What you will study
This module is for any one interested in the importance of political ideas in politics and international relations or wanting to make sense of current events. The module is organised around an introduction and five parts. In each part, as described below, you’ll be thinking about the different ways that political ideas ‘live’.
Part 1: Representing the people
This first part investigates the idea of political representation. It traces some of the history and development of the idea in Europe and beyond, and considers whether there is now a crisis of representation.
Part 2: Political animals
The next part looks at how distinctions between humans and animals constitute and challenge modern notions of politics. Do we have good reasons for excluding animals from the political domain? Should nature be given a strong political voice in our era of global environmental degradation?
Part 3: Politics and religion
The third part explores the contentious area of the relationship between religion and politics. Should religious beliefs play an explicit part in politics? Or is it important that church and state be kept separate? Should politics be a secular matter with room for a plurality of religious convictions expressed by citizens in their private lives? How do religious ideas impact on riots in France, the abortion debate in the US and state formation in Iran?
Part 4: The body in politics
Part four discusses how explanations of the body are both incorporated into politics and challenge them. Politics is often thought of as being the concern of the mind – making rational policies. How do the treatment of disabled people, the question of care for the elderly, matters of sexuality, and developments in genetic screening and modification challenge this notion?
Part 5: Violence and politics
The final part examines how the problem of violence underpins modern understandings of politics. Is politics always, at root, about violence? And what are we to make of the notion of state violence? How did various ideas about the relationship between violence and politics play out in the civil war in Sierra Leone, the struggle for national independence in Algeria, and the break-up of Yugoslavia?
Supporting study materials
The module is delivered primarily online, however, print versions of political texts are provided, so you won’t always be studying at your computer. We also want you to learn to become independent learners through this module, and plenty of help is given for you to build these skills.
You will learn
You will learn how to interpret contemporary political events by using political theory texts. This will help you bring out the underlying ‘living’ ideas at stake, as well as the historical resonances often to be found in the political debates of the present. You’ll also build on your ability to reflect on the meaning of a piece of text and analyse it, whether it is a political theory extract, a newspaper article, or a work memo.
Vocational relevance
Modules in government and politics are relevant to a wide range of employment. Politics graduates can be found in financial and commercial occupations – such as business management, banking and insurance – and in a variety of other professions, including the law and accountancy. They are particularly attractive to the public sector: the civil service, local government and health administration.
Entry
This is an OU level 3 module. OU level 3 modules build on study skills and subject knowledge acquired from studies at OU levels 1 and 2 with the OU. They are intended only for students who have recent experience of higher education in a related subject, preferably with the OU.
Our OU level 1 module Introducing the social sciences (DD102) and the OU level 2 module Understanding politics: ideas and institutions in the modern world (DD211) provides an excellent grounding for this module.
If you have any doubt about the suitability of the module, please speak to an adviser.
Preparatory work
No specific preparatory work is required.
If you have studied the discontinued module DD203, you might like to revisit Part 4 of the module, called Living Political Ideas (including its book and the three audiovisual components), to gain an initial sense of what is meant by ‘living political ideas’.
If you’ve not studied this level 2 module, you might like to consider getting hold of Living Political Ideas, Andrews, G. and Saward, M. (eds) (2005) Edinburgh University Press.
Teaching and assessment
Support from your tutor
You will have a tutor who will help you with the study material and mark and comment on your written work, and whom you can ask for advice and guidance. We may also be able to offer group tutorials or day-schools that you are encouraged, but not obliged, to attend. Where your tutorials are held will depend on the distribution of students taking the module. You will also be able to take part in online discussion forums with other students to support your studies.
Contact us if you want to know more about study with The Open University before you register.
Assessment
The assessment details for this module can be found in the facts box above.
You will be expected to submit your tutor-marked assignments (TMAs) online through the eTMA system.
The end-of-module assessment (EMA) is a project that takes the place of an examination.