PO2THI: Political Thinking

Module code: PO2THI

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

Credits: 20

Level: Level 2 (Intermediate)

When you'll be taught: Semester 1

Module convenor: Dr Maxime Lepoutre, email: m.c.lepoutre@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: Yes

Talis reading list: Yes

Last updated: 23 May 2024

Overview

Module aims and purpose

This course investigates the ethical issues that lie behind some important contemporary policy debates. It aims to deepen students’ understanding of the ethical dimensions of contested political issues: from how societies should deal with statues of historical wrongdoers, to whether inheritances should be taxed. 

Public policy making inevitably involves value judgements. For example, the design of welfare and tax systems raises issues of fairness and distributive justice. Each week we will focus on a concrete policy question, analysing its ethical dimensions, and critically evaluating the arguments on different sides of the debate. We will consider questions both about how political decisions are taken (for example, what role should referenda play in a democratic system?) and about the substance of those decisions (for example, should members of minority cultural or religious groups be granted exemptions from some generally applicable laws?) The emphasis of the module is on connecting established debates in normative political theory with applied political problems. 

Module learning outcomes

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

1. Identify the ethical issues that underlie some important public policy questions
2. Link these policy problems to established debates within normative political theory
3. Critically evaluate the ethical arguments on different sides of the policy debates
4. Advance their wider skills of critical analysis, and their ability to articulate their ideas orally and in writing

Module content

Topics to be addressed may include:

• Universal basic income and the duty to work
• Integration and segregation
• Inheritance tax and the value of the family
• Referenda and democratic decision-making
• Minority exemptions and multiculturalism

Lectures and seminars will integrate the exploration of theoretical arguments with investigation of concrete policy issues.

Structure

Teaching and learning methods

The module will be taught through a combination of 1-hour lectures and 1.5-hour seminars. Lectures will introduce students to the ethical issues underlying a selected public policy problem: identifying key lines of debate and important contributions to the academic literature. Interactive seminars will be structured around small group activities, informal student presentations, and class discussion. 

Study hours

At least 22 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 will receive formative feedback through seminar discussions and activities. 

Reassessment

Additional costs