School of European Languages, Translation and Politics: Study Abroad Modules
For more information visit the School of European Languages, Translation and Politics website.
Full Year Modules (Level Two)
Politics and Policies of the European Union EU4602
Semesters: Full Year
Length: Two Semesters
Level: 2
Credits: 30
This module focuses upon the European Union as a prominent example of institutions of trans-national governance. The aim of the module is to provide students with a contemporary and detailed understanding of the EU's current structure, with a key focus upon important policy areas, along with current and future challenges. Within this overall framework, important themes of current debate are covered, such as questions of institutional reform, the Lisbon Treaty, future enlargement, the perceived lack of transparency and accountability of the EU's institutions, the introduction and impact of the single currency, the EU's emergence as an international actor and its future development.
Teaching Methods:
Lectures
Seminars
Assessment:
Examination: 60%
Coursework: 40%
Semesters: Full Year
Length: Two Semesters
Level: 2
Credits: 30
The module can be regarded as taking the students beyond the basic conceptual toolbox provided in the first year, and further into the challenging world of detailed definitions and contested assumptions. Students taking this module will encounter a range of methodologies central to understanding comparative research, such as qualitative and quantitative approaches, and will investigate various contested concepts, such as political identity, power, and democracy. Students will gain a close acquaintance with the vocabulary of comparative political argument.
Teaching Methods:
Lectures
Seminars
Assessment:
Examination: 60%
Examination: 40%
German Government & Politics EU4616
Semesters: Full Year
Length: Two Semesters
Level: 2
Credits: 30
This module enables students to build a detailed knowledge of the main developments of recent German government and politics; to develop evaluative and analytical skills when examining the current structure of German government and the nature of the German political process; and to be capable of critical and detailed awareness of the issues currently shaping German politics. To those ends, the module considers recent German political history, the current political structure of the Federal Republic, followed by an examination of the behaviour of contemporary political actors (both elite and mass). Four major areas of debate are examined in depth: the German economy, Germany’s relationship with the European Union, Germany’s external relations and overall relationship with the wider world, and the continuing impact of German unification in 1990. An overall conclusion considers the pressures for change in modern Germany and the country’s relationship with democracy.
Teaching Methods:
Lectures
Seminars
Assessment:
Examination: 60%
Coursework: 40%
Italian Government and Politics EU4617
Semesters: Full Year
Length: Two Semesters
Level: 2
Credits: 30
This module focuses on political parties and government in Italy since the collapse of Fascism. Until the crisis of the 1990s, the party system included the largest Communist party in a ‘bourgeois’ democracy, alongside neo-Fascist, liberal and social democratic parties, and a dominant Christian democratic party. Government did not alternate. From the 1990s, politics (but not government) has been dominated by Silvio Berlusconi. The module considers the role of parties in installing and consolidating democracy in Italy, and the evolution of democratic governance from the so-called First to the Second republics, including responses to the challenges of Mafia and terrorism and, more recently, of plebiscitary politics.
Teaching Methods:
Lectures
Seminars
Assessment:
Examination: 60%
Coursework: 40%
Semesters: Full Year
Length: Two Semesters
Level: 2
Credits: 30
This module explores the key questions of global justice that we face today. Students will develop the critical skills to engage with questions of war, environmental politics, human rights, institutional reform, and international economic redistribution.
Teaching Methods:
Lectures
Seminars
Assessment:
Examination: 60%
Coursework: 40%
Full Year Modules (Level Three)
The European Union and European Security EU4345
Semesters: Full Year
Length: Two Semesters
Level: 3
Credits: 30
This module examines a range of aspects of the European Union in the context of post-Cold War security, with a view to familiarising students with key events, problems, and challenges. Themes include the role and capability of the European Union as a European security actor; security architectures; national foreign and security policy re-evaluations; post-Cold War security crises; key issues in European security such as the environment, interventionism, immigration, and international terrorism. A good working knowledge of EU institutions and key policies is assumed on entry to the module.
