DELC211: Understanding culture

• Terms Taught: Lent/Summer Term only
• US Credits: 4 Semester Credits
• ECTS Credits: 7.5 ECTS credits
• Pre-requisites: None

Educational Aims

• 'Understanding Culture' gives an insight into twentieth and twenty-first century definitions and analyses of 'culture'. Some key questions we explore on the module include: How has 'culture' been defined and how have these definitions changed during the 19th, 20th and 21st century? How does culture define who we are? What is the relationship between 'culture' and 'power'? How does a 'culture' endorse or suppress markers of identity? How is normativity constructed, questioned or undermined? How can cultural studies and their methodologies help us to understand artistic expressions and cultural practices, and to constructively respond to what matters to others? What role does the body play in our understanding of culture?
• Texts studied on the course may vary, but will typically be organized around the topics of culture and class, gender, sexuality, race, imperialism and decolonization, and cultural resistance.
• Throughout the course students are encouraged to approach cultures as standing in relation to each other, to develop cultural critical self-awareness, and intercultural competence.

Outline Syllabus

Texts studied on the course may vary, but will typically be organized around the topics of culture and class, gender, sexuality, race, imperialism and decolonization, and cultural resistance.

• Weekly Lecture and Seminar outline

  Week 1: Introduction: Approaches to ‘Culture’ and Judy Giles and Tim Middleton, ‘What is Culture?’

  Week 2 Approaches to ‘Understanding’ and Excerpts from Silvia Federici, Witches, WItch-Hunting and Women, and her lecture '‘Women, Witch-Hunting and Primitive Accumulation’', hosted by Culturgest

  Week 3 Culture and Ideology and Corey Robin, ‘Conservatism and Counterrevolution’ from The Reactionary Mind

  Week 4 Culture and the State and David Graeber, ‘Dead Zones of the Imagination’ from The Utopia of Rules, p. 45-82 , Interview with a representative Klett-Cotta, the German publisher of The Utopia of Rules.

  Week 5 Culture and Class /Voicing Class and Edouard Louis, Who Killed My Father

  Week 6 Voicing Blackness and Frantz Fanon, ‘The Fact of Blackness’, from Black Skin, White Masks

  Week 7 Voicing Gender and Excerpts from Hélène Cixous, Sorties; or Gloria Anzaldúa, Borderlands/La Frontera; or Audre Lorde, 'The uses of Anger: Women Responding to Racism’ and ‘A Woman Speaks’ and ‘Power’

  Week 8 Voicing as Self-Enquiry: White Privilege and Richard Dyer, ‘The Matter of Whiteness’, and Peggy McIntosh, ‘The White Privilege Invisible Knapsack

  Week 9 Case Studies: Environmentalism and Ecocriticism and Arundhati Roy, ‘The Greater Common Good’

  Week 10 Case Studies: Cultures of the Extreme Right, Culture and Anti-fascism and Julia Ebner, ‘Redpilling for Beginners: Undercover with Generation Identity’, from Going Dark: The Secret Social Lives of Extremists, Exhibition Peng! Kollektiv: AntiFa, Myth and Truth

• Language: This module is taught in English and all texts are available in English

Assessment Proportions

• Coursework: 60%
• Exam: 40%

DELC212: Society on Screen: The Language of Film

• Terms Taught: Lent / Summer Terms only
• US Credits: 4 Semester Credits
• ECTS Credits: 7.5 ECTS credits
• Pre-requisites: None

Course Description

How do films deal with aspects of society like migration, environment, artificial intelligence and gender? Do they entertain viewers, instruct them, or both? In what ways do cinematic techniques play a part? This module explores connections between European and Latin American films and their socio-historical contexts. It also considers form and technique: the language of film. To these ends, there will be introductory lectures on cinema and society and on film aesthetics and content in the first week of the module. During the remainder of the module, the connections mentioned will be the focus of seminars and presentations within the four typical topic areas: the environment, gender, artificial intelligence and migration.

Educational Aims

Students view and discuss modern European and Latin American films which highlight the core topics. Lectures will situate the films in terms of the social and historical context of the period and countries in which they were made. Artificial intelligence, migration, the environment and gender, for example, are differently manifested in each of the countries studied. The course will explore the relationship between cinema, such issues and their representation. Students will acquire a broad understanding of cinema of the period (1960s-present) together with an ability to analyse, contextualise and compare varying cinematic representations of a number of themes, together with the techniques used in those representations.

Outline Syllabus

The module consists of two introductory weeks on form and society then four two-week strands on typically the following topics: migration, environment, gender and artificial intelligence. Each strand will be introduced with a lecture and followed by seminars on the set films.

The films mentioned here are indicative only. They are subject to change. The films listed here give you an idea of a typical syllabus and the kinds of films that are analysed: I’m Your Man/Ich bin dein Mensch (Maria Schrader, 2022), My Life in Pink/Ma vie en rose (Alain Berliner, 1997), Tony Manero (Pablo Larraín, 2008) and Dislocation (Jianxin Huang, 1989) and Land and Freedom (Ken Loach, 1995).

Assessment Proportions

• Essay(s): 40%
• Exam: 45%
• Clip Analysis: 15%

DELC215: Language and Identity in France, Germany, Spain and the Sinophone World

• Terms Taught: Michaelmas Term only
• US Credits: 4 Semester Credits
• ECTS Credits: 7.5 ECTS credits
• Pre-requisites: None

Course Description

This module will introduce second-year students to the role that the language used by institutions plays in shaping individual perceptions of identity. It will provide them with a basic theoretical framework that allows them to understand the relationship between language and power as reflected in current language policies at regional, national, and supranational levels. It will enable them to recognise forms of prestige and stigma associated with varieties of the three main languages under study. It will therefore raise critical awareness of the portrayal and representation of linguistic variations in the media and in the sphere of literature.

