Islamic states (with special reference to Judaism and the Middle-East); (iii) constitutional attempts to
negotiate the role of religion in a multi-religious polity, with special reference to Hinduism and Indian secularism; (iv) the management of
religion through the concept of a state religion, through a comparison of the monarchies of the United Kingdom, Thailand and Japan.
Learning Outcomes: On successful completion of this module students will be able to:

Describe and analyse various ways in which religion has been understood in political contexts.

Appraise the manner in which general theories about the role of religion in politics have actually engaged with the experience
of different traditions and countries.

Demonstrate a critical and informed awareness of the global diversity of the interaction between religion and politics.

Compare and contrast experiences within that global diversity.

Demonstrate some familiarity with the specific recent history of a range of traditions and countries.

Use a range of published materials in engaging with the conceptual challenges of cross-cultural study of religion and politics
and apply an understanding of religion to the study of politics and vice versa.
Assessment:
40% coursework and 60% exam.
Coursework: 1 essay of 3000 words. Exam: 2 hours.
Teaching Method:
Lecture (2 hours) weekly, and seminar (1 hour) fortnightly.
Introductory Reading:
Bruce, S
Haynes, J
Ling, T (ed)
Plant, R
Politics and Religion
Religion in Global Politics
Buddhism and Politics in Southeast Asia
Politics, Theology and History.
43
PPR.358 Early Christianity
Tutor:
Term:
TBC
Not available 2014/15
Course Description: This course deals with the formative period of Christian history, from the time of Jesus to the fall of the Roman
Empire. It is distinctive in approaching early Christianity from an interdisciplinary standpoint, and in considering it in terms of three
dimensions of the religion: 1) Christian institutions (and their relation with wider socio-political contexts), 2) Christian pieties and worship,
and 3) Christian thought and the formation of doctrine.
Learning Outcomes: On successful completion of this module students will be able to:





Summarise and discuss the key events, individuals, and developments in the first five centuries of Christian history.
Relate the growth of early Christianity to its wider social and political contexts.
Articulate and contextualise the thought of at least one church father.
Read primary texts from the period in an historically responsible fashion.
Use primary texts to inform their own research and demonstrate in practice an awareness of the way in which secondary
literature and scholarly debates should be used in the study of early Christian history.
Assessment:
40% coursework and 60% exam.
Coursework: 1 essay of 3000 words. Exam: 2 hours.
Teaching Method:
Lecture (2 hours) weekly, and seminar (1 hour) fortnightly.
Introductory Reading:
Hall, S G
Herrin, J
Stevenson, J
Stevenson, J
Doctrine and Practice in the Early Church
The Formation of Christendom
A New Eusebius
Creeds, Councils and Controversies.
PPR.359 Religion in Contemporary Indian Life
Tutor:
Term:
Dr Brian Black
Summer vacation in India (August)
Course Description: This course is taught intensively at our partner institution in Bangalore, India for four weeks during August. The
programme includes daily lectures, seminars, excursions, and cultural activities. On their return to Lancaster, students write a supervised
dissertation on an aspect of contemporary Indian life. Topics covered could include Bhakti traditions in India, the philosophy and
spirituality of Yoga, Vedanta today, Islam in India, the Sikh way of life, Buddhism in India, the inculturation process in Christianity, interreligious dialogue and pluralism in India today, the role of women in Indian religious traditions and religious festivals in India, debates
about secularism and religion in the political sphere. The course is also open to Politics and Philosophy students, who can write about
political or philosophical issues in contemporary India.
Learning Outcomes: On successful completion of this module students will be able to:




Demonstrate direct exposure to many of the ways in which religious beliefs and practices are expressed and manifested in
Indian life.
Show acquisition of an awareness of the role of religion in Indian life.
Demonstrate such awareness by testing what you have heard and observed, while in India, against views in books on Indian
religions.
Demonstrate knowledge for further study of Asian religions.
Assessment:
100% coursework: one 10,000 word dissertation (100%).
Teaching Method:
Lectures, fieldwork, and dissertation tutorials.
Introductory Reading:
Fuller C
Larson G
The Camphor Flame
India’s Agony over Religion.
44
PPR.360 Modern Christian Thought
Tutor:
Term:
Dr Anderson Jeremiah
Michaelmas
Course Description: This course, for the most part, concentrates on (Protestant) Christian thinkers from the German-speaking world.
These thinkers have dominated the development of Christian thought in Europe and America until very recent times, when various
'political theologies' (Black, feminist and liberationist) started to erode their influence. Our point of departure on this course must be the
Enlightenment and its paradigmatic philosopher - Immanuel Kant. We shall begin, therefore, by looking at the challenges facing early
nineteenth century theologians, consider the responses of five major Christian thinkers of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and we
shall end by exploring the challenges facing Christian thought today.
Learning Outcomes: On successful completion of this module students will be able to:



Demonstrate a thorough and critical understanding of the context and approach of one modern Christian theologian.
Understand the thought of at least four major theologians.
Read and analyse at least one major text and foster a critical but sympathetic approach to all the theological approaches
encountered.
Assessment:
40% coursework and 60% exam.
Coursework: 1 essay of 3000 words. Exam: 2 hours.
Teaching Method:
Lecture (1.5 hours) weekly, and seminar (1 hour) weekly.
Introductory Reading:
Ford, D (ed.)
Macquarrie, J
Smart, N et al
The Modern Theologians (2nd ed)
Twentieth Century Religious Thought
Nineteenth Century Religious Thought in the West, Vol. 1.
PPR.361 The Ritual and Social Contexts of Spirit Possession
Tutor:
Term:
Dr Andrew Dawson
Michaelmas
Course Description: •Complemented by film/video footage, the module surveys and examines the main themes, debates and
approaches to ritualised spirit possession in a variety of social contexts. It also engages established social processes and emerging trends
as they are expressed through a range of spirit possession motifs, repertoires and paradigms. The module encourages students to develop
an analytical and interpretative framework for understanding beliefs, concrete practices and ongoing transformations concerning
ritualised spirit-possession.
Learning Outcomes: On successful completion of this module students will be able to:





Discuss key concepts, topics and debates associated with academic treatments of spirit possession as expressed through a
variety of social contexts;
Employ a variety of theoretical and practical methods commonly used in the academic study of spirit possession;
Use appropriate resources to formulate a coherent argument that takes account of divergent opinions and their implications
for the academic study of ritualised spirit possession;
Use a range of established techniques to initiate and undertake critical analysis of information and to reach informed
conclusions arising from that analysis;
Communicate effectively information, arguments and analysis and deploy relevant techniques of learning effectively.
Assessment:
40% coursework and 60% exam.
Coursework: 1 essay of 3000 words. Exam: 2 hours.
Teaching Method:
Lecture and seminar (one single 3 hour block each week,
including lecture, dvds, group discussion and seminar readings)
Introductory Reading:
Dawson, A
Lewis, I M
Summoning the Spirits: Possession and Invocation in Contemporary Religion
Ecstatic Religion.
45
PPR.362 Religion and Violence
Tutor:
Term:
Professor Ian Reader
Lent
Course Description: There are those who claim that religion is little more than a perverse and irrational scar on the modern world, one
that invariably causes violence, while others (at times driven by political motivations) claim that religion is ‘good’ and that violence only
occurs when ‘religion has been hijacked by other forces’. Others still claim that ‘religious violence’ is a myth constructed for political
purposes, and that one should not therefore speak of religion in such terms.
In disentangling such claims, this course examines the relationship between religion and violence, asking whether one can draw such
associations between the two and whether one can develop any broader theoretical understandings about their relationship that
enhances our understanding of religion in the modern world. It thus challenges students to think through and develop an understanding
of these issues. While examining a variety of theories and perspectives on the topic, including close examination of the arguments
outlined above, it continually will refer to empirical data and case studies in which religious movements and religious individuals have
been involved in violent activities, as well as examining cases where acts of immense violence (including genocide) have occurred in what
appear to be political contexts, but where religious rhetoric may have been used by the perpetrators of violence.
Learning Outcomes: On successful completion of this module students will be able to:

Demonstrate an understanding of key positions in the debates over the relationship of religion and violence

Demonstrate an understanding of the key notions employed in the debates

Understand the dynamics of a variety of examples of different types of religious movement and instances where religion and
violence have been associated together