Teaching Methods:
Lectures
Seminars
Assessment:
Examination: 60%
Coursework: 40%
Global International Organisations in World Politics EU4347
Semesters: Full Year
Length: Two Semesters
Level: 3
Credits: 30
The module examines the League of Nations and the United Nations. It covers issues such as the role of international law and politics in the establishment of the League of Nations and the United Nations, the nature of such international global organisations in the international system, the institutional framework of the United Nations and its crucial role in important areas affecting international society, such as maintenance of international peace and security, protection of human rights and the environment, international criminal justice, poverty alleviation, terrorism and disarmament. The module also looks at the shortcomings of the United Nations and current attempts to reform it: are the reforms far-reaching enough to ensure that the United Nations is effective?
Teaching Methods:
Lectures
Seminars
Assessment:
Examination: 60%
Coursework: 40%
French Politics & Society EU4351
Semesters: Full Year
Length: Two Semesters
Level: 3
Credits: 30
The focus of the module will be, by turn, historical, contemporary, polity and policy-focussed. The first part of the module examines the historical, political and cultural context within which contemporary French politics is played out before examining the nature of political leadership, the operation of the French party system and the French model of society, citizenship and identity. The second part of the module focuses, firstly, on the external constraints that affect France, namely in the sphere of the European Union and international relations. Finally, the module will compare policy processes across both sectors and levels. We finish with a series of concluding judgements on the nature of the contemporary French polity.
Teaching Methods:
Lectures
Seminars
Assessment:
Examination: 60%
Coursework: 40%
Autumn Semester Modules (Level Two)
History of Modern political Thought EU4601
Semester: Autumn
Length: One Semester
Level: 2
Credits: 30
This module introduces students to some of the classic texts and most influential ideas that have helped shape modern political culture in Europe. These ideas and texts have informed key debates on political obligation, natural and human rights and the nature of freedom and equality for example. The overall aim of the module is not just to learn what issues and arguments helped shape our political consciousness, but to critically analyse the competing ethical and political theories and their impact on our own political context.
Teaching Methods:
Lectures
Seminars
Assessment:
Examination: 60%
Coursework: 40%
Politics and Policies of the European Union EU4131
Semester: Autumn
Length: One Semester
Level: 2
Credits: 15
This module focuses upon the European Union as a prominent example of institutions of trans-national governance. The aim of the module is to provide students with a contemporary and detailed understanding of the EU's current structure, with a key focus upon important policy areas, along with current and future challenges. Within this overall framework, important themes of current debate are covered, such as questions of institutional reform, the Lisbon Treaty, future enlargement, the perceived lack of transparency and accountability of the EU's institutions, the introduction and impact of the single currency, the EU's emergence as an international actor and its future development.
Teaching Methods:
Assessment:
Examination: 60%
Coursework: 40%
Semester: Autumn
Length: One Semester
Level: 2
Credits: 15
The module can be regarded as taking the students beyond the basic conceptual toolbox provided in the first year, and further into the challenging world of detailed definitions and contested assumptions. Students taking this module will encounter a range of methodologies central to understanding comparative research, such as qualitative and quantitative approaches, and will investigate various contested concepts, such as political identity, power, and democracy. Students will gain a close acquaintance with the vocabulary of comparative political argument.
Teaching Methods:
Seminars
Seminars
Assessment:
Examination: 60%
Coursework: 40%
German Government & Politics EU4133
Semester: Autumn
Length: One Semester
Level: 2
Credits: 15
This module enables students to build a detailed knowledge of the main developments of recent German government and politics; to develop evaluative and analytical skills when examining the current structure of German government and the nature of the German political process; and to be capable of critical and detailed awareness of the issues currently shaping German politics. To those ends, the module considers recent German political history, the current political structure of the Federal Republic, followed by an examination of the behaviour of contemporary political actors (both elite and mass). Four major areas of debate are examined in depth: the German economy, Germany’s relationship with the European Union, Germany’s external relations and overall relationship with the wider world, and the continuing impact of German unification in 1990. An overall conclusion considers the pressures for change in modern Germany and the country’s relationship with democracy.
Teaching Methods:
Lectures
Seminars
Assessment:
Examination: 60%
Coursework: 20%
Italian Government and Politics EU4134
Semester: Autumn
Length: One Semester
Level: 2
Credits: 15
This module focuses on political parties and government in Italy since the collapse of Fascism. Until the crisis of the 1990s, the party system included the largest Communist party in a ‘bourgeois’ democracy, alongside neo-Fascist, liberal and social democratic parties, and a dominant Christian democratic party. Government did not alternate. From the 1990s, politics (but not government) has been dominated by Silvio Berlusconi. The module considers the role of parties in installing and consolidating democracy in Italy, and the evolution of democratic governance from the so-called First to the Second republics, including responses to the challenges of Mafia and terrorism and, more recently, of plebiscitary politics.