Educational Aims

This module aims to:

• Familiarise students with the linguistic realities of France, Germany, Spain and the Sinophone World.
• Introduce them to country-specific materials and provide them with a better understanding of regional and social variation.
• Provide students with a theoretical framework that allows them to understand discourses of power that revolve around the concept of nation.
• Increase their awareness of languages as instruments of social prestige and identity formation.
• Enable students to make cross-country comparisons involving three major national identities in Europe.
• Develop their critical perception of linguistic variation within their home country, and of the role of the media, films and literature in portraying national and sub-national identities.

Outline Syllabus

Topics to include:

• Language and Power: An Introduction Language.
• Nation and Standard: An Introduction.
• European language policies.
• German as a pluricentric language.
• Gastarbeiter language and policies.
• An Overview of the linguistic Situation of France: Regional Variations.
• Linguistic Diversity: A threat to French National Identity?
• The languages of Spain (Castilian Spanish, Catalan, Basque, Galician). Language attitudes in Spain.
• Beyond Europe: Language and Power in the Sinophone World.
• QA session.

+ revision sessions in Summer Term

Assessment Proportions

• Essay(s): 40%
• Exam: 45 %
• Written Commentary 15%

DELC364: Latin America and Spain on Film: Violences and Masculinities

• Terms Taught: Lent / Summer Terms only
• US Credits: 4 Semester Credits
• ECTS Credits: 7.5 ECTS credits
• Pre-requisites: None

Course Description

Violence is a consistent feature of the cinemas of Spain and Latin America. The vast majority of violent acts in Latin American and Spanish films are carried out by men, raising specific concerns about the representation of links between men and violence on film. This module looks at key motifs as well as broader themes such as the absent patriarch and depictions of the male body. Students will examine representations of different kinds of violence, including structural, psychological and political violence. You will be expected to discuss the connections made between these and the masculinities with which they are associated. To this end, theoretical support will be given throughout towards current ideas about masculinities and violence in both sociology and cultural studies.

Educational Aims

The aim of this module is to provide students with a grasp of both the historical contexts for violence and masculinities as they are depicted in Spanish and Latin American film as well as an understanding of theoretical approaches which can help to enrich analyses of such violence and evolving masculinities. The course seeks to pluralise violence so that it is understood by students as physical, non-physical, criminal, psychological, structural and invisible. Masculinities will always be considered in the plural. Another aim is to ensure students have the terminology to discuss such contexts and approaches in relation to specific films in a coherent and intellectually appropriate framework.

Students will first be required to view films in historical contexts which highlight key themes in the selected films. Students will be encouraged to observe and analyse structural violence, criminal violence, gender violence and political violence in these films and to understand their relationship with such categories as hegemonic, protest and patriarchal masculinities. Such violence(s) and masculinities will not only be contextualised historically but also approached through theories on aesthetics, film reception, gender and ideology. In this way students will be able to approach questions concerning the 'invisible' nature of domestic violence, violence as a means (or not) of providing 'cheap shocks' and different aesthetic approaches towards the depiction of state violence.

On successful completion of this module students will be able to...

• contextualise Spanish and Latin American films by placing them in their appropriate historical settings and by understanding the relationship between those historical settings and the films concerned.
• apply their historical contextualisation with an understanding of theories of violence and masculinities.
• analyse these films with due reference to the cinematic contexts for each country (eg. censorship, strength of film industry, availability and sources of capital etc.), using appropriate film terminology and critically engaging with existing interpretations of the corpus of films.
• present material on film, learning to juggle effectively stills, secondary sources, dialogue and their own analyses.
• examine cultural products or texts in socio-historical contexts.

Outline Syllabus

There will then be 8 weeks of study of four separate strands, each strand consisting of two weeks study of two films. The strands are: Structural Violence, Crash Cinemas, Gender Violence, Boys and Men. The second hour of the second week of each strand will consist of presentations by students either individually, in pairs or in groups of three.

In a typical year, the films concerned will include Memories of Underdevelopment (Cuba, 1968); La frontera (Chile, 1991); Amores perros (Mexico, 2000); Abre los ojos (Spain, 1997); Camila (Argentina, 1984); Te doy mis ojos (Spain, 2003); City of God (2002) and El espinazo del diablo (Spain, 2001).

The films are in Spanish or Portuguese with English subtitles. The vast majority of secondary texts are in English and the teaching is also in English.

Assessment Proportions

Essay(s): 40% Presentation (Assessed): 15% Exam: 45%

Presentations will be delivered by individuals, pairs, or groups of 3. In pairs and groups, each student will receive the same mark in order to encourage teamwork in the preparation process. Students will be required to deposit their powerpoint presentation on Moodle.

Feedback for both essay and presentation will follow current departmental practice. Presentations will be recorded (audio only) and students will be sent feedback by email. The feedback will contain two to three paragraphs of prose. The essay will focus on one submodule which must not be the submodule they have studied for their presentation. Written feedback will inform revision for the exam.

In the written examination (45%) students will pick one question out of several proposed options and write an essay responding to that question. The questions will address the concepts and material discussed in the lectures and seminars. Students must choose a question on a topic they have not studied in either their presentation or their CWA essay for DELC364.

FREN233: Shaping Contemporary France: Moments and Movements

• Terms Taught: Full Year module
• US Credits: 4 Semester Credits
• ECTS Credits: 7.5 ECTS Credits
• Pre-requisites: None

Course Description

‘Shaping Contemporary France: Moments and Movements' provides students with awareness of the ‘must-know’ historical moments as well as political and aesthetic movements that have shaped French and Francophone cultures, while systematically enhancing their skills of cultural analysis in diverse media. The course will hone their close-reading skills, yet also provide a broad awareness of French modernity through a thematic approach that casts back to key nineteenth-, twentieth-, and twenty-first-century texts, songs, and films that have come to define French contemporary society.

