Module Identifier IP38620  
Module Title IDENTITY IN THE THIRD WORLD  
Academic Year 2006/2007  
Co-ordinator Dr Ayla Gol  
Semester Intended for use in future years  
Next year offered N/A  
Next semester offered N/A  
Other staff Dr Ayla Gol  
Course delivery Lecture   15 x 1 hour lectures  
  Seminars / Tutorials   5 x 1.5 hour seminars  
Assessment
Assessment TypeAssessment Length/DetailsProportion
Semester Assessment 1 x 1000 word case study  10%
Semester Assessment 1 x 2500 word essay  30%
Semester Exam2 Hours  60%

Learning outcomes

On completion of this module, students should be able to.
1. Evaluate competing arguments about broad issues of identity in the Third World.
2. Critically assess different theoretical perspectives on `identity formation'.
3. Demonstrate how race, ethnicity, religion, nationality, gender and sexuality play a role in collective identity formation.
4. Explain how identity issues are not only related to power and politics but also manipulated by politicians in the developing world.
5. Identify and discuss relationships between those representations and political, social and cultural processes
6. Critically discuss why identity politics is linked to the concepts of democracy, citizenship and civil society in Third World states.
7. Display an ability to apply different theoretical perspectives to a range of in-depth case-studies with particular reference to Asian countries, such as women in Afghanistan, the Kashmir conflict between India and Pakistan, the Kurdish issue in Iraq and Islamic identity in Indonesia and Malaysia.
8. Analyze the impacts of globalization and the widening gap between the North and South on local identities.   

Aims

This module brings the theories of identity politics and international relations together in order to aid an understanding of the Third World. It will explore the extent to which issues of identity in the Third World are analyzed by the various theories of International relations. It complements existing departmental provision in a number of areas and will allow students to gain specialist knowledge of contemporary debates in the politics of identity, and of the Third World in particular.

Brief description

This module aims to provide students with an understanding of contemporary debates around the issues of identity politics in the Third World. It will explore the processes of identity formation across societal, national and state levels and enhance their ability to understand the complex relationship between identity, interest, power and social change in Third World (internal conflicts as well as interstate relations). Students will be encouraged to understand why the roles of identity and culture are no longer adequate to explain the complexities of a Third World undergoing rapid change.

Content

The first part of the module will analyse how race, ethnicity, religion, nationality, gender, and sexuality play a role in collective identity formation, to what extent these key issues are related to power and politics and also to what extent they are manipulated by politicians in the developing world. It will explore the politics of difference and recognition in Third World states and societies.

The second part of the module will examine why identity politics is linked to the concepts of democracy, citizenship and civil society in Third World states. It focuses on a range of in-depth case studies with a particular reference to Asian countries, such as:

- women in Afghanistan,
- the Kashmir conflict between India and Pakistan,
- the Kurdish issue in Iraq
- making Myanmars in Burma and
- Islamic identity in Indonesia and Malaysia.

Module Skills

Problem_solving Independent project work and problem solving will be one of the central goals of the module; the submission of coursework will require that students develop independent research skills as well as problem solving skills. The need to research and prepare seminar presentations will also enable students to develop independent project skills. The ability of students to solve problems will be developed and assessed by asking them to: adopt differing points of view; organize data and estimate an answer to the problem; consider extreme cases; reason logically; consider similar cases; look for patterns; divide issues into smaller problems. A final examination will ensure that an assessment of students' ability to work alone can be undertaken.  
Research skills The submission of coursework will reflect the independent research skills of students. The need to locate appropriate research resources and write up the results will also facilitate research skills. Research preparation for a seminar presentation will also enable students to develop independent project skills. A final examination will ensure that an assessment of students' ability to work alone can be undertaken.  
Communication Students will learn how to present their ideas both verbally and in writing and how to assert themselves to advantage. They will understand the importance of information and clear communication and how to exploit these. They will know how to use the many sources of information available and how to use the most appropriate form of communication to the best advantage. They will learn to be clear in their writing and speaking and to be direct about aims and objectives. They will learn to consider only that which is relevant to the topic, focus and objectives of their argument or discussion. Seminars will be run in groups where oral discussion and presentations will form the main medium of teaching and the emphasis throughout the module will be on student participation and communication.  
Improving own Learning and Performance The module aims to promote self-management but within a context in which support and assistance is available from both the convenor and the fellow students alike. Students will be expected to improve their own learning and performance by undertaking their own research and to exercise their own initiative, including searching for sources, compiling reading lists, and deciding (under guidance) the direction of their coursework and presentation topics. The need to conduct a seminar presentation and to meet coursework deadlines will focus students' attention on the need to manage their time and opportunity resources well.  
Team work Seminars will consist in part of small-group discussion where students will be obliged to discuss as a group the core issues related to seminar topics. Such class room debates and discussions are a vital component of the module.  
Information Technology Students will be expected to submit their work in word-processed format. Also, students will be encouraged to search for sources of information on the web, as well as seeking sources through electronic information sources (such as Web of Science and OCLC). Students will also be expected to make use of the resources that will be available on the Blackboard VLE.  
Application of Number N/A  
Personal Development and Career planning The discussions in particular will help to develop students' verbal and presentation skills. Learning about the process of planning coursework and a presentation, framing the parameters of the projects, honing and developing the projects and seeing them through to completion will contribute towards students' portfolios of transferable skills.  
Subject Specific Skills Students have the opportunity to develop, practice and test a wide range of subject specific skills that help them to understand, conceptualise and evaluate examples and ideas on the module. These subject specific skills include: - Collect and understand a wide range of data relating to the module - Ability to evaluate competing perspectives - Demonstrate subject specific research techniques - Apply a range of methodologies to complex historical and political problems  

Notes

This module is at CQFW Level 6