This module provides an Introduction to Modern British Politics with special emphasis placed on the social and cultural influences shaping Modern British Politics-Class, the Mass Media, Youth Culture, Social Media etc. We consider how socio-cultural change has affected voting behaviour since 1945; how British Prime Ministers have reacted to social and cultural change-from Wilson embracing the technological and scientific breakthroughs of the 1960s to Margaret Thatcher’s cultural war on ‘the Permissive Society’ she associated with the 1960s. Politicians-Thatcher being a prime example-can also bring about social and cultural ‘revolution’ and we examine the impact of Thatcherism in the Universities, on Youth Culture, and in the traditional mining communities of South Wales and Yorkshire. There will also be an opportunity to explore contemporary political movements that call for social and cultural change; most notably, Black Lives Matter and the Rhodes Must Fall protests that have dominated news headlines in the past year.

1. Critically evaluate the social and cultural impact of Thatcherism.
2. Analyse the political and cultural impact of the Punk Movement in Britain, c.1975-c.1984.
3.  Evaluate the significance of social class in Modern British Politics.
4. Critically assess the political and cultural significance of Black Lives Matter.
5. Critically assess social and cultural trends in Modern British Politics eg Feminism and the Women’s Movement, Youth Culture, and the Role of Student Protest Movements in Modern British Political Life using ideas from a number of academic disciplines, including contemporary British History, Cultural and Political Sociology, Political Science, and Gender Studies.

The module will be delivered through a range of interactive teaching sessions supplemented by online teaching and learning activities and materials – and may include, where relevant, asynchronous materials such as lecture recordings. Full details on the delivery mode of this module will be available on Learning Central at the start of the academic year – and may be, in part, determined by Welsh Government and Public Health Wales guidance.  

Lectures will include videos, relevant secondary literature and an overview of key ideas and debates.  Recommended reading and links to additional resources will be provided through Learning Central. 

Subject specific skills.

An understanding of:

• Contemporary British politics, the nature of recent political change and the consequences for  social and cultural life. 
• The significance of the Black Lives Matter and Rhodes Must Fall movements for political and educational institutions and, more broadly, British society.
•  How British political parties have responded historically, and are responding, to social and cultural change.

Academic skills

• Research skills – using secondary literature from a number of disciplines, accessing and reviewing peer reviewed journal articles.
• Essay writing skills – critical thinking, critical writing, developing an argument, marshalling evidence.
• Referencing sources.
• Using theories, applying theories.

Employability skills

Efficacy:

• Awareness of own beliefs, attitudes and those of others – importance of positionality and the social construction of ideas.
• Empathy.
• Questioning the taken for granted.
• Reflecting on own role as consumers, citizens, students and voters etc.

Metacognition

• Self-awareness – in relation to national and regional identity, gender, ethnicity, class, social, cultural and economic capital.
• Appreciation of different voices and experiences.
• Recognising how policy problems, social problems and academic debates are constructed and mediated (by politicians, celebrities, in social media, popular film, literature and music etc.).

The method(s) of assessing the learning outcomes for this module are set out in the Assessment Table, which also contains the weightings of each assessment component.

Formative assessment takes place throughout the module.  There are learning checks in every lecture and there will be opportunities for peer to peer and tutor feedback on essay drafts.

Mapping of Assessments to Intended Learning Outcomes:

Essay assesses ILOs 1, 2, 3, 4

Group Presentation assess ILOs 5

THE OPPORTUNITY FOR REASSESSMENT IN THIS MODULE: 

Students who fail the module overall will submit a piece of coursework for 100% of the module, capped at 40%.

This module provides an Introduction to Modern British Politics with special emphasis placed on the social and cultural influences shaping Modern British Politics. Themes covered will include:

•         Social Class and Modern British Politics.
•         British Prime Ministers and Social/Cultural Change.
•         The Mass Media, Alternative Media and Social Media in Student Political Movements.
•         Punk and British Politics.      
•         The Cultural and Social Revolution in Britain in the Thatcher Years.
•         Elections and Social/Cultural Change.
•         Black Lives Matter, Rhodes Must Fall and their Impact on British Politics.
•         Gender in British Politics.
•         The Rise-and Decline?-of the Far Right in British Politics.