Teaching Methods:
Lectures
Seminars
Assessment:
Examination: 60%
Coursework: 40%
Semester: Autumn
Length: One Semester
Level: 2
Credits: 15
This module explores the key questions of global justice that we face today. Students will develop the critical skills to engage with questions of war, environmental politics, human rights, institutional reform, and international economic redistribution.
Teaching Methods:
Lectures
Seminars
Assessment:
Examination: 60%
Coursework: 40%
Autumn Semester Modules (Level Three)
The European Union and European Security EU4127
Semester: Autumn
Length: One Semester
Level: 3
Credits: 15
This module examines a range of aspects of the European Union in the context of post-Cold War security, with a view to familiarising students with key events, problems, and challenges. Themes include the role and capability of the European Union as a European security actor; security architectures; national foreign and security policy re-evaluations; post-Cold War security crises; key issues in European security such as the environment, interventionism, immigration, and international terrorism. A good working knowledge of EU institutions and key policies is assumed on entry to the module.
Teaching Methods:
Lectures
Seminars
Assessment:
Coursework: 100%
Global International Organisations in World Politics EU4128
Semester: Autumn
Length: One Semester
Level: 3
Credits: 15
The module examines the League of Nations and the United Nations. It covers issues such as the role of international law and politics in the establishment of the League of Nations and the United Nations, the nature of such international global organisations in the international system, the institutional framework of the United Nations and its crucial role in important areas affecting international society, such as maintenance of international peace and security, protection of human rights and the environment, international criminal justice, poverty alleviation, terrorism and disarmament. The module also looks at the shortcomings of the United Nations and current attempts to reform it: are the reforms far-reaching enough to ensure that the United Nations is effective?
Teaching Methods:
Lectures
Seminars
Assessment:
Coursework: 100%
French Politics and Society EU4129
Semester: Autumn
Length: One Semester
Level: 3
Credits: 15
The focus of the module will be, by turn, historical, contemporary, polity and policy-focussed. The first part of the module examines the historical, political and cultural context within which contemporary French politics is played out before examining the nature of political leadership, the operation of the French party system and the French model of society, citizenship and identity. The second part of the module focuses, firstly, on the external constraints that affect France, namely in the sphere of the European Union and international relations. Finally, the module will compare policy processes across both sectors and levels. We finish with a series of concluding judgements on the nature of the contemporary French polity.
Teaching Methods:
Lectures
Seminars
Assessment:
Coursework: 100%
Semester: Autumn
Length: One Semester
Level: 3
Credits: 20
This module examines trends and key issues in British politics from 1945 to the present day. It analyses how a social democratic consensus, based on a positive or optimistic view of government intervention and welfare provision, was called into question during the 1970s, and was subsequently challenged by Thatcherism which, in turn, prompted the emergence of New Labour. This module also looks at more specific issues and developments since 1945, most notably changes in voting behaviour, the emergence of 'the Northern Ireland problem', and Britain's 'awkward' relationship with Europe.
Teaching Methods:
Lectures
Seminars
Assessment:
Examination: 70%
Coursework: 30%
Influencing Public Policy EU4421
Semester: Autumn
Length: One Semester
Level: 3
Credits: 20
Are you unhappy about the direction of public policy? Would you like to influence the decisions that shape public policy? This module is designed to improve your understanding of how this can be done by exploring the nature of public policy, contemporary theories of policy making, political strategies that can be used by governments to get their preferred policies through with minimum political damage, and political strategies that can be used by actors outside government, such as firms, NGOs and think tanks, to influence policy decisions.
Teaching Methods:
Lectures
Seminars
Assessment:
Examination: 70%
Coursework: 30%
Spring Semester Modules (Level Two)
Politics and Policies of the European Union EU4131
Semester: Spring
Length: One Semester
Level: 2
Credits: 15
This module focuses upon the European Union as a prominent example of institutions of trans-national governance. The aim of the module is to provide students with a contemporary and detailed understanding of the EU's current structure, with a key focus upon important policy areas, along with current and future challenges. Within this overall framework, important themes of current debate are covered, such as questions of institutional reform, the Lisbon Treaty, future enlargement, the perceived lack of transparency and accountability of the EU's institutions, the introduction and impact of the single currency, the EU's emergence as an international actor and its future development.
