STATE AND SOCIETY (SPIR510) FACTSHEET
Semester 1, 2015-16
Lectures: Tuesdays 1-2pm (GO43 Fylie Hall, Regents St Bldg)
Seminars: Tuesdays, 11-1pm (158), 2-4pm (250 & 604)
You will find full details of the module, including reading lists, in the module handbook on Blackboard. You can access Blackboard online via your student portal and also on mobile devices.
Week-by-week overview
Wk Lecture Seminar workshops Assessment
01 Introduction Defining key terms: state, civil society, citizenship, market
02 Pluralism The demands of citizenship
Case study 1: Acquiring citizenship
03 Elitism Case study 2: Apathy and anti-politics
04 Marxism Case study 3: Nudging citizens
05 Public choice and market liberalism Writing a Policy Brief
06 Learning platform – no lecture Module convenor available for consultation 11-2. Policy Brief (2,000 words)
Hand-in date: Thurs 5 Nov 2015
07 New institutionalism Theorising the state
Which best explains the British state: pluralism – elitism – Marxism?
08 Feminism Market liberalism and welfare provision
09 Green theory Is the feminist critique still relevant?
10 Globalization and governance Responding to the environmental challenge
11 No lecture Governing through governance
12 Revision Essay writing workshop
Essay (2,000 words)
Hand-in date: Mon 11 Jan 2016
Module Assessment
Full assessment information for the module can be found in the handbook (online on Blackboard), as can the regulations on late submission of coursework and plagiarism.
Form of assessment Weighting % Qualifying mark/set %
Learning Portfolio 10 30
Policy Brief (2000 words) 45 30
Essay (2000 words) 45 30
Learning Portfolio
Weekly reading notes (each minimum one page in length) produced for and checked at weekly seminar workshops (from Week 2-5 and 7-12 inclusive). One mark per week.
Policy Brief (2,000 words)
Write a policy brief for one of the following clients:
1. Home Office officials on whether the current UK Citizenship Test needs revision.
2. National government officials on how to respond to the rise in anti-politics sentiments.
3. Local government officials on whether nudge policy tools should be used more extensively.
Policy brief submission: You must submit your policy brief via Blackboard by 10am on Thursday 5th November 2015. See handbook for details on how to do this.
Essay (2,000 words)
1. ‘Pluralism best captures the current practices of the UK state’. Discuss.
2. ‘Public choice offers a powerful method for analysing the state’. Discuss.
3. ‘The environmental challenge exposes the limitations of the state’. Discuss.
4. Critically assess the extent to which either (1) feminism or (2) poststructuralism entails a reconsideration of the contemporary state?
5. ‘Emerging forms of governance imply a weakening of state powers’. Discuss.
Essay submission: You must submit your essay via Blackboard by 10am on Monday 11th January 2016. See handbook for details on how to do this.
Essay marks and feedback
We will post brief summary comments and your marks for the Policy Brief and Essay in Grademark (which is part of Turnitin and can be accessed via Blackboard) within three weeks of the submission date. We will discuss your essay and the mark you’ve been awarded with you individually at an agreed time.