Through the topics of ‘Resistance, trauma, and memory’; ‘Colonies and conflicts, identity and alterity’; ‘The postmodern condition’; and ‘Digital art and society,’ the module takes students on a journey through key moments and movements across two centuries of French cultural history, encountering along the way some of the most radical thinkers, writers, filmmakers and creative artists that make the intellectual tradition of France so distinctive. From plays to popular songs, students will experience a stimulating range of cultural forms and be equipped with the skills to reflect critically on them as expressions of France's multi-faceted, nuanced societies.

The main aim of the module is twofold: to build students' reading knowledge of French while giving them a flavour of the rich cultural output that has defined the Francophone realm over the past two hundred years.

Educational Aims

This module aims to:

• Develop students' knowledge and understanding of the written and spoken French language
• Introduce students to key concepts and methods in the interpretation of different kinds of text in their socio-historical context
• Enable students to engage with a history of ideas and forms focused through a series of significant moments and movements
• Develop students’ abilities to independently research, write, and present creative work
• Develop students’ abilities to participate actively in class and small group discussion

Assessment Proportions

100% coursework

CWA1: 750 word commentary on creative work* OR 1500 word comparative essay (Mich): 35%

CWA2: Learning Journal on sub-modules 1 and 2 (Michaelmas): 10%

CWA3: feed-forward session on essay plan (Lent, optional): 0%

CWA4: Learning Journal on sub-modules 3 and 4 (Lent): 10%,

CWA5: 2,500-word essay (Lent/Summer): 45%

*Students are to work on a creative response to material covered in Michaelmas. Examples of pieces may include but are not limited to: audio-visual work, i.e. videos, recordings, animation; collage; drawing or other art work, e.g. graphic fiction/comic; musical piece; creative writing; interviews; performances; quiz. The creative work must be accompanied by a 750 word summary of how their piece responds to the course material.

GERM233: Shaping Contemporary German-Speaking Europe: Moments and Movements

• Terms Taught: Full Year module
• US Credits: 4 semester credits
• ECTS Credits: 7.5 ECTS credits
• Pre-requisites: None

Course Description

'Shaping Contemporary German-Speaking Europe: Moments and Movements' provides students with awareness of the ‘must-know’ historical moments as well as political and aesthetic movements that have shaped German-language culture, while systematically enhancing their skills of cultural analysis in diverse media. The course will hone their close-reading skills, yet also provide a broad awareness of German modernity through a non-chronological, thematic approach that casts back to key nineteenth-, twentieth-, and twenty-first-century texts, moments, and movements.

Through the four themes of Myth, Magic, Money and Minor Identities, the module will introduce students to key works by, for example, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, E. T. A. Hoffmann, Thomas Mann, Irmtraud Morgener, r and Sharon Dodua Otoo. This module thus takes students on a journey through moments and movements across two centuries of German-language cultural history, encountering along the way some of the most radical thinkers, writers, filmmakers and creative artists that make the German-language intellectual tradition so distinctive. Students will experience a stimulating range of cultural forms and be equipped with the skills to reflect critically on them as expressions of multi-faceted, nuanced societies.

The main aim of the module is twofold: to build students' reading knowledge of German while giving them a flavour of the rich cultural output that has defined the German-speaking realm over the past two hundred years.

Educational Aims

The module aims to:

• Develop students' knowledge and understanding of the written and spoken German language
• Introduce students to key concepts and methods in the interpretation of different kinds of text in their socio-historical context
• Enable students to engage with a history of ideas and forms focused through a series of significant moments and movements
• Develop students’ abilities to independently research, write, and present creative work
• Develop students’ abilities to participate actively in class and small group discussion

Assessment Proportions

100% coursework

CWA1: 750 word commentary on creative work* OR 1500 word comparative essay (Mich): 35%

CWA2: Learning Journal on sub-modules 1 and 2 (Michaelmas): 10%

CWA3: feed-forward session on essay plan (Lent, optional): 0%

CWA4: Learning Journal on sub-modules 3 and 4 (Lent): 10%,

CWA5: 2,500-word essay (Lent/Summer): 45%

*Students are to work on a creative response to material covered in Michaelmas. Examples of pieces may include but are not limited to: audio-visual work, i.e. videos, recordings, animation; collage; drawing or other art work, e.g. graphic fiction/comic; musical piece; creative writing; interviews; performances; quiz. The creative work must be accompanied by a 750 word summary of how their piece responds to the course material.

MCS.101: Transformations: From Mass Media to Social Media

• Terms Taught:
  • Full Year only
  • Michaelmas Term only
  • Lent / Summer Terms only
• US Credits:
  • Full Year course - 10 Semester Credits
  • Michaelmas Term only - 4 Semester Credits
  • Lent / Summer Terms only - 6 Semester Credits
• ECTS Credits:
  • Full Year course - 20 ECTS Credits
  • Michaelmas Term only - 8 ECTS Credits
  • Lent / Summer Terms only - 12 ECTS Credits
• Pre-requisites: None

Course Description

In this module, you will consider competing definitions of the terms ‘culture’ and ‘media’, engage with a wide range of academic writings on culture and media, and analyse a diverse range of cultural material from different media including: television, films, photography, newspapers and magazines, video games and the world wide web. You will explore the ways in which our identities, aspirations, beliefs and value systems are shaped by the cultural environment in which we live.

