Undergraduate Course: British Government (PLIT10103)
Course Outline
| School | School of Social and Political Science |
College | College of Humanities and Social Science |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 4 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | The Honours Seminar in British Government is an advanced senior honours course that examines the challenges of governing the United Kingdom in the twenty-first century. We will analyse critically and historically ideas that the political system is "broken", that there is no difference between the main parties, and that parliament and government are in "crisis". |
| Course description |
Who runs Britain? Why do people vote UKIP? Are our political elites all the same? These are the sort of questions and issues that we will explore in this in-depth course on the contemporary governance of the United Kingdom. Are the traditional structures of British government buckling under the strain of globalisation, devolution and voter apathy?
The Honours Seminar in British Government is an optional course for senior honours students in Politics and International Relations. It is an advanced, research-led course that is designed to be the culmination of a four-year undergraduate degree at Edinburgh. Using cutting-edge research (including work in progress by Edinburgh academics) we will study how the United Kingdom deals with the challenges of governing in the twenty-first century. Crucially, we will also consider wider questions about the nature of social science and its relationship with the study of British politics.
The best introductory text to the course is David Richards et al. (eds.) (2014), Institutional Crisis in Twenty-First Century Britain.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2015/16, Available to all students (SV1)
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Quota: 25 |
| Course Start |
Semester 2 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 30,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
166 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
35 %,
Coursework
50 %,
Practical Exam
15 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
Seminar paper and presentation: 15%
Long essay: 50%
Written exam: 35%
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| Feedback |
Students will be given feedback on their performance at seminars and their paper presentation |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Students will acquire an in-depth sense of the chronology and development of British politics in the latter half of the twentieth century, and they will be able to discuss how this political history has affected the present state of British government.
- Students will acquire a deep knowledge of the workings of the central formal political institutions in the UK (including Whitehall, Parliament and the core executive) and the challenges they face.
- Students will be able to place the UK in the context of wider debates about the nature of government in the twenty-first century, particularly in relation to voter disengagement, political economy and ¿governance¿ perspectives.
- Students will be able to assess the strengths and weaknesses of competing theories of British governance and relate these to wider debates about the nature of social and political science.
- Students will have sharpened their research and presentation skills through delivering extended papers to the class and the writing of scholarly essays.
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
In-depth knowledge of the political institutions of the United Kingdom.
Ability to write with economy and clarity.
Ability to present ideas clearly to groups based on a written paper.
Ability to have an informed and critical argument about competing perspectives on the nature of government in the twenty-first century
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| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Mr Alan Convery
Tel: (0131 6)50 8255
Email: |
Course secretary | Miss Natalie Stroud
Tel: (0131 6)51 3162
Email: |
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