Articulate their own position in relation to the issues discussed in the course
Assessment:
40% coursework and 60% exam.
Coursework: 1 essay of 3000 words. Exam: 2 hours.
Teaching Method:
Lecture (2 hours) weekly, and seminar (1 hour) fortnightly.
Introductory Reading:
Benjamin, D & Stephen, S
Cavanaugh, W T
Davis J M
Harris, S
Maaga, M
The Age of Sacred Terror
The Myth of Religious Violence
Martyrs: Innocence, Vengeance and Despair in the Middle East
The End of Faith: Religion, Terror and the Future of Reason
Hearing the Voices of Jonestown.
PPR.363 Media, Religion and Politics
Tutor:
Term:
TBC
Michaelmas
Course Description: The module will examine the cultural and political relationships and intersections between media, religion and
politics in national and global contexts. Both old and new media will be considered, and consideration will be given to the transformative
potential of the latter for participation and activism in religion and politics. The research methods used for analysing media content and
discourse will be introduced and applied. The syllabus will include some of the following topics: media, mediation and mediatisation;
Islam, violent extremism and Islamophobia; American media and the US elections; changing media portrayals of politics and religion in
Britain; religious and political broadcasting; media, atheism and secularism
Learning Outcomes: On successful completion of this module students will be able to:

Demonstrate their understanding of key issues in media, religion and politics in discussions and in written assessment, and be
able to illustrate their understanding with current media examples;

Analyse a variety of types of media (e.g. ephemera, newspapers, television, websites, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter) and their
textual and visual representations and discourses;

Articulate their own views and reflect on their own interactions with the media;

In addition they will have practised writing in a style appropriate for a media article, blog or other media intervention on a
relevant subject.
Assessment:
40% coursework and 60% exam.
Coursework: 1 essay of 3000 words. Exam: 2 hours.
Teaching Method:
Lecture (1.5 hours) and seminar (1 hour) weekly.
Introductory Reading:
Campbell, H
Couldrey, N
Knott, K, Poole E and Taira T,
Kuhn, R
Lynch, G and Mitchell, J (eds)
Street, J
When Religion Meets New Media
Media, Society, World
Media Portrayals of Religion and the Secular Sacred
Politics and the Media in Britain
Religion, Media and Culture: A Reader
Mass Media, Politics and Democracy.
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PPR.390 PPR in Education
Tutor:
Term:
John Foster
Lent
Available to all third year major and combined major students within PPR Department. It will not be available to students outside the
Department (i.e. cannot be taken as a minor)
Course Description: This module is designed to allow students to gain experience of educational environments, to develop transferable
skills, and to reflect on the role and communication of their own discipline. The module is organised and delivered collaboratively
between LUSU Involve, the school/college where the placement is based (henceforth ‘the partner’), and the department.
The module will give students experience of classroom observation and experience, teacher assistance, as well as teaching small groups
(under supervision). In particular, the module will not only give students the opportunity to observe and experience teaching and learners
for themselves, it will also require them to reflect on how their own subject area (Religion, Politics and International Relations, or
Philosophy) is experienced by learners, delivered in other parts of the educational sector, and applied in a classroom setting. Students will
also be asked to reflect on how teaching and learning at this earlier level cohere with what is taught and promoted at the level of Higher
education (as experienced in the University).
Learning Outcomes: On successful completion of this module students will be able to:

Reflect and write about their experiences at the partner institution

Reflect on and write about how their own learning, skills, and knowledge acquired at the University have been adapted and
applied to their experiences at the partner institution

Reflect on their own academic disciplines from the perspective of a teacher as well as that of a learner, with associated new
insights into key issues and problems

Communicate aspects of their subject (and enthusiasm for that subject) to the partner institution (to both teachers and
learners)

Articulate new ways of delivering their subject and extending interest in it.
Assessment:
Students will prepare a weekly learning log during the placement, and at its conclusion produce a short presentation
and a written report reflecting on their experiences and presenting evaluations and recommendations, including
ideas on the development of education in their subject at both partner institution and the University.
Grade will be assessed on 20% Log book/Presentation combined, and 80% Project.
There will be a maximum number of places available on this module. This will be up to 20, depending on placement availability. If more
students apply than there are places, a selection procedure will operate.
Teaching Method:
Supported External study placement.
Introductory Reading:
Apple, M W
Barnes, L P, Wright, A and Brandom A-M
Lipman, M
Worley, P
Ideology and Curriculum
Learning to teach religious education in the secondary school
Thinking in Education
The If Machine: Philosophical Enquiry in the Classroom.
PPR.391a Religions in the Modern World (Special Subject)
Tutor:
Term:
Professor Christopher Partridge
Michaelmas
Course Description: This module is based around weekly seminars, the aim of which is to give students the opportunity to study trends in
the manifestation of religion in the modern world, from secularization to fundamentalism and from Christianity and Islam to the New Age
and Paganism. Please note that these are meant to be friendly discussion groups, for which students are expected to come prepared and
contribute. While the tutor convenes the group and suggests readings, there are no lectures. Each student takes his or her turn to provide
a short presentation to the seminar, which then forms the basis for that week’s discussion. Assessment consists of one 5,000-word minidissertation on a topic of the student’s choice, in consultation with the tutor.
Learning Outcomes: On successful completion of this module students will be able to:


Give a sustained critical discussion of one substantial theme or line of argument that is in part or whole constitutive of the
chosen topic.
Use the resources of small study group to develop their own critical thinking.
Assessment:
100% coursework: 5,000 word mini-dissertation.
Teaching Method:
One seminar (2 hours) weekly.
47
PPR.391b China in the Modern World (Special Subject)
Tutor:
Term:
Dr Astrid Nordin
Michaelmas
Course description: China's rise is commonly understood as a key factor that will shape future world order. In this seminar-based course,
students will become familiar with different approaches to understanding China's rise, and critically evaluate the opportunities and
challenges this poses to both China and the surrounding world. In each seminar we will consider a key issue in China's relation to the world
from different perspectives. Issues that will be explored include: the possibility of an alternative modernity; sources of party-state
legitimacy; Chinese nationalism; the limits of Chinese identity; new tools of China's 'soft power'; the 'Chinese school' of International
Relations theory; questions of territorial integrity; and Chinese ideas of world order and the ‘China model’. This course will thus offer
students an opportunity to discuss familiar concepts like nationalism, democracy and modernity in the concrete context of China in the
post-Mao era. It will help students improve their research skills, enhance their understanding of the complexity of issues in contemporary
China, and critically examine conceptual tools of political analysis in the Chinese context.
Learning outcomes: On successful completion of this module students will be able to:

Give a sustained critical discussion of one substantial theme or line of argument that is in part or whole constitutive of the chosen
topic: China in the modern world.

Independently conduct and time-manage a research project under guidance of the tutor.

Prepare and communicate questions and findings to an informed audience at various stages of a research project, and make use
of their feedback for the continued development of that project.

Use the resources of small study group to develop their own critical thinking.

Critically examine conceptual tools of political analysis in the Chinese context.

Show proof, by way of a long essay, of independent research skills.

Demonstrate an understanding of the complexity of issues in contemporary China.
Assessment:
1 long essay, 5000 words, 100% (Students are strongly encouraged to negotiate their own essay title).
Teaching method:
One seminar (2 hours) weekly.
Please note that this course does not involve any lectures, but is based on student-led seminars and delivery of an independently
formulated research project. Students who do not feel inclined towards the skills development or experience that this independent
learning style will give them are recommended to choose a different module.
Introductory reading:
Callahan, W. A.
China: The Pessoptimist Nation. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010
PPR.391c Philosophy of Medicine – concepts of health, illness and disease (Special Subject)
Tutor:
Term:
Dr Rachel Cooper
Lent
Course description: Are psychopaths evil or sick? Should the NHS pay for the treatment of nicotine addiction? Is it right for shy people to
take character-altering drugs? Whether a condition is considered a disease often has social, economic and ethical implications. It tends to
be taken for granted that what it is to be “ healthy” can be identified and is desirable. Similarly, it is assumed that those who are diseased
or disabled can be diagnosed and require help. In this module we question these assumptions via examining the key concepts of
normality, disease, illness, mental illness, and disability.
Learning outcomes: By the end of the module, you should be able to:
•
give a sustained critical discussion of one substantial theme or line of argument that is in part or whole constitutive of the
chosen topic
•
use the resources of small study group to develop their own critical thinking
Assessment:
5,000 word dissertation
Teaching Method:
Special Subject classes run as seminars: the tutor convenes the group and suggests reading but does not
lecture. Students are required to attend special subject seminars regularly.
Introductory reading:
Caplan A. et al (eds)(2004)
Carel, H. (2008)
Elliott, C. (2003)
Reznek, L. (1987)
Health, Disease and Illness: Concepts in Medicine
Illness: The cry of the flesh.
Better than Well.
The Nature of Disease. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul.
48
PPR.392a Future Generations (Special Subject)
Tutor:
Term:
Professor Stephen Wilkinson
Michalemas
Course Description: What moral obligations do we have towards future generations – to people who are yet to be born, and to merely
possible people whose very existence (or non-existence) depends on how we act now? PPR392a Future Generations explores this question
by examining both a series of practical case studies and some of the main concepts and theories that philosophers use when thinking
about these issues. Questions considered normally include –

How should we weigh quality against quantity of life? Would a world with a relatively small number of ‘happier’ people preferable
to one with many more ‘less happy’ ones?

