BA (Hons) International Relations and Politics (with Foundation Year)

Why do we vote the way we do? What affects our actions, and our political decisions? In this module, You’ll investigate politics through human behaviour. You’ll explore political culture, and how we participate in a democratic society. You’ll also look at how humans are socialised to hold various political views. You’ll gain a key insight into how ideas and ideologies affect our behaviour individually and as a group.

In this module, you’ll investigate politics - and the struggle for power - across the nations. You’ll gain a clear introduction to how and why political systems differ in our world today. You’ll examine case studies from a wide range of states, and gain a strong insight into how different regimes function – from the democratic to the totalitarian.

In this module, you’ll dive into International Relations and its key theories. You’ll explore how International Relations emerges from specific cultural and historic concerns. You’ll gain core analytical skills, as you interpret historical events such as the First World War, decolonisation and the ‘War on Terror’, and use them to explore pressing debates in International Relations.

You’ll learn how International Relations has been shaped as a Western discipline, and how to challenge this by learning about aspects of international relations that have been erased or forgotten, such as colonialism and imperialism. You’ll learn to see International Relations as a rich array of competing stories about our world and what’s possible within it.

In this module, you’ll explore the leading issues of current world politics.

You’ll investigate the key figures, structures and processes in world politics - like states, political economies and multinational societies.

You’ll also analyse concepts such as:

• anarchy
• order
• sovereignty
• conflict and cooperation among states, and non-state figures.

You’ll also investigate the chronic issues of world politics, including:

• gender
• migration
• human rights
• humanitarian intervention
• energy resources and the environment
• development, inequality and poverty.

You’ll explore how different nations manage these issues and what this tells us about international governance.

Race, class, gender and sexuality - how do these things affect us and our social relations today? In this module, you’ll explore the factors which divide human societies, and how sociologists make sense of the world.

You’ll explore the connections between individuals, groups and social institutions. You’ll dive into pressing debates. And you’ll engage with core areas of social analysis, such as:

• gender relations
• class divisions
• race/ethnicity
• sexuality

You'll explore the urgent issues facing society, including diversity and inequality. You’ll understand social context and processes. And you’ll develop a strong awareness of our world today.

In this module, you’ll explore the art and science of Politics and International Relations. You’ll develop the critical research and study skills you need to succeed in your degree, as you explore how these two disciplines work. You’ll get to grips the scope of International Relations and Politics, and consider:

• the issues they explore
• the questions they seek to answer
• their academic, educational and social value

Explore the study and understanding of Culture and Society by looking at relevant Customs, Icons and Symbols with a particular emphasis on communicative practice of reading and written language in contexts.

How is political opinion, authority and democracy shaped and influenced? In this module, you’ll explore foundational issues in political philosophy through exploring the main political ideologies. You’ll start your journey with Liberalism as the default position in the West since the English, American and French Revolutions. Your focus then shifts to the ideologies that arose in response to Liberalism, including:

• Conservatism
• Communism
• Fascism
• Communitarianism
• Anarchism
• and Feminism.

You’ll also consider questions linked to the theory of knowledge, such as can any ideology be rationally justified?

In these modules, you’ll gain the practical language skills to succeed in your French degree. As someone with a beginner’s knowledge of French, you’ll develop strong skills in French speaking and writing, translating and interpreting. You’ll be able to express yourself effectively in French, and gain a critical sensitivity to the intercultural differences between France and other countries.

In these modules, you’ll gain the practical language skills to succeed in your Spanish degree. As someone with a beginner’s knowledge of Spanish, you’ll develop strong skills in Spanish speaking and writing, translating and interpreting. You’ll be able to express yourself effectively in Spanish, and gain a critical sensitivity to the intercultural differences between Spain and other countries.

How has humanity changed the environment — and how has the environment changed us?

You'll explore six centuries of environmental change through the history of sustainability, conservation and resource use, from the Columbian Exchange of the late fifteenth century to the Great Acceleration of the mid-twentieth. You'll examine how environmental change has been experienced and contested at local, national and global levels, and examine the political, economic, social and cultural forces shaping the consumption of energy, food and natural resources — while also considering what history can teach us about future policy solutions.

You'll also work with diverse historical sources, from demographic and institutional records to maps and plans, and develop practical digital history skills through designing your own digital map of environmental change.

On this module, you'll build your sense of a criminology community through collaborating and planning a criminology newsletter. This will help you take ownership of your criminology studies.

You'll build on the skills and knowledge you gained on Creating Criminology 1, where you will have interacted with guest speakers from careers and with recent alumni. You'll get to use alumni as interviewees for your Criminology newsletter. You'll also engage with discussions for your future after university, and where you can make a positive impact with your Criminology degree.

