Local & Global: IR in Practice (L2066)
The Local and the Global: IR in Practice
Module L2066
Module details for 2021/22.
15 credits
FHEQ Level 4
Module Outline
This course aims to encourage students to connect their everyday life in Brighton to wider currents in world politics and think about why it matters how we theorise international relations and international political economy. Students will undertake research projects (in groups of approximately five) that focus on a Brighton-based empirical phenomenon or issue, and seek to understand the connections between that issue and world politics more generally. In the course of doing their projects, students will be introduced to theoretical debates in IR/IPE and to issues around research design, methodology and method, as well as philosophy of social science.
Pre-Requisite
In this module you will conduct your own research project on the relationship between the local and the global. There are four project topics to choose from: the Royal Pavilion as a WWI Indian Army hospital; refugee settlement in Brighton; the EDO arms factory in Brighton; and decolonizing the curriculum. The goal of the module is to connect the study of International Relations to your everyday life and your experience as a student in Brighton/at Sussex. You will learn how to move from a topic to a research question; how to design a research project; how to conduct research; and how to write a portfolio that demonstrates your learning. Along the way, you will learn about issues of research design, the role of theory in research, methods and methodology, bias objectivity and neutrality, and research ethics - as well as learning a lot about your chosen topic! You will have the opportunity to work in a study group with your peers; the assessment for the module is a 2000 word individual portfolio.
Module learning outcomes
connect everyday life in and around Brighton to theories and issues in IR and/or IPE: reflect on the relationships between the local and the global, and between theory and empirics.
undertake basic research design, and understand basic issues around methodology, method and philosophy of social science.
Develop study and research skills, and transferable skills.
Reflect on their role as students, individuals and community members in Brighton.
| Type | Timing | Weighting |
|---|---|---|
| Portfolio (2000 words) | Semester 2 Assessment Week 2 Tue 16:00 | 100.00% |
Timing
Submission deadlines may vary for different types of assignment/groups of students.
Weighting
Coursework components (if listed) total 100% of the overall coursework weighting value.
| Term | Method | Duration | Week pattern |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spring Semester | Seminar | 1 hour | 11111111111 |
| Spring Semester | Lecture | 1 hour | 11111111111 |
How to read the week pattern
The numbers indicate the weeks of the term and how many events take place each week.
Dr Earl Gammon
Assess convenor
/profiles/138664
Prof Anna Stavrianakis
Assess convenor, Convenor
/profiles/200527
Please note that the University will use all reasonable endeavours to deliver courses and modules in accordance with the descriptions set out here. However, the University keeps its courses and modules under review with the aim of enhancing quality. Some changes may therefore be made to the form or content of courses or modules shown as part of the normal process of curriculum management.
The University reserves the right to make changes to the contents or methods of delivery of, or to discontinue, merge or combine modules, if such action is reasonably considered necessary by the University. If there are not sufficient student numbers to make a module viable, the University reserves the right to cancel such a module. If the University withdraws or discontinues a module, it will use its reasonable endeavours to provide a suitable alternative module.