Educational Aims

This module aims to enable students to:

• Identify and explore a range of theoretical approaches to the study of culture, media and communication
• Employ key theoretical and critical approaches in the analysis of various media texts, particularly visual and popular cultural texts
• Develop analytical and critical skills in relation to theoretical texts and media texts and practices
• Develop understanding of the audio, visual and verbal conventions through which sounds, images and words make meaning
• Develop understanding of the ways in which people engage with cultural texts and practices and make meaning from them
• Develop understanding of the narrative processes, generic forms and modes of representation at work in media and cultural texts
• Develop an understanding of the material conditions of media and cultural consumption, and of the cultural contexts in which people appropriate, use and make sense of media and cultural products
• Develop an awareness of how media products might be understood within broader concepts of culture.
• Have a critical appreciation of the complexity of the terms culture and media
• Understand the ways in which identities are constructed and contested through engagements with culture
• Understand how social divisions play key roles in modes of representation in media texts
• Have opportunities for the development of a range of transferable skills that include: working as a member of a team; written and oral communication skills; and foundation skills in Audio visual and ICT technique
• Develop a range of independent research skills, presentation skills and organisational/time management skills

Outline Syllabus

Blocks will present and examine themes such as:

• Key perspectives in Media and Cultural Studies (definitions, concepts, themes, examples)
• Popular and everyday cultures
• Visual culture
• Mediation and technology (from mass to digital media)
• Representation, ideology and politics
• Consumer culture
• Resistant cultures and subcultures
• Media audiences
• Embodied cultures
• Fashion and style

In these blocks, students will be introduced to the complex relations between cultural forms and practices, media technologies and constructions of class, gender, sexuality, race and ethnicity, national identity, and age. Students will look at how culture is a domain of contestation and the ways in which media are bound up with asymmetrical forms of power. As part of the programme, students will undertake a group project with the guidance of their seminar tutor, exploring a topic covered on the course involving the production of a cultural artefact (poster, website, photographic collage/album, film etc.).

Assessment Proportions

• Coursework: 60%
• Exam: 40%

MCS.210: Digital Cultures

• Terms Taught: Michaelmas Term only
• US Credits: 4 Semester Credits
• ECTS Credits: 7.5 ECTS
• Pre-requisites: Two semesters of sociology.

Course Description

This course explores the question of how information and communications technologies, in their multiple forms, figure in our everyday lives. The aim of the course is to develop an appreciation of the range of experiences affected by digital media, including the progressive expansion of life online and the increasingly intimate relations between life online and offline. We’ll explore global divisions of digital labour; the rise of the military entertainment complex; e-waste; social media, social movements and hactivism. The course will consider the new possibilities that the changing social infrastructure of digital technologies afford, while also learning to look at the rhetoric and practices of the ‘network society’ with a questioning and critical eye. Throughout the course we’ll be attentive to issues of gender, race and other marks of ‘sameness and difference’ as they operate among humans, and between humans and machines.

Educational Aims

This course aims to give students:

• A better understanding of sociological analysis of information cultures and on-line sociality
• Familiarity with key theoretical debates on cybercultures
• Improved skills in reading and applying various theoretical approaches to information cultures
• Improved skills and confidence in contributing effectively and positively in academic debate

Outline Syllabus

The course has four parts: introduction, identities, communities and transnational contextualising. These themes will introduce you to some key debates on information cultures in Western societies.

• Introduction (weeks 1-3): The first three weeks will be dedicated to looking at the history and the development of concepts such as cyberspace, cyberbody, virtuality and life on-line.
• Identities (weeks 4-6): The next three lectures will look at the ways gender, race, ethnicity and sexuality are constituted on-line.
• Communities (weeks 7-8): These two lectures will look at the ways a sense of community can be created, negotiated, disrupted or ruined in various forms of on-line interaction.
• Transnational contextualising (weeks 9-10): The last two weeks will contextualise internet cultures in a transnational perspective.

Assessment Proportions

• Dissertation: 80%
• Written Assessment: 20%

or

• Coursework: 50%
• Exam: 30%
• Written Assessment: 20%

MCS.224: Media and Visual Culture

• Terms Taught: Michaelmas Term only
• US Credits: 4 Semester Credits
• ECTS Credits: 7.5 ECTS
• Pre-requisites: Two semesters of sociology.

Course Description

Everyday life is often described as bombarding us with images, and contemporary culture is therefore frequently understood as a visual culture. But what do such statements actually mean? How far is our culture a visual culture? What role does media play in a visual culture? How is vision linked to practices – including representation, the gaze and embodiment – of power and inequality? In what ways might these practices be challenged or resisted? Does vision only involve seeing, or is visual culture multi-sensory? This course will introduce theories and practices that have addressed these questions.

Educational Aims

The aim of this module is to introduce and examine recent and ongoing themes in Media and Cultural Studies and Sociology. It will provide students with an opportunity to:

• Compare and contrast competing and complementary critical perspectives on vision and visuality, media and culture;
• Develop a sophisticated understanding of theories and practices of visual culture;
• Express, discuss and debate complex ideas and abstractions in a confident and coherent manner;
• Develop a sophisticated understanding of studies of visual culture.

Outline Syllabus

This module will cover topics including:

• The relationship between vision and knowledge;
• The gaze and power (eg the gaze as gendered and raced);
• Media, representation and identity;
• Technologies of vision;
• Material practices of vision;
• Vision as multi-sensory.

Assessment Proportions

• Coursework: 75%
• Group montage: 25%

MCS.303: Social Media and Activism

• Terms Taught: Michaelmas Term only
• US Credits: 4 Semester Credits
• ECTS Credits: 7.5 ECTS
• Pre-requisites: Five semesters of sociology; two may be from cognate disciplines such as anthropology or social psychology.

Course Description

Pro-democracy revolutionaries, internet freedom hackers, feminist mediasmiths, anti-capitalists, anti-corporate globalization activists, racial equality actors, indigenous rights workers, data leakers, and others use the internet to distribute their ideals and organize their social movements. In this fast-paced, participatory, and creative module students will execute their own social movement. This hands-on course invites students to work together and design, implement, and reflect upon their own political campaign. Each week we will discuss social movement theories and student social movement experiences to better understand how social movements form and use communication technologies. Students will interrogate their efforts to make political change through two group presentations, group website creation, group social media use, group video production, and a group-written annual report

Educational Aims

On successful completion of this module students will be able to:

• Explain how the basic architecture of the internet and the affordances of social media impact the organization of social movements;
• Understand the role of the nation state in internet policy
• Explain how business expectations for the internet and social media help or hinder the development of social movements.