You'll start an exploration of how educators can support and encourage curiosity and exploration in children, through the use of Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM).

You'll focus on understanding and developing teaching methods that can enhance childrens' learning. Incorporating STEAM concepts into each of these areas. You will have the chance to

• investigate
• observe
• and create opportunities for hands-on experiments and problem-based learning.

You'll also join discussions on the challenges and difficulties that may arise when implementing STEAM in different educational settings.

In this module, you’ll dive into art and artists through the century. You’ll explore the Camden Town Group of painters. You’ll examine the abstract sculptures of Barbara Hepworth. And you’ll analyse the collages of Pop artists like Peter Blake. You’ll scrutinise paintings, sculptures and films. You’ll discuss how British artists tried to create modern forms of expression. And you’ll investigate the ways they promoted their work, like:

• exhibitions
• manifestos
• books
• little magazines.

You’ll participate in on-site visits, where you’ll examine works of art firsthand. You’ll also attend exciting lectures and seminars where you’ll explore your ideas and enrich your understanding of modern British art.

Who won the Cold War? In this module, you’ll explore the rivalry between two global superpowers - the United States and Soviet Union. You’ll understand how the Cold War never featured any actual fighting between the two, yet resulted in the defeat of one.

You’ll get to grips with International History, and learn about the realms of:

• diplomacy
• arms control
• proxy wars
• the creation and maintenance of alliances
• leadership and the role of personality.

And you’ll explore how people lived through the looming threat of nuclear destruction in the second half of the 20th Century.

Should we give money to beggars on the street? Do we need to do more for refugees?

In this module, you’ll gain a strong knowledge of ethics. You’ll dive into three main areas - normative ethics, meta-ethics and applied ethics.

In normative ethics, you’ll examine virtue ethics, deontology and consequentialism through reading the works of Aristotle, Kant and J.S. Mill.

In meta-ethics, you’ll examine how our morals change over time, and differ between cultures. You’ll question whether God is relevant to ethics, and what evolutionary theory can tell us about our morals.

And in applied ethics, you’ll consider questions such as: is it right to try to cure disability? Is disability worse than non-disability? You’ll consider income inequality and government policies to change it. And you’ll consider the ethics of having children - is it right or wrong to bring people into existence?

What does it mean to know something? Is knowledge different from mere belief? And is knowledge actually possible?

In this module, you’ll get to know the great thinkers of the past, and explore what they say about knowledge. You’ll explore the minds of:

• Plato
• Descartes
• Hume
• Locke
• Berkeley.

You also focus on key debates about knowledge today. You’ll gain fantastic analytical skills as you consider:

• the meaning of perception
• if we can know something through hearsay
• if we can know the world beyond our minds
• if there can be a scientific account of knowledge.

What is social theory? Who are the major social theorists, and what do they have to say about things like power, beliefs and values, capitalism, feminism and more? In this module, you’ll explore key concepts and theories in classical and contemporary sociology. You’ll also immerse yourself in current debates, developments and approaches to social theory, and you’ll encounter theories like Marxism, postcolonialism, functionalism and more.

In this module, you’ll dive into political thought and international theory - from Machiavelli to Mill. You’ll gain fantastic critical skills as you analyse key texts on modern political theory, and understand states and international contexts. You’ll explore classic texts, including Hobbes’ Leviathan and Rousseau's The Social Contract. You’ll also analyse key ideas in modern political thought, including:

• natural rights
• sovereignty
• representation

In this module, you will explore the history and details of British politics, covering the major events and themes of contemporary British politics.

Examine the complex institutions that make up the British political system and how these have changed over time, including the evolution of political parties and how policy is made by the executive and implemented by the civil service.

You’ll look at political and economic factors side-by-side in how the British state is constituted and how decisions are made. You’ll also cover topics like;

• the changing nature of the British political system
• conceptual approaches to British politics
• the post-war consensus and its end in electoral politics
• declinism
• Britain’s foreign relations and its relationship with Europe.

Equip yourself with the knowledge and critical analytical skills to understand contemporary British politics.

Why should we study International Relations? In this module, you’ll get the grip of what International Relations is (IR). You’ll examine the ‘great debates’ in IR - like who is IR for? What is it meant to do? And how do we know when it is successful? Is IR theory a way of looking at diverse societies across the world? Or has it changed? And how have events like 9/11, decolonisation and the dawn of the Nuclear Age challenged our understanding of IR?

You’ll examine why IR theory is a key to understanding international relations. You’ll ask whether International Relations is just about explaining facts. And you’ll explore whether our subjective moods and feelings influence IR. You’ll gain valuable critical skills, as you consider the relationship between theory and practice.

