POL2082 : Political Violence and the Modern State
- Offered for Year: 2020/21
- Module Leader(s): Professor Hartmut Behr
- Owning School: Geography, Politics & Sociology
- Teaching Location: Newcastle City Campus
Semesters
| Semester 2 Credit Value: | 20 |
| ECTS Credits: | 10.0 |
Aims
This module will examine different forms of political violence and relate them to the formation and reassurance of the modern state, in that the state is either the target of political violence or itself the committer of it. The module will discuss political theories of violence and empirical examples. The purpose of the module will be to introduce and engage students with a major phenomenon of politics - namely politically motivated violence committed by, and directed against, the state.
Outline Of Syllabus
LECTURE TOPICS
(I) Introduction: Organization and Structure of the Module
(II) Theories and concepts of political violence (J Galtung & H Arendt)
(III) Nationalism I – Territory and Borders
(VI) Nationalism II – Homogeneity
(V) Nationalism III – National Ideologies (JG Fichte)
(VI) Imperialism – European Nationalism in the 19th and 20th Centuries
(VII) Bureaucracy, Modernity, and Rationality
(VIII) Ideology, Discomfort, and Culture
(IX) Capitalist Rationalities, Consumerism, and Violence
(XI) Colonialism & Post-Colonialism
(XII) Political Violence and the International System
(XIII) Conclusion
SEMINAR TOPICS
Week 1: Forms and concepts for the study of political violence
Week 2: Ideology as physical and psychological violence
Week of 3: The nation-state as violence
Week 4: Discomfort and Culture
Week 5: Capitalism, consumerism, and violence
Week of 6: Political Violence and the International System
Teaching Methods
Teaching Activities
| Category | Activity | Number | Length | Student Hours | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Lecture | 13 | 2:00 | 26:00 | N/A |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Small group teaching | 6 | 1:00 | 6:00 | N/A |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Drop-in/surgery | 4 | 1:00 | 4:00 | N/A |
| Guided Independent Study | Independent study | 1 | 164:00 | 164:00 | N/A |
| Total | 200:00 |
Teaching Rationale And Relationship
The lectures will critically introduce students to the most important contemporary work on political violence across a wide variety of topics. The seminars will deepen the topics in small group tuition.
Assessment Methods
The format of resits will be determined by the Board of Examiners
Other Assessment
| Description | Semester | When Set | Percentage | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Essay | 2 | M | 50 | 2000 words |
| Essay | 2 | A | 50 | 2000 word essay |
Assessment Rationale And Relationship
The essay should motivate students to up to the topics throughout the whole semester and practice and assess individual research and writings skills.
The essay will allow students the opportunity to probe a particular issue in greater depth than would be possible in an exam. The take home exam will assess the students understanding of, and ability to critically evaluate the key, ideas, concepts, theories and empirical material of the course across the entirety of the curriculum.
Students will submit two 2000 word essays. Essays will assess the detailed knowledge possessed by the student and their ability to place this within the context of the general literature on Political Violence and the Modern State more generally.
Reading Lists
Timetable
- Timetable Website: www.ncl.ac.uk/timetable/
- POL2082's Timetable