Outline Syllabus

The module sessions cover the background and overview of the internet as a socio-technical system and looks at some of the tensions and contradictions that structure the cultural and politics of the internet. The module draws on specific, often ethnographically informed, cases of cultures using the internet in forms of political actions.

This module will include weekly topics that draw from the following:

• Who Built the Internet
• Hippies Built the Internet
• Hackers Built the Internet
• Reinterpreting the History of the Internet
• Cool Start-Up Work
• Geographies of the Internet
• Digital Labour: You are working while you are on Facebook?
• The Social and Ecological Cost of Convergence
• Politics or Profit of Platforms
• What the Internet is Hiding From Us
• Myth of Digital Democracy
• Leaks and Spins: WikiLeaks
• Anonymous and Hackivist
• The Internet and Arab Spring Revolutions
• Occupy Movement and Media
• Pirate Culture, Twitter, Hacktivist, and WikiLeaks

Assessment Proportions

• Practical: 50%
• Presentation: 20%

PPR.230: Modern Political Thought: Equality and Community.

• Terms Taught: Lent / Summer Term Only 
• US Credits: 4 Semester Credits
• ECTS Credits: 7.5 ECTS
• Pre-requisites: At least one entry-level course in politics.

Course Description

This course explores ideas central to any understanding of politics. It focuses on two related themes: Equality, and Community. In the course we will explore the thought of thinkers who are associated with these ideas of equality and community (Rousseau, Marx, the Fabians, and Rawls). By the end of the course, you will have an understanding of the key ideas of the thinkers under review and be able to assess the contribution that these thinkers have made to our wider understanding of politics. You will also be able to recognise the relevance of these thinkers to our current political debates, and be able to employ their ideas within those debates. Additionally, you will be able to evaluate the key features of an argument, be confident to express your own views, and evaluate the responses of others.

Educational Aims

Outline Syllabus

• Equality and Community
• Equality and the Community
• Rousseau: Equality and the Corruption of the State of Nature
• Rousseau: Virtue and the Ends of Civil Society
• Marx: Property and Bourgeois Rights
• Marx: Historical Materialism
• Marx: Class, Revolution, and the State
• The Fabians: Socialism, Democracy, and the State
• Rawls: Justice as Fairness
• Rawls: The Family and Equality
• Equality, Democracy, and the State & Conclusion

Assessment Proportions

• Coursework: 40%
• Exam: 60%

PPR.245: The Politics of Race

• Terms Taught: Michaelmas Term Only
• US Credits: 4 semester credits
• ECTS Credits: 7.5 ECTS
• Pre-requisites: At least one entry-level course in politics.

Course Description

The module aims to prompt students to think critically about the relation of race and politics. It examines both how we should think of race theoretically and comparatively, and introduces students to practical issues surrounding the politics of race in various national and international contexts. Students will leave the course with a solid foundation in thinking about the reciprocal influence of politics and our ways of thinking about race.

Educational Aims

Students who pass this module should be able to...

- explain, compare, and contrast the role that race plays in various national and international political contexts;

- demonstrate critical awareness of the ways in which the notion of race is used for political purposes;

- understand, discuss and critique various notions of race;

- demonstrate knowledge of the relation of race to other social categories.

- apply this knowledge to case studies in different socio-economic and political contexts.

Outline Syllabus

Race has played a central role in shaping the political agendas of many nations around the world – and has acted both as a mechanism of political exclusion and as a form of politicised identity. In this module, we critically examine the notion of race, and its connection to other identities like gender, ethnicity and class. We examine the role race has played, and continues to play, in the determination of domestic policies and in the relations between states. We look at the way in which race is politicised and de-politicised and consider the nature of various forms of racism in politics and society.

Taking a broad narrative arch from “race” to “post-race,” this course pursues three interconnected approaches to the subject: 1.intersectionality in that we analyse not only the multiple and shifting functions of racial classifications, but connect them to other forms of differentiation such as gender, class, sexuality, geography, the environment, and more; 2.interdisciplinarity in that the problem of race takes us directly to historical and ongoing processes of defining the human being and, as such, if we are to take race and its politics seriously, we need approaches from philosophical, historical, sociological, international relations literatures; and 3.the topics of each week together constitute an extensive toolkit of lenses through which to think about race, racism and the contexts of slavery, colonialism, exploitation, rebellion, expression, resistance and much more.

Assessment Proportions

INDIVIDUAL REFLECTION (1350-1500 words) - 40% (deadline is end of term) - ASSESSED

ESSAY (2250-2500 words) - 60% (end of module, deadline is beginning of the first week of the following term) – ASSESSED

These writing tasks will be linked to two formative tasks which will not be assessed – a short essay plan (one A4 page, maximum 500 words) and a small group/paired word presentation in class (maximum 10 minutes). Care will be taken to consider concerns of students who are not comfortable with presenting in front of others. For students who are unable/uncomfortable or unwilling to do a presentation, I can arrange for them to meet with me individually to do a one to one presentation but I would be emphasising that presenting within class would be linked to their learning outcomes – which also focus on building their skills which will be very important in the workplace.

The formative assessments seek to sharpen and develop student writing, build their knowledge of the topic, improve their presentation and group work skills, and provide greater opportunities for formative feedback. The linking of summative assessment to formative assessment has been highlighted to be important and useful in teaching and learning pedagogies.

PPR.251: Islam: Tradition, Community and Contemporary Challenges

• Terms Taught: Michaelmas Term only
• US Credits: 4 Semester Credits
• ECTS Credits: 7.5 ECTS
• Pre-requisites: At least one entry-level course in religion.

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 gain 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.

Educational Aims

The module aims to:

• Survey and critically examine the main themes, key concepts, debates and approaches to the study of Islam in the modern world.
• Develop an analytical and interpretative framework within which to situate modern Muslim discourses on tradition and reform in a historical context.