In this module, you’ll develop the practical research skills you need to design and carry out your first piece of social sciences research. You’ll start with the ‘big questions’ of ‘What exists?’ and ‘How can we know about what exists?’ From here, you’ll move on to consider the different research methods and their implications. You’ll take part in hands-on workshops and practical sessions, preparing you to conduct your research for your final-year dissertation.

In this module, you’ll get to know the global economy. You’ll investigate how economics and politics shape world affairs in both trivial and profound ways.

In part 1, you’ll gain a strong knowledge of the history of the world economy. You’ll develop key analytical skills, as you explore competing explanations of how it functions. You’ll gain the tools you need to understand the economy’s recent changes.

In part 2, you’ll dig into key debates on how the global economy functions today, including:

• Finance
• Global production
• Trade and international development
• The relationship between the global economy and the environment.

What is security? How can we achieve it? And who should provide it? In this module, you’ll dive into key debates on security, and its definitions. You’ll join policy makers, academics and civil servants as you discuss fundamental issues of security. You’ll explore the different ways we look at security, and the things it protects, for example:

• The nation-state
• The environment
• The economy
• A ‘way of life’.

You’ll also look at the implications of security on peace and current global conflicts, as well as everyday violence and exclusion.

In this module, you can investigate the politics of either Europe or the USA, subject to student numbers and staff availability.

In the European strand, you’ll explore themes of democracy and citizenship. You’ll look closely at what democracy and citizenship might mean to people living in the UK, France, Germany and in Europe’s post-communist countries. You’ll also look at the future of European states and societies, and how they can adapt to challenges such as migration.

In the American strand, you’ll focus on governmental and political institutions. You’ll also explore explosive issues in American politics, including religion, race and capital punishment.

How do we govern the world, when it’s no longer dominated by states and national governments? How do different types of migration shape the movement of people across the world? In this module, you’ll get to understand the key part of international relations - borders and solidarities (groups with a common identity or interest). You’ll explore the various forms of borders and solidarities, including:

• movements across national boundaries
• regional organisations
• trade agreements.

You’ll link them to key forces and events, such as:

• NGOs
• corporations
• colonisation
• refugee movements
• the migrant ‘crisis’.

You’ll gain valuable practical and professional knowledge, as you explore major issues today, and how global governance or migration shape our lives.

In this module, you’ll explore the effect of nationalism, ethnicity and regime change on a country. You’ll get to grips with the different approaches we use to explore them. You’ll gain fantastic analytical skills as you apply these approaches to real world cases, and investigate the implications of their different perspectives.

You’ll also look at how globalisation impacts the politics and identity of a country. You’ll analyse the ways in which globalisation can be a force for good (spreading democracy) and bad (divisive, leading to nationalist resistance)

In this module, you’ll have the chance to carry out a work placement closely linked to your International Relations course. You’ll be supported by your module leader to find a placement that meets your needs, and which will support your learning. With a carefully chosen placement, you’ll build on the skills and knowledge you’ve already gained in Year 1, and you’ll also strengthen vital skills for the workplace, like time management, communication and team-working.

Students have found placements in organisations like:

• Asylum Welcome, working with asylum seekers in Oxford
• Viva, an international children’s charity
• Depaul, working with homeless people and immigrants in Paris.

During and after your placement, you’ll:

• create a placement portfolio, recording what you’ve done and achieved
• craft a CV showing your experience
• give a presentation on your placement.

This module offers the opportunity to study abroad, experience a new culture, and apply your skills in different contexts to enhance your employability. It will help you develop self-management, cross-cultural communication, and interpersonal skills.

You’ll receive support to secure a place at a partner institution abroad, where you can choose modules related to your degree or explore new areas that complement your studies.

Studying at an international university will help you enhance your interpersonal skills through cross-cultural communication with students and tutors, allowing you to build lasting relationships. You'll also improve your study skills by focusing on your chosen areas of interest, gaining valuable international experience that will strengthen your CV.

This year abroad module lasts for one academic year and is taken after the conclusion of your second year of study, once you’ve completed all your level 5 studies. Your year abroad is not credit-bearing.

This module gives you the chance to do independent research on a topic that fascinates you. You’ll have the support of an expert lecturer in International Relations and Politics. You’ll gain fantastic project management and research skills for your future career, as you design and conduct your own research over two semesters. Whatever your topic, you’ll shape your project around your passions, and gain the core skills to succeed in your degree.

Previous students’ dissertations have tackled topics such as:

• The Brexit vote and national identity
• What motivates young people to engage politically online?
• The role of social media in US elections
• An investigation into gender imbalance in engineering.

