Politics, Philosophy and Economics BA (Hons) degree

The aims of this module are to provide a sound, basic understanding of modern macroeconomics, its historical development and its application to theoretical and real world problems.

The aims of this module are to introduce how microeconomic methods of analysis are used to analyse and evaluate contemporary market systems.

This module has three main aims:

• introduces students to academic integrity;
• allows students to development their academic skills for successful study in Politics, International Relations, Philosophy and/or History
• allows students to develop, recognise and better articulate their skills, attributes and self-awareness.

This module provides an introduction to modern European history from c.1750 to the First World War and the major ideological families that have defined, and continue to shape, European political, cultural, and intellectual life. It encourages students to evaluate the impact of the 'dual revolution' on the emergence of the key political ideologies - including liberalism, conservatism, Marxism, and feminism - and to assess the relevance of these ideologies to contemporary politics.

The aim of this module is to provide a framework of reference for philosophical enquiry by introducing students to the central figures, concepts and debates in philosophy. Students will be equipped with the skills required to identify, use and evaluate different forms of logic, reason and argument.

This module aims to introduce students to a selection of theories, concepts and theorists of International Politics. Students will learn to critically evaluate the strengths, weaknesses and limits of each approach.

This module introduces students to key concepts and theories used in the study of advanced democracies. Taking the United Kingdom as its starting point, it provides an overview of key historical and contemporary debates and draws on quantitative and qualitative research traditions in Comparative Politics.

The aim of this module is to develop the skills required to understand and reflect on philosophical arguments and debates, with a focus on key contemporary themes in philosophy (and philosophical components of contemporary problems in the wider world) as well as historical background on the development of philosophy. Students will develop a critical understanding of the central concepts and topics in contemporary philosophy through examining a range of philosophical traditions.

The aims of the module are for students to:

• become familiar with economic concepts used to analyse financial markets and financial institutions; 
• gain experience in using financial and economic statistics and case studies relevant to understanding financial markets and institutions;
• obtain insight into some of the principal current business and policy issues in the financial system, both in capital markets and commercial banking.

The module will develop knowledge and understanding of the history of economic ideas since Classical Economics.

The aims of this module are to introduce students to the dominant approaches and their research methods in politics.

From the animals in Franz Kafka's short stories to BoJack Horseman, from nature documentaries to viral clips of cats and dogs online, contemporary culture is saturated with narratives and representations of non-human animals.

This module aims to introduce students to ways of critically interrogating these narratives and representations, drawn from a variety of media, analysing them in relation to recent ethical, political, cultural, and philosophical debates concerning our lives with and as animals.

The module will give students opportunities to discuss these debates in depth, bringing information and ideas together from different disciplines and topics (e.g. anthropomorphism and anthropocentrism, post-humanism, the nonhuman, biopolitics, fragility, empathy, friendship, the Anthropocene, eating animals, capitalism, feminism, ableism, postcoloniality; racialisation).

The aim of this module is to examine some of the main thinkers in the history of political thought.

The aim of this module is to examine the development of the political thought by looking at key concepts, thinkers and movements in the history of ideas.

This module aims to introduce the students to the study of development and to examine the problem of global socio-economic inequality and its relation to politics.

The aim of this module is to develop skills in research design, involving selecting of topic and viable research questions, appropriate research methodologies for the research questions selected, sourcing research data and learning how to complete a coherent research proposal.

This module offers an introduction to the field of Comparative Political Economy, with a focus on how capitalism and democracy interact and influence one another. It provides an overview of key themes in this research tradition and introduces students to core concepts and debates.

The aim of this module is to introduce students to practical politics through the use of role play exercises.

The aim of this module is to introduce students to various aspects of politics and history as depicted within and emanating from the Star Wars films. Students will consider how these depictions can be used as a lens to understand key political concepts and their relationship to contemporary issues, topic and events.

The aim of this module is to take an intersectional perspective to explore how gender relates to politics, both domestic and international. It explores some of the different ways that sex, gender and feminism have been theorized and framed. As well as how gender shapes and impacts upon phenomena in domestic and global politics such as political representation and leadership; rights and citizenship; sexual violence; reproductive justice; social justice and resistance; conflict and terrorism.

This module examines the philosophical dimensions of some of the most controversial social and political issues of our time, asking what philosophical reflection can offer to these public policy debates. Precise topics covered will vary year on year. But topics that may be covered include questions such as: What are the limits of free speech? Can political violence ever be legitimate? What justifies punishing a wrong-doer? Should hate speech be prohibited? What is our legitimate relationship to animals? How might we legislate on a women's rights as far as birth is concerned?

The aim of the module is to enable students to undertake an extensive piece of research on a topic of their choice in the field of their degree title, and to further develop their skills in research techniques and methods.

The aims of this module are to:

• introduce students to basic concepts in finance and to equip them for further study in more advanced topics and modules in finance;
• explain the functions of capital markets in the economy, the ways in which economic activity is financed and implications for the flow of funds, and the role of the stock exchange in this process;
• explain basic techniques of financial analysis, especially the valuation of simple securities, including shares, bonds and money market investments;
• examine investment decision rules; discuss issues pertaining to risk and the opportunity cost of capital;
• explain how corporations finance capital expenditure via equity or debt;
• examine a number of additional issues such as agency problems, market efficiency, payout policy, risk management, financial planning, and mergers.

This module is an introduction to the economic analysis of some of the key real (ie non-monetary) phenomena that are associated with globalisation. In particular, we will examine how economists study international trade flows; trade policy; and foreign direct investment (FDI) and multinational enterprises (MNEs). We will also analyse the basis, both in positive economics and in normative/ethical concerns, of selected controversies surrounding globalisation.

The aims of this module are to:

• outline and discuss important themes in contemporary political philosophy by encouraging reflection on a number of common basic assumptions and intuitions about the nature of politics, the responsibilities of social and political institutions and the principles upon which ideas about politics are founded;
• encourage you to tackle some of the most profound and enduring questions facing citizens and policy makers in liberal democratic states and to evaluate the various ways in which different philosophical traditions have approached these issues.

This module examines the ethical (including moral, social, and political) dimensions of environmental thought, broadly construed to encompass a range of questions about human relationships with plants, animals, ecosystems, the climate, and the wider nonhuman world. Ethico-political frameworks explored might include ecologism, animal rights, biocentrism, and similar. Practical normative questions explored might include the ethics of diets and food systems; the political inclusion of animals; the question of who is responsible for putting right environmental harm; species conservation; green militarization; and green democracy.

This module introduces students to the nature, causes, types, and threat of terrorism, and the ways in which this threat is countered.

The aims of this module are to give an understanding of the connection between social objectives and economic policy.

This module aims to a) give students a sound grounding in leading strands of feminist philosophy; and b) to allow students to be able to position themselves within these debates. It will do this by focusing on texts and debates: students will read texts in preparation for the class sessions, and will be encouraged to critique, compare, contrast, engage and position themselves in relation to the writings under consideration.

The aim of the module is to explore anarchism in the history of ideas and contemporary politics and to assess the purchase of anarchist approaches and ideas through student-led development of an open syllabus.

The aim of this module is to develop an understanding of new and emerging security threats in the 21st Century. It explores some of the different ways these threats are understood, how they are being responded to and their implications for the politics of security.