Outline Syllabus

Topics studied will typically include:

• The Prophet: Muhammad as messenger, leader and exemplar
• Revelation: The Quran as event, text and doctrine
• The Community : Caliphate, Sunni orthodoxy and alternative visions
• The Juristic Tradition: Jurisprudence, sharia and normative Islam
• Key issues in modern Islam:
• Islamic Reform: Early reform, the challenges of modernity and modernist reformers
• The Islamic Revival: Islamism and the Islamic state
• Islamic feminism and liberal Islam
• Salafism and jihadism in a global age
• Islam in Europe: Religious identity, Islamic activism and the representation of Islam

Assessment Proportions

• Coursework: 40%
• Exam: 60%

PPR.261: Exploring Global Religions

• Terms Taught: Lent / Summer Terms only 
• US Credits: 4 Semester Credits
• ECTS Credits: 7.5 ECTS
• Pre-requisites: At least one entry-level course in religion.

Course Description

The course will begin by introducing concepts of politics, religion and values and using contemporary case studies to illustrate how they operate and interact. It will highlight and illustrate the deep-seated role of values in both politics and religion.

The first half of the course will then introduce classic theories and concepts of politics, religion, and values. The second half of the course will apply the theories and concepts critically to a series of historical and contemporary case studies chosen to ensure topicality as well as historical breadth and a global spread. These might include, for example, the rise of European nation states (how politics, religion and values worked together), Culture Wars in the USA, religious politics in India since the 1990s, and controversies over religion and schooling worldwide.

The course will conclude by considering integrating theories that make sense of the convergence of politics, religion and values (e.g. theories of ‘civil religion’, ‘new social movements’, ‘identity politics’ and ‘values-based politics’). The course will end with methodological reflection on the nature of the methods that have been in play during the course, and on combinations of methods for studying PRV. There will be plenty of room for student input and choice of cases in this module, and the entire course will be interactive and encourage students to integrate learning from other parts of their studies. It will provide a good theoretical basis for them to do so.

Educational Aims

The module will provide students with the skills, knowledge and confidence to:

• Recognise and analyse texts from several disciplines, demonstrating awareness of their different perspectives and uses, and ability to assess the strength of competing approaches and interpretations.
• Formulate evidence-based opinions verbally and in writing and communicate clearly, with the written and spoken word. Develop confidence and skill in analysis and discussion, and deepen critical skills.
• Improve analytical, written and verbal skills through course reading, essay-writing, and workshop discussions.
• Discuss and analyse empirical cases, by identifying salient aspects for analysis, theories that can be deployed, and disciplinary approaches that can be used.
• Deepen disciplinary understanding and also show how disciplinary perspectives may need to be challenged by other disciplines, thus building an interdisciplinary awareness.

Outline Syllabus

Politics can be defined as involving the legitimate exercise of coercive power, religion as involving the control of symbolic power. Both also involve values. Values have to do with what is perceived as good for the individual and society. Values can be expressed in norms, symbols, narratives and action. They shape identity and help bind people together and set them apart. By understanding politics, religion and values as overlapping categories, we can attain a fuller understanding of each. The course will begin by introducing concepts of politics, religion and values and using contemporary case studies to illustrate how they operate and interact. It will highlight and illustrate the deep-seated role of values in both politics and religion. The first half of the course will then introduce classic theories and concepts of politics, religion, and values. The second half of the course will apply the theories and concepts critically to a series of historical and contemporary case studies chosen to ensure topicality as well as historical breadth and a global spread. These might include, for example, the rise of European nation states (how politics, religion and values worked together), Culture Wars in the USA, religious politics in India since the 1990s, and controversies over religion and schooling worldwide. The course will conclude by considering integrating theories that make sense of the convergence of politics, religion and values (e.g. theories of 'civil religion', 'new social movements', 'identity politics' and 'values-based politics'). The course will end with methodological reflection on the nature of the methods that have been in play during the course, and on combinations of methods for studying PRV. There will be plenty of room for student input and choice of cases in this module, and the entire course will be interactive and encourage students to integrate learning from other parts of their studies. It will provide a good theoretical basis for them to do so. Typical areas of study will include:

• the concepts of politics, religion and values and issues of their interrelations
• theories of politics
• theories of religion (substantive and functional)
• theories of value (deontological, consequentialist, teleological, relational)
• case studies examining the growth of modern European nation states (how politics, religion and values work together), Culture Wars in the USA (clashing binary clusters of politics, religion, and values), Religious politics in India since the 1990s,
• theories of the convergence of politics, religion and values (e.g. theories of 'civil religion', 'political religion' and 'alues-based politics')
• theories of the clash of politics, religion and values (e.g. 'social identity theory', theories of religious violence)

Assessment Proportions

• Coursework: 40%
• Exam: 60%

PPR.287: Protest Politics: Social Movements and Countercultures

• Terms Taught: Lent / Summer Terms Only
• US Credits: 4 semester credits
• ECTS Credits: 7.5 ECTS
• Pre-requisites: At least one entry-level course in politics.

Course Description

This course will familiarize students with the politics of protest, the social and political significance of countercultures, theories of social movements, and the ways in which movements either implement or prevent social and cultural change. Relevant political philosophies will be introduced, as well as the core ideas informing, for example, the women’s movement, the peace movement, and the environmental movement. The course will also examine the practice of protest, introducing, for example, protest art, music, and acts of civil disobedience.

Outline Syllabus

The course will be divided into three parts: (1) protest politics in the 1960s and 1970s; (2) social movement theory; (3) contemporary social movements. (1) This part will provide some of the foundation historical background to important movements, such as the environmental movement, the women's movement, and the peace movement. (2) This part of the course will examine some of the key contemporary theories about why social movements emerge, how they grow, how they differ, and why they decline. (3) The final part of the course will examine several contemporary social movements in detail (e.g. Extinction Rebellion; Occupy; Hong Kong protests).