Ought we to try significantly to extend the human life span (to 150 years or beyond)?

Is there a moral obligation to refrain from having children (e.g. for environmental reasons) and what measures may governments
take to encourage or enforce population control? Conversely, might there be a moral obligation to have (more) children?

Should we use selection techniques to minimise the incidence of genetic disorders and disabilities in future populations

Should parents be allowed to use these techniques to determine the characteristics of their future children (e.g. choosing their
child’s eye or hair colour, or sex selection)?

When considering the future, how should the interests of non-human creatures be weighed against those of humans? How strong
are our moral obligations to prevent extinctions, and to preserve wildernesses?

When considering long-term environmental issues (e.g. climate change, nuclear power) and long-term financial issues (e.g.
national debt and pensions) how should we balance the interests and rights of people who exist now against those of future
people?

Learning Outcome: On successful completion of this module students will be able to:

give a sustained critical discussion of at least one substantial theme or line of argument that is in part or whole constitutive of the
chosen topic;

use the resources of small study group to develop their own critical thinking

In addition, the module aims to develop students’ oral presentation skills.
Assessment:
100% coursework: 5,000 word mini-dissertation
Teaching Method:
Seminar (1 hour weekly)
Introductory Reading:
John Broome,
Jonathan Glover,
John Harris,
Stephen Wilkinson,
Climate Matters: ethics in a warming world, New York: WW Norton & Co 2012
What sort of people should there be?
http://jonathanglover.co.uk/sites/default/files/docs/what-sort-of-people-should-there-be.pdf
Enhancing Evolution: the ethical case for making better people, Princeton University Press 2007
Choosing Tomorrow’s Children: the ethics of selective reproduction, Oxford: Oxford University Press
2010
PPR.392d The Imagination (Special Subject)
Tutor:
Terms:
Dr Cain Todd
Lent
Course description: This course will examine philosophical accounts of the imagination. We will look at theories of the nature of the
imagination and its connections to other mental states, such as attention, emotion, memory, beliefs, intentions, and desires. In addition, a
range of topics focussing on the role of imagining in a number of different domains will also be explored, including moral judgement,
practical reasoning, perception, pictorial experience, and modal thought.
Learning outcomes: By the end of the module, you should be able to:
•
give a sustained critical discussion of one substantial theme or line of argument that is in part or whole constitutive of the
chosen topic
•
use the resources of small study group to develop their own critical thinking
Assessment:
100% coursework: 5,000 word dissertation
Teaching Method:
Special Subject classes run as seminars: the tutor convenes the group and suggests reading but does not
lecture. Students are required to attend special subject seminars regularly.
Introductory bibliography:
J-P. Sartre,
C. McGinn,
S. Nichols,
G. Currie & I. Ravenscroft
The Imagination
Mindsight
The Architecture of the Imagination
The Recreative Imagination
49
PPR.393 Dissertation with Field Studies
Tutor:
Terms:
Dr Astrid Nordin
Summer 2014 to end of Lent 2015
Course Description: The aim of this module is to allow students to pursue independent in-depth studies of a topic of their choice, within
the scope of their scheme of study. The topic may be related to work that is being done on a formally taught course, or it may be less
directly linked to course work. Students will develop their employability and research skills, and their ability to work independently at
length under their own direction with input from an academic supervisor. The field work element will enhance students’ ability to reflect
on the impact of academic work. One option is to incorporate a study trip organised by the University, such as the LUSU Involve Overseas
Programme, but students may also discuss other forms of field studies with their supervisor.
Students are expected to start thinking seriously about the dissertation towards the end of the Lent term of the second year, and to
submit a provisional topic by the end of that term. Work should begin during the Summer term of the second year and a draft plan must
be approved by the end of the Summer term. Work should be well advanced by Christmas in the third year. The completed dissertation
must be submitted by the end of the Lent term in the third year. To help students prepare for work on the dissertation, there will be an
introductory talk on topics relating to doing one’s own research and planning and writing a dissertation. A course handout will be
available setting out in more detail the requirements for the dissertation and giving full details of lectures, supervision arrangements and
assessment.
Learning Outcomes: On successful completion of this module students will be able to:

Independently formulate a research question under academic supervision.