You'll start by analysing the legacy of South Africa’s history. Then you'll look at some of the key issues in the political economy of post-apartheid South Africa. And with the knowledge you've built. You'll assess the links between the legacies of apartheid and the nature of some of the problems encountered in South Africa today.

In this module, you’ll get to grips with capitalism today. You’ll explore what colonialism and the modern world can teach us about its laws and events. You’ll gain a fascinating, alternative history of international relations, as you explore the modern sovereign states system. You’ll also gain the key skills you need to study the relationship between history, international relations and law.

Each week, you’ll take a crucial world event and analyse it. You’ll look at:

• Arab spring
• struggles for human rights
• extraterritorial obligations
• cross-border protests
• migrants and refugees

You’ll contrast these events with the following historical events which also involved high tension and legal debate:

• colonial trading companies
• slave revolutions
• capitulations
• the Treaties of Westphalia
• the Ottoman empire.

In this module you’ll explore practices of conflict management and peacebuilding in societies which experience violent conflict. You’ll cover three key areas;

• conceptualise peace and the causes and dynamics of contemporary conflict
• investigate models of peacemaking
• understand how building a sustainable peace can be achieved by societies emerging from war.

You’ll compare a variety of case studies to draw conclusions about these challenges and processes, alongside analysing current cases of violent conflict, critically evaluating peacebuilding processes and asking questions about the quality of peace that often emerges.

How can we respond to and solve global injustice and the ecological crisis without a world government? How can we resolve issues in international politics which are beyond the limit of individual countries? A global unified approach is critical for success.

In this module, you’ll gain knowledge of the theory and practice of global development, justice and sustainability, and build your analytical skills. You'll take a combined approach of looking at global development and the ecological crisis. You'll examine competing and contrasting perspectives that feature across these global issues.

Helping you gain understanding in their global justice implications. Also you'll look at international policy responses and global governance initiatives.

In this module, you’ll develop key critical skills as you explore the democratic challenges facing Russia. Contemporary Russia has undergone enormous social, political and economic transformation since the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s.You’ll gain a strong grounding in the key issues of this diverse, multi-ethnic state. You’ll look at core themes, such as:

• regime dynamics and trajectory
• the role of informal relations
• corruption and governance problems
• war and militarism
• and identity politics.

How does violence occur in different societies? How do people’s ideas of violence affect their cultures? In this module, you’ll look at how states manage violence such as terrorism. You’ll also consider how social norms and military values of violence shape our lives. You can choose to specialise in terrorism or counter-terrorism, or critical militarism studies.

In this module, you’ll explore understandings of freedom, justice and liberation in contemporary social and political thought. We’ll focus on a range of theoretical approaches, including:

• decolonial theory
• feminist and queer theory
• post-structuralism
• crip theory
• the black radical tradition.

These will be put in dialogue with classical theoretical discussions on freedom, justice and liberation. We will discuss questions like:

• Is it possible, and desirable, to make claims for justice and liberation based on group identity?
• Can past wrongs be addressed through reparations?
• Can justice be delivered via the criminal justice system?

As such, the module provides students with the theoretical tools to understand and navigate discussions on the meanings of justice, freedom and liberation in contemporary society, and to develop their own positions in relation to them.

What should world leaders do? How much power should countries give each other? And how should states and individuals behave towards each other? In this module, you’ll get to understand the key questions in world politics. You’ll explore:

• how we determine rights and duties
• how we both enable and restrict dominance
• how issues of race, gender and class interact in relation to world politics.

You’ll choose one of three topics on international ethics and power - human rights, migration and immigration, or racism and colonialism.

In this module you’ll examine the production and naturalisation of socio-political identities and the inter-related politics of resistance to these identities and using these identities.

You will investigate the links between localised, everyday practices of identity and national/global forms of domination, exclusion and hierarchy - focusing on Western, liberal democratic states.

Explore the ways in which practices of domination, exclusion and hierarchy are both perpetuated and legitimised, and challenged by individuals and communities. You’ll also cover issues of race, gender, class and imperialism.

The Independent Study Module gives you the opportunity to explore a legal topic in greater depth, working closely with an academic whose research interests align with your chosen area. It allows you to investigate issues that go beyond the taught curriculum and develop expertise in a subject that reflects your interests and future ambitions.

You'll build advanced research, analysis and academic writing skills as you engage with legal scholarship, case law and contemporary debates. Students on our named pathways complete their project within their area of specialism, providing an opportunity to deepen their knowledge and showcase their expertise.

Whether you're considering postgraduate study, legal practice or another professional path, the module enables you to pursue an area you're passionate about while developing the independent learning skills valued by employers and researchers alike.

This module is compulsory if studying one of the named pathways.