| Unit name | Making of the Modern World Order |
|---|---|
| Unit code | POLI10008 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | C/4 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12) |
| Unit director | Dr. Egle Cesnulyte |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units) |
N/A |
| Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units) |
N/A |
| Units you may not take alongside this one |
N/A |
| School/department | School of Sociology, Politics and International Studies |
| Faculty | Faculty of Social Sciences and Law |
Why is this unit important?
Is world politics still shaped by legacies of European colonialism? How did the trans-Atlantic trade in human beings shape the industrial revolution? How useful is the concept of ‘imperialism’ for understanding the contemporary global political economy? And how is the city of Bristol shaped by these historic and contemporary dynamics? You will interrogate the socio-economic and political changes associated with the making of the international order and the formation of the Global South and the Global North within it. In this unit, you will be invited to consider the nature of the connections between the local and the global, and the role of history in understanding contemporary dynamics and relationships in world politics and the political economy of global capitalism.
How does this unit fit into your programme of study?
This is a mandatory unit for all year 1 students on the Politics and International Relations programmes. You will be introduced to the analytical tools for the interpretation of the complex unfolding process of the construction of the international order as well as some of the key challenges that are the focus of Development Studies, Global Political Economy, or area studies. This will be foundational for students who wish to go on to develop their scholarly and professional interest in these fields.
An overview of content
In this unit you will examine the socio-economic and political changes associated with European expansion and colonialism, and its continuing legacies in contemporary capitalist societies. The unit will take an historical perspective to introduce you to key features of global political economy past and present, including processes of production and appropriation, diverse inequalities, social justice, and social change. Because colonialism has had profound effects on the formation of both the ‘Global North’ and the ‘Global South’, this historical knowledge is necessary to understand global political processes today. You will consider issues such as the legacies of slavery and forced labour, reparations and restorations, donor-politics and NGOs, power-imbalance, raced and gendered inequalities.
How will students, personally, be different as a result of the unit
You will develop empirical knowledge and conceptual understanding of the historic dynamics shaping the development of global capitalism and the international relationships integral to it. You will gain the ability to reflect critically on the power relations at work in global capitalism and identify your location within them – enhancing your understanding of the way contemporary societies and world political challenges are informed by legacies of colonial encounters.
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of the unit, students will be able to:
1. Identify the historical factors underlying the social, economic and political inequalities between the Global North and the Global South.
2. Analyse the role of colonialism in the formation of the global capitalist economy.
3. Demonstrate an understanding of the role of domination, subordination, violence, and theft in producing wealth, poverty and inequalities.
4. Utilise basic concepts of global political economy in constructing knowledge of global inequalities.
The unit is delivered through a combination of in-person lectures and small group seminars. Lectures are set out to provide students with a broader introduction of the various themes, concepts, and case-studies. Seminars offer the opportunity to explore, critique and deepen the students’ understanding and engage in discussion with peers and members of staff. Additional asynchronously delivered material may be provided to aid students’ understanding and engagement with the unit material.
The combination of whole cohort and small group sessions offers students a variety of ways to achieve the unit ILOs and prepare students for the summative assessment.
Tasks which help you learn and prepare you for summative tasks (formative):
Seminar sessions will provide students with the opportunity to explore and discuss weekly readings and topics and engage in discussions around a historicist approach to contemporary challenges and the ways in which the legacies of European colonialism shape the contemporary international order. Seminars will contribute to the development of critical thinking and communication skills and provide a forum for peer-to-peer feedback and discussion.
Tasks which count towards your unit mark (summative):
When assessment does not go to plan:
Subject to the university regulations for taught programmes, you may be offered an opportunity for reassessment in the failed element(s). This will comprise a task of the same format as the original assessment.
If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.
If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. POLI10008).
How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours
of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks,
independent learning and assessment activity.
See the University Workload statement relating to this unit for more information.
Assessment
The assessment methods listed in this unit specification are designed to enable students to demonstrate the named learning outcomes (LOs). Where a disability prevents a student from undertaking a specific method of assessment, schools will make reasonable adjustments to support a student to demonstrate the LO by an alternative method or with additional resources.
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit.
The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. For appropriate assessments, if you have self-certificated your absence, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (for assessments at the end of TB1 and TB2 this is usually in the next re-assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any exceptional circumstances and operates
within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.