Assessment Proportions

• Coursework: 40%
• Exam: 60%

PPR.337: Society & Politics in Latin America

• Terms Taught: Lent/Summer Terms only.
• US Credits: 4 Semester Credits
• ECTS Credits: 7.5 ECTS Credits
• Pre-requisites: You must have undertaken relevant previous studies in Politics.

Course Description

• an overview of politics of populism
• the role of the Latin American left in shaping the public discourse
• democracy and dictatorship
• the emancipatory role of religion
• the culture of everyday violence
• politics of dependency and development
• political economy of migration and the role played by external actors in shaping its cultural
• economic, social and political identity

Outline Syllabus

Indicative outline syllabus:

• Week One - History & Politics
• Week Two - Religion and Society
• Week Three - Migration & Mass Movement
• Week Four - Culture and Violence
• Week Five - Regional Integration
• Week Six - The Big Players (ABC & M of LA)
• Week Seven - Islands in the Stream (Politics of the Greater Caribbean)
• Week Eight - Foreign Policy
• Week Nine - China in LA
• Week Ten - Evolving L. America (D, P&D)
• Week Eleven - Revision & Recap

Assessment Proportions

• Coursework: 40%
• Exam: 60%

PPR.366: Conspiracy Theories in Politics and Society

• Terms Taught: Lent / Summer Terms only.
• US Credits: 4 Semester Credits
• ECTS Credits: 7.5 ECTS
• Pre-requisites:
  • Previous study in this subject area is required

Course Description

Course Description: Who killed John F. Kennedy? Did the moon landing really happen? Is Covid-19 caused by the erection of 5G network masts? Factual answers to such questions are easily accessible. And yet many people eschew documented facts in favour of conspiracy theories, which explain events and complex phenomena with reference to nefarious forces and alleged hidden machinations of powerful actors. Such narratives are nothing new, but they used to be regarded mostly as a curiosity rather than a serious subject of research. Today communities of conspiracists are no longer considered so benign. As they thrive online, they attract increasing interest of scholars and policymakers, who study their digital influence, their links with political movements and their status as participants in democratic public spheres. This Special Subject introduces students to the developing body of research on the origins, spread and the political and social effects of conspiracy theories, including multidisciplinary work seeking to explain why people embrace conspiracies, what (if any) are the harms of such beliefs, what insights can we draw from the study of historical conspiracies (19th and 20th century) and what is the relationship between conspiratorial thinking and other political beliefs.

Educational Aims

Subject Specific: Knowledge, Understanding and Skills

This module aims to:

• Introduce students to the interdisciplinary field of conspiracy studies;
• Elucidate key concepts (e.g. post-truth, New Dark Age, radical transparency, paranoid style etc.)
• Explore a selection of historical and contemporary conspiracy theories;
• Foster the understanding of their historical, cultural, political and social significance;
• Challenge simplistic perceptions and encourage a nuanced analytic approach to the role of conspiracists in the public sphere;
• Develop the ability to recognize the varieties and dynamics of conspiratorial thinking in contemporary politics and assess their impact and significance.

Educational Aims: General: Knowledge, Understanding and Skills

This module aims to:

1. Foster an inclusive environment for presenting ideas in a group setting;
2. Develop confidence about engaging with interdisciplinary work;
3. Develop the ability to lead discussion and synthesize insights;
4. Develop research, critical thinking and analytic skills through weekly reading assignments and two pieces of coursework (Week 5 and Week 10);
5. Provide the opportunity to discuss and analyse work at the intersection of academic research, journalism and popular culture.

Outline Syllabus

Topics may typically include:

1. Theoretical approaches to conspiracy theories
2. Conspiracy theories in history
3. Paranoid Style
4. 20th century case studies
5. Conspiracy theories in popular culture
6. Conspiracy theories and the Internet
7. Post-truth and information warfare
8. The political impact of conspiracy theories
9. The societal impact of conspiracy theories
10. Future directions in conspiracy theories

Assessment Proportions

• 100% coursework (1 x 2000-word essay and 1 x 3000-word essay)

PPR.368: Decolonisation, Race and Empire

• Terms Taught: Lent / Summer Terms Only
• US Credits: 4 Semester Credits
• ECTS Credits: 7.5 ECTS Credits
• Pre-requisites: No pre-requisites given

Course Description

This module uses cases studies to highlight how adopting a decolonial, interdisciplinary and critical approach can enable a greater understanding of contemporary issues. Unpacking the legacies of slavery, colonialism, racism and empire can be a means towards promoting social justice and gaining insights into topical and contested themes ranging from migration and climate change to security and geopolitics.

Educational Aims

Students who pass this module should be able to...

1. Demonstrate detailed knowledge and understanding of decolonisation, race and empire and how this influences contemporary socio-economic and political issues.

2. Apply this knowledge to case studies in different contexts.

3. Explain, compare, and contrast the role that decoloniation, race and empire plays in various local, national and international contexts;

4. Articulate their own position in relation to their own and others' ideas with respect to the role and relevance of decolonisation, race and empire, and incorporate it into academic and scholarly analysis.

Outline Syllabus

This module uses case studies from across the world to provide an insight into the role and relevance of decolonisation in the contemporary world, by examining the legacies of slavery, racism, colonialism and empire. The emphasis is on foregrounding the voices and experiences of citizens and communities from the Global South and unpacking the role that western European nations have played and continue to play in politics, economics and state-society relations in large parts of the post-colonial world. By using critical pedagogy and an interdisciplinary lens, the module highlights how various identities of race, class, gender, ethnicity, sexuality and religion intersect in different historical contexts to produce diverse outcomes. These outcomes are examined in relation to various current and emerging themes ranging from climate change and sustainable development to migration, borders and human rights to artificial intelligence, security, geopolitics and social justice. Over ten weeks, students critically examine these themes through the topics which will typically include:

Introduction, history, principles, and practices associated with decolonisation and race

Theories and intersectionality (Race, Class and Gender in particular)

Historical Context of colonialism and racism - Transatlantic Slavery, Empire and Western Europe