Teaching Methods:
Lectures
Seminars
Assessment:
Examination: 60%
Coursework: 40%
Semester: Spring
Length: One Semester
Level: 2
Credits: 15
The module can be regarded as taking the students beyond the basic conceptual toolbox provided in the first year, and further into the challenging world of detailed definitions and contested assumptions. Students taking this module will encounter a range of methodologies central to understanding comparative research, such as qualitative and quantitative approaches, and will investigate various contested concepts, such as political identity, power, and democracy. Students will gain a close acquaintance with the vocabulary of comparative political argument.
Teaching Methods:
Lectures
Seminars
Assessment:
Examination: 60%
Coursework: 40%
German Government & Politics EU4133
Semester: Spring
Length: One Semester
Level: 2
Credits: 15
This module enables students to build a detailed knowledge of the main developments of recent German government and politics; to develop evaluative and analytical skills when examining the current structure of German government and the nature of the German political process; and to be capable of critical and detailed awareness of the issues currently shaping German politics. To those ends, the module considers recent German political history, the current political structure of the Federal Republic, followed by an examination of the behaviour of contemporary political actors (both elite and mass). Four major areas of debate are examined in depth: the German economy, Germany’s relationship with the European Union, Germany’s external relations and overall relationship with the wider world, and the continuing impact of German unification in 1990. An overall conclusion considers the pressures for change in modern Germany and the country’s relationship with democracy.
Teaching Methods:
Lectures
Seminars
Assessment:
Examination: 60%
Coursework: 40%
Italian Government & Politics EU4134
Semester: Spring
Length: One Semester
Level: 2
Credits: 15
This module focuses on political parties and government in Italy since the collapse of Fascism. Until the crisis of the 1990s, the party system included the largest Communist party in a ‘bourgeois’ democracy, alongside neo-Fascist, liberal and social democratic parties, and a dominant Christian democratic party. Government did not alternate. From the 1990s, politics (but not government) has been dominated by Silvio Berlusconi. The module considers the role of parties in installing and consolidating democracy in Italy, and the evolution of democratic governance from the so-called First to the Second republics, including responses to the challenges of Mafia and terrorism and, more recently, of plebiscitary politics.
Teaching Methods:
Lectures
Seminars
Assessment:
Examination: 60%
Coursework: 40%
Semester: Spring
Length: One Semester
Level: 2
Credits: 15
This module explores the key questions of global justice that we face today. Students will develop the critical skills to engage with questions of war, environmental politics, human rights, institutional reform, and international economic redistribution.
Teaching Methods:
Lectures
Seminars
Assessment:
Examination: 60%
Coursework: 40%
Spring Semester Modules (Level Three)
The European Union and European Security EU4127
Semester: Spring
Length: One Semester
Level: 3
Credits: 15
This module examines a range of aspects of the European Union in the context of post-Cold War security, with a view to familiarising students with key events, problems, and challenges. Themes include the role and capability of the European Union as a European security actor; security architectures; national foreign and security policy re-evaluations; post-Cold War security crises; key issues in European security such as the environment, interventionism, immigration, and international terrorism. A good working knowledge of EU institutions and key policies is assumed on entry to the module.
Teaching Methods:
Lectures
Seminars
Assessment:
Coursework: 100%
Global International Organisations in World Politics EU4128
Semester: Spring
Length: One Semester
Level: 3
Credits: 15
The module examines the League of Nations and the United Nations. It covers issues such as the role of international law and politics in the establishment of the League of Nations and the United Nations, the nature of such international global organisations in the international system, the institutional framework of the United Nations and its crucial role in important areas affecting international society, such as maintenance of international peace and security, protection of human rights and the environment, international criminal justice, poverty alleviation, terrorism and disarmament. The module also looks at the shortcomings of the United Nations and current attempts to reform it: are the reforms far-reaching enough to ensure that the United Nations is effective?