Independently plan and execute an independent research project that incorporates an element of data collection in the
relevant field.

Reflect on the role field study in academic research.
Assessment:
100% coursework: 9-10,000 word dissertation.
Teaching Method:
Supervisory meetings will take place at regular intervals throughout the research project.
PPR.394 Dissertation with External Collaboration
Tutor:
Terms:
Dr Astrid Nordin
Summer 2014 to end of Lent 2015
Course Description: The aim of this module is to allow students to pursue independent in-depth studies of a topic of their choice, within
the scope of their scheme of study. The topic will be formulated in dialogue with one or more external collaborator(s) and may be related
to work that is being done on a formally taught course, or it may be less directly linked to course work. Students will develop their
employability and research skills, and their ability to work independently at length under their own direction with input from external
collaborators and an academic supervisor. The external collaboration will enhance students’ ability to reflect on the impact of academic
work. One option is to incorporate work done through the Richardson Institute Internship Programme, but students may also discuss
other forms of collaboration with their supervisor.
Students are expected to start thinking seriously about the dissertation towards the end of the Lent term of the second year, and to
submit a provisional topic by the end of that term. Work should begin during the Summer term of the second year and a draft plan must
be approved by the end of the Summer term. Work should be well advanced by Christmas in the third year. The completed dissertation
must be submitted by the end of the Lent term in the third year. To help students prepare for work on the dissertation, there will be an
introductory talk on topics relating to doing one’s own research and planning and writing a dissertation. A course handout will be
available setting out in more detail the requirements for the dissertation and giving full details of lectures, supervision arrangements and
assessment.
It adds to this existing module by explicitly incorporating an element of collaboration with external actors and stake holders in order to
enhance the employability and impact thinking of participating students.
Learning Outcomes: On successful completion of this module students will be able to:




Independently formulate a research question in dialogue with external collaborators and under academic supervision.
Independently plan and execute an independent research project with a view to produce knowledge that is useful to
stakeholders.
Reflect on the impact of academic research on stakeholders and in the wider community.
Interact with external collaborators in a productive manner.
Assessment:
100% coursework: 9-10,000 word dissertation.
Teaching Method:
Supervisory meetings will take place at regular intervals throughout the research project. Students will
also develop mechanisms for feedback from external collaborators in a form that is suitable to the
individual project.
50
PPR.399 Dissertation
Tutor:
Term:
Dr Mairi Levitt
Summer 2014 to end of Lent 2015
Course Description: PPR.399 provides an opportunity for students to choose a topic related to some aspect of Politics and International
Relations, Philosophy and Religious Studies which particularly interests them, and to pursue it in depth. The topic may be related to work
that is being done on a formally taught course, or it may be less directly linked to course work. The intention is that students will develop
their research skills, and their ability to work at length under their own direction.
Students write a dissertation of 9,000-10,000 words. They are expected to start thinking seriously about the dissertation towards the end
of the Lent term of their second year, and to submit a provisional topic by the end of that term. Work should be well advanced by
Christmas in the third year. The completed dissertation must be submitted by the end of the Lent term in the third year. To help students
prepare for work on the dissertation, there will be an introductory talk on topics relating to doing one's own research and planning and
writing a dissertation. A course handout will be available setting out in more detail the requirements for the dissertation and giving full
details of lectures, supervision arrangements and assessment.
Learning Outcomes: On successful completion of this module students will be able to:



Give a sustained critical discussion of one substantial theme or line of argument that is in part or whole constitutive of the
chosen topic;
Use the resources of the library to develop their own critical thinking;
Present their thinking in a coherent and engaging way through a sustained piece of writing.
Assessment:
The final mark will be based on the dissertation itself. Students will be expected to attend the research skills
lectures, but their attendance will not be assessed.
Teaching Method:
Students will be allocated a supervisor early in the Summer term of their second year, and will consult their
supervisor on an individual basis. There will be three one-hour lectures on research skills at the end of the Lent term
of the second year.
51