Central and North American context

African Context

South Asian Context

East Asian, Australian and New Zealand context

Middle East context

South American context

Caribbean, British and Lancaster context

Assessment Proportions

INDIVIDUAL REFLECTION (1350-1500 words) 40% (deadline is end of term) - ASSESSED

ESSAY (2700- 3000 words) 60% (end of module, deadline is beginning of the first week of the following term) - ASSESSED

These writing tasks will be linked to two formative tasks which will not be assessed – a short essay plan (one A4 page - maximum 500 words) and a small group/paired word presentation in class (maximum 10 minutes). Care will be taken to consider concerns of students who are not comfortable with presenting in front of others. The formative assessments seek to sharpen and develop student writing, build their knowledge of the topic, improve their presentation and group work skills, and provide greater opportunities for formative feedback. The reflective report will involve reflections on the content of the presentation, the process and its link to the broad themes of the module and contemporary issues in politics and society. The linking of summative assessment to formative assessment has been highlighted to be important and useful in teaching and learning pedagogies.

SOCL310: Migration, Citizenship and Belonging

• Terms Taught: Michaelmas Term only
• US Credits: 4 Semester Credits
• ECTS Credits: 7.5 ECTS
• Pre-requisites: Five semesters of sociology; two may be from cognate disciplines such as anthropology or social psychology.

Course Description

'Belonging' to a nation is widely seen to be as 'natural' as 'belonging' to a family or a home. This course undermines assumptions about national belonging by introducing students to a range of theoretical approaches and debates. How are the nation and national belonging socially constructed? How is the nation defined? Who belongs, who doesn't? What are the impacts of migration on definitions of the nation? In turn, how is migration enabled or constricted by national borders and boundaries?

The module focuses on nation formation in relation to migration. It will explore what everyday practices, discourses, and policies reveal about the ways we think about, and inhabit, the nation and migration? Although we will focus on the example of Britain, the issues raised will be of interest to all students concerned with the effects of nationalisms and ideas of belonging and entitlement, which many countries of the contemporary world are presently debating in the context of the 'Age of migration' (Castles and Miller 1998).

Examples of topics covered include: ‘We the people’ – the forging of nations; the racial state; gender, sexuality and the nation; migration, citizenship, and integration; language as border control.

Educational Aims

This course aims:

• To introduce sociological issues surrounding the concepts of nation, migration and multiculturalism
• To develop an understanding of discourse analysis
• To introduce questions of power and politics surrounding the processes of identity formation

Outline Syllabus

Lecture topics include:

• 'We the people': the forging of nations
• A country idyll
• Migrant belongings and transnational connections
• Consumer culture, diversity and 'eating the other'
• Multiculturalism and the hybrid nation

Assessment Proportions

• A compilation of short reflective pieces (approx. 1500 words): 30%
• One Essay (3000 words): 70%

SPAN233: Shaping Contemporary Spain and Latin America: Moments and Movements

• Terms Taught: Full Year module.
• US Credits: 4 Semester Credits
• ECTS Credits: 7.5 ECTS credits
• Pre-requisites: None

Course Description

'Shaping Contemporary Spain and Latin America: Moments and Movements' provides students with awareness of the ‘must-know’ historical moments as well as political and aesthetic movements that have shaped Spanish and Latin American culture, while systematically enhancing their skills of cultural analysis in diverse media. The course will hone their close-reading skills, yet also provide a broad awareness of Hispanic modernity through a thematic approach that goes back to key Golden Age, nineteenth-, twentieth-, and twenty-first-century texts, moments, and movements.

The modules on the Golden Age (Siglo de Oro), Historical Memory, Revolutions and Dictatorships will be based on Spanish and Spanish American texts, both visual and literary, from the period of empire through to the present day, highlighting themes such as power, resistance, trauma, gender, ethnicity and nation. Writers, artists and filmmakers will be studied in their historical and cultural contexts, with due regard to any relevant global trends such as imperialism, colonialism, postcolonialism, democracy, neoliberalism and nationalism. This module thus takes students on a journey through six centuries of Spanish and Latin American cultural history, encountering along the way some of the most radical thinkers, writers, filmmakers and creative artists that make the intellectual tradition of Spain and Latin America so distinctive. Students will experience a stimulating range of cultural forms and be equipped with the skills to reflect critically on them as expressions of Spain and Spanish America's multi-faceted, nuanced societies.

The main aim of the module is twofold: to build students' reading knowledge of Spanish while giving them a flavour of the rich cultural output that has defined the Spanish-speaking realm over the past seven hundred years.

Educational Aims

This module aims to:

• Develop students' knowledge and understanding of the written and spoken Spanish Language
• Introduce students to key concepts and methods in the interpretation of different kinds of texts in their socio-historical context
• Enable students to engage with a history of ideas and forms focused through a series of significant moments and movements
• Provide students with an outline of the major political, social and cultural events of Spanish history since the time of the Spanish Empire
• Develop students' capacity to reflect on the connections between and the interpretation of those political, social and cultural events
• Encourage students to reflect on the relationship between historical and contemporary societies
• Develop students’ abilities to independently research, write, and present creative work
• Develop students’ abilities to participate actively in class and small group discussion.

Assessment Proportions

100% coursework

CWA1: 750 word commentary on creative work* OR 1500 word comparative essay (Mich): 35%

CWA2: Learning Journal on sub-modules 1 and 2 (Michaelmas): 10%

CWA3: feed-forward session on essay plan (Lent, optional): 0%

CWA4: Learning Journal on sub-modules 3 and 4 (Lent): 10%,

CWA5: 2,500-word essay (Lent/Summer): 45%

*Students are to work on a creative response to material covered in Michaelmas. Examples of pieces may include but are not limited to: audio-visual work, i.e. videos, recordings, animation; collage; drawing or other art work, e.g. graphic fiction/comic; musical piece; creative writing; interviews; performances; quiz. The creative work must be accompanied by a 750 word summary of how their piece responds to the course material.