Teaching Methods:
Lectures
Seminars
Assessment:
Coursework: 100%
French Politics and Society EU4129
Semester: Spring
Length: One Semester
Level: 3
Credits: 15
The focus of the module will be, by turn, historical, contemporary, polity and policy-focussed. The first part of the module examines the historical, political and cultural context within which contemporary French politics is played out before examining the nature of political leadership, the operation of the French party system and the French model of society, citizenship and identity. The second part of the module focuses, firstly, on the external constraints that affect France, namely in the sphere of the European Union and international relations. Finally, the module will compare policy processes across both sectors and levels. We finish with a series of concluding judgements on the nature of the contemporary French polity.
Teaching Methods:
Lectures
Seminars
Assessment:
Coursework: 100%
Semester: Spring
Length: One Semester
Level: 3
Credits: 20
The initiation of the National Assembly for Wales in 1999, in parallel with the establishment of the Scottish Parliament, represented a sea change in the way that Wales – and, indeed, the UK as a whole – is governed. This module will consider the implications of the devolution process for government and politics in Wales, in particular. It will introduce students to the (still evolving) institutional context of Welsh politics, and the patterns of partisan competition and cooperation, as well as policy making, that are developing within that context. Attention will also be given to the inter-relationship between the Welsh and the UK and EU levels of government and governance.
Teaching Methods:
Lectures
Seminars
Assessment:
Examination: 70%
Coursework: 30%
Public Policy in Britain EU4411
Semester: Spring
Length: One Semester
Level: 3
Credits: 20
This module begins with an analysis of how policies are made, in terms of the key individuals, institutions and processes, along with the factors which either encourage or limit policy change. The module will then develop this analysis by examining a number of case studies of public policy in Britain, with particular attention being paid to the trends and changes which have occurred since the early 1980s, and the dynamics driving these developments. Case studies include: public expenditure and taxation; welfare reform; public sector reform (particularly with regard to education and health); housing; environment.
Teaching Methods:
Lectures
Seminars
Assessment:
Examination: 70%
Coursework: 30%
Global Climate Politics EU4420
Semester: Spring
Length: One Semester
Level: 3
Credits: 20
Climate change is a serious threat to the future of humanity. As a consequence governments around the world have moved to cut their greenhouse gas emissions, but so far their efforts have been inadequate: emissions are still rising. This is despite the fact that we know how they can be brought under control at a reasonable cost. It turns out that the main obstacles to more effective action are political. This module is designed to give you an understanding of these obstacles and how they can be overcome. Topics covered include the science of climate change, how greenhouse gas emissions can be cut, the main policy options for encouraging or mandating cuts in emissions, international negotiations and agreements as they relate to climate policy, and political strategies for enabling more vigorous action to be taken.
Teaching Methods:
Lectures
Seminars
Assessment:
Examination: 70%
Essay: 30%
Contemporary Liberalism & Distributive Justice EU4506
Semester: Spring
Length: One Semester
Level: 3
Credits: 10
Contemporary Liberalism has been characterised by a wide range of responses to questions of distributive justice. Does justice demand that a certain level of basic welfare be guaranteed to each and every citizen? Does this imply an obligation on the part of citizens to contribute to society through work or must we provide for the welfare of those who choose to surf all day instead? What about those who are simply unlucky or who make poor choices? This module examines three distinct liberal approaches to these issues. Rawls argues that justice implies the ‘difference principle’ that provides for the welfare of contributing citizens. Nozick denies that the state has any positive obligations of justice to the welfare of its citizens. In contrast, Van Parijs argues that every citizen of a liberal democracy has the right to an unconditional basic income.
Teaching Methods:
Lectures
Seminars
Assessment:
Coursework: 100%
Analysing Political Lives EU4511
Semester: Spring
Length: One Semester
Level: 3
Credits: 10
The reliably gloomy Enoch Powell once suggested that all political careers tend end in failure. Deploying a variety of historical resources, including biographies, memoirs and diaries, this module will explore the validity of Powell’s prediction. In addition, questions will be asked about how political careers are assessed, and who makes that assessment, and issues of structure and agency, and change in the policy process will also be examined. Students will be given the opportunity to make an in-depth study of a political actor - active in British politics in the period between 1960 and 1997 - of their own choosing.
Teaching Methods:
Lectures
Seminars
Assessment
Coursework: 100%