Module Identifier IPM1530  
Module Title WALES: POLITICS AND SOCIETY (S)  
Academic Year 2006/2007  
Co-ordinator To Be Arranged  
Semester Semester 2  
Course delivery Seminars / Tutorials   22 Hours. 1 x 2 hour seminars per week  
Assessment
Assessment TypeAssessment Length/DetailsProportion
Semester Assessment 2 x 3000 word essay (50% each)  100%

Learning outcomes

On completion of this module students should be able to:
- Discuss the context to the politics and society of contemporary Wales;
- Grasp of the key intellectual debates on Welsh Politics and Society;
- Evaluate these debates in the light of empirical evidence, including historical, political and sociological analyses;
- Discuss these analyses in the relevant empirical data, including the findings of social surveys;
- Locate the debates regarding the Welsh situation in a broader comparative context.

Brief description

This module provides an overview of the sociological, political and constitutional contexts that underpin life in contemporary Wales. It is a core module for students on the 'Specialist' pathway of the 'Wales: Politics and Society' degree programme.

Aims

The module aims to provide an overview of the sociological, political and constitutional context that both shape and reflect the society and politics of contemporary Wales. Combining both empirical and conceptual elements, the module aims to introduce students and critically assess various key issues in the politics and society of Wales. These issues include institutional development; the evolution of the party structure; the impact of economic peripheralisation; the dialectic of integration and devolution; class and social values (including the 'radical tradition'); patterns of national identity in Wales; the location of power in Welsh life; and, regional differentiation. The module is based on academic theories and debates and will be complemented by evaluating these ideas in the light of empirical evidence, including historical, political and sociological analyses. It will also draw on comparative material in order to provide a broader framework for understanding the situation in Wales.

Content

Combining both empirical and conceptual elements, the module aims to critically explore key issues in the politics and society of Wales including: institutional development; the evolution of the party structure; the impact of economic peripheralisation; the complex (dialectical?) relationship between integration and devolution; the relationship between nationality, class and social values (the much-vaunted 'radical tradition'); patterns of national identity in Wales; the location of power in Welsh life; and regional differentation within Wales. Throughout the module reference is made to comparative material in order to provide a broader framework for understanding the Welsh situation.

Transferable skills

Students will have the opportunity to develop, practice and test a wide range of transferable skills that will help them to understand, conceptualise and evaluate events, examples and ideas. Throughout the module, students should practice and enhance their reading, comprehension and thinking skills, their self-management skills, as well as basic numeracy skills. In seminars students will enhance their analytical skills and will practice listening, explaining and debating skills, as well as team-working skills. The review essays will further develop analytical and communication skills. Essay writing will encourage students to practice their independent research, writing and IT skills, and the examination will test analytical and written communication skills under conditions of time-constraint.

15 ECTS credits

Reading Lists

Books
Gwyn A Williams When Was Wales?
Kenneth O Morgan Rebirth of a Nation
Michael Hechter Internal Colonialism
Tom Nairn Break-up of Britain

Notes

This module is at CQFW Level 7