Government and Politics

Course summary

Politics is a lively and controversial subject, as we study what happens when individuals and groups struggle with one another to achieve their goals. Naturally, where people are concerned, they do not all always agree on how this should be accomplished, often resulting in conflict. For example, do you think we should elect our Prime Minister directly or that the Human Rights Act should be reformed? In this course, you will be asked many contentious questions on political affairs and explore how the government works. In studying this subject, you will be developing the analytical and critical thinking skills required of many degree courses and desired by employers. So, if you like a good argument or are just interested in understanding how the UK is organized, Politics is a good choice. WHY SHOULD I STUDY POLITICS? You will learn: • How to develop a critical awareness of political events and issues and the relationship between political ideas and institutions? • In-depth about the UK and USA systems. • How democracy works in practice or fails. • A variety of useful skills from analytical thinking to debating, which are valued by employers and universities. COURSE STRUCTURE AND CONTENT This is a two-year linear course made up of the modules below: Module 1: UK Politics You will study Political Participation: democracy and participation, political parties, electoral systems, voting behavior, and the media. You will also study core political ideas: conservatism, liberalism, and socialism, looking at key thinkers and how these ideologies have changed and what they believe. Module 2: UK Government You will study in this module UK Government: the constitution, parliament, Prime Minister and executive, and relationships between the branches. You will also focus on another political idea: one idea from the following: anarchism, feminism or nationalism. Module 3: Comparative politics: USA In year 2, your focus is on the following areas of the US system: the US Constitution and federalism, the US Congress, the US presidency, the US Supreme Court, democracy and participation, and civil rights. You also make a comparison to the knowledge gained in the first two units.