PO0GPO: Government and Politics

Module code: PO0GPO

Module provider: Politics; School of Philosophy, Politics and Economics

Credits: 20

Level: Foundation Level

When you'll be taught: Semester 2

Module convenor: Dr Dawn Clarke, email: d.clarke@reading.ac.uk

Pre-requisite module(s):

Co-requisite module(s):

Pre-requisite or Co-requisite module(s):

Module(s) excluded:

Placement information: NA

Academic year: 2024/5

Available to visiting students: No

Talis reading list: Yes

Last updated: 23 May 2024

Overview

Module aims and purpose

This module aims to provide students with a good basic understanding of the nature of political institutions, concepts and ideologies and assist them to develop the ability to interpret and analyse political information and evaluate arguments. 

The module takes an in-depth comparative look at UK and US government and politics.  Students will be required to identify parallels, connections, similarities and differences between aspects of politics. This will ensure that students develop a critical awareness of the changing nature of politics and the relationships between political ideas, political institutions and political processes. 

The political ideas to be studied have relevance to both of the systems of government and politics. The study of the four ideologies will enhance the students’ knowledge and understanding of politics, political debate and political issues in both the UK and the USA. 

As well as live delivery of the module, online delivery will include recorded lectures on Yuga, narrated PowerPoint, live sessions, films, podcasts and discussion boards.

The module also aims to encourage the development of an acceptable level of spelling, punctuation and grammar. Students will also develop their IT skills in presenting their work and in searching IT sources for information. 

Module learning outcomes

By the end of the module, it is expected that students will be able to: 

1. To have knowledge of a range of political institutions and political processes. 
2. To make comparisons across two political systems – the United Kingdom and the USA. 
3. To understand the nature of political ideologies by studying four ideologies, Liberalism, Socialism, Conservatism and feminism 
4. To construct and communicate arguments and explanations with relevance, clarity and coherence 

Module content

Content is indicative and may be subject to minor changes: 

Political institutions and political processes will be examined. Through an in-depth comparison of the political institutions of the United Kingdom and the USA, students are introduced to political systems by examination of such central themes as constitutional government, legislative-executive relations and the judicial process.  The module also looks at the role of pressure groups, protest groups and the civil rights movement in the USA 

Political ideologies are studied by taking an in-depth-analysis of four key political ideologies 

Module content will include: 

1. Constitutions 
2. Parliamentary and Presidential systems of government 
3. The judiciary in the United Kingdom and the USA 
4. The role of political parties 
5. Pressure groups and civil rights movements 
6. Liberalism 
7. Conservatism 
8. Socialism 
9. Feminism 

The module is comparative, and allows students to apply their knowledge of political concepts to a range of different countries, including their own.   Students are encouraged throughout the module to include global examples in both classroom discussions, and coursework and examination answers. 

Structure

Teaching and learning methods

The module will involve eleven two-hour weekly classes which will form interactive classrooms where the content material is taught. There will also be eleven two hour weekly practical classrooms where students will develop their knowledge of the taught material in practical workshops, group work, set tasks, Kahoot, etc. Films and other media material will be used as teaching methods and students will be encouraged to search for material through books, articles and online in order to contribute to classroom discussions.

The classes will look in detail at the topics on the module, exploring the ideas in the course textbook, and sources elsewhere.  Students will learn to understand political concepts through analysis of core materials and through group discussion.

Teaching will be delivered in the classroom and there will be face-to-face and online surgery sessions which will allow students to get extra support and feedback from their tutor.

Study hours

At least 55 hours of scheduled teaching and learning activities will be delivered in person, with the remaining hours for scheduled and self-scheduled teaching and learning activities delivered either in person or online. You will receive further details about how these hours will be delivered before the start of the module.

Please note the independent study hours above are notional numbers of hours; each student will approach studying in different ways. We would advise you to reflect on your learning and the number of hours you are allocating to these tasks.

Semester 1 The hours in this column may include hours during the Christmas holiday period.

Semester 2 The hours in this column may include hours during the Easter holiday period.

Summer The hours in this column will take place during the summer holidays and may be at the start and/or end of the module.

Assessment

Requirements for a pass

Students need to achieve an overall module mark of 40% to pass this module.

Summative assessment

Penalties for late submission of summative assessment

The Support Centres will apply the following penalties for work submitted late:

Assessments with numerical marks

• where the piece of work is submitted after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): 10% of the total marks available for that piece of work will be deducted from the mark for each working day (or part thereof) following the deadline up to a total of three working days;
• the mark awarded due to the imposition of the penalty shall not fall below the threshold pass mark, namely 40% in the case of modules at Levels 4-6 (i.e. undergraduate modules for Parts 1-3) and 50% in the case of Level 7 modules offered as part of an Integrated Masters or taught postgraduate degree programme;
• where the piece of work is awarded a mark below the threshold pass mark prior to any penalty being imposed, and is submitted up to three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline), no penalty shall be imposed;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): a mark of zero will be recorded.

Assessments marked Pass/Fail

• where the piece of work is submitted within three working days of the deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): no penalty will be applied;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): a grade of Fail will be awarded.

The University policy statement on penalties for late submission can be found at: https://www.reading.ac.uk/cqsd/-/media/project/functions/cqsd/documents/qap/penaltiesforlatesubmission.pdf

You are strongly advised to ensure that coursework is submitted by the relevant deadline. You should note that it is advisable to submit work in an unfinished state rather than to fail to submit any work.

Formative assessment

Formative assessment is any task or activity which creates feedback (or feedforward) for you about your learning, but which does not contribute towards your overall module mark.

Students are encouraged to discuss their research plans and presentation design and structure with the Module Convenor and get feedback  

Classroom tasks are used for students to understand material being taught on the module 

Peer-to-peer interaction in classrooms will allow students to further understand the taught material.   

Revision classes will help students prepare for the examination 

Reassessment

Additional costs