Module Identifier IP31120  
Module Title POSTSTRUCTURALIST POLITICS  
Academic Year 2001/2002  
Co-ordinator Dr Jenny Edkins  
Semester Semester 2  
Course delivery Seminars / Tutorials   10 Hours (10 x 1 hour)  
Assessment Essay   1 x 1500 word draft outline=10% and 1 x 6000-7000 word essay=90%   100%  

Objectives


At the end of the module, students will be able to:
- demonstrate a specialised knowledge of an area of poststructuralist work
- show evidence of analytical skills and independent reading
- produce an extended piece of written work
- profit from tutorial discussions of their work

Aims


Poststructuralist, psychoanalytic, feminist and deconstructivist thought has a prominent place in contemporary political and international relations theory as in other fields of social inquiry. This module provides students who are already acquainted with this area of work with an opportunity to develop their knowledge at a more advanced level in one of a number of ways. Students choose between either:
(1) a study of the work of a particular philosopher or social theorist of the student's choice such as, for example, Agamben, Baudrillard, Bhabha, Butler, Deleuze, Irigaray, Kristeva, Nancy, Lefebvre, Virilio; or
(2) an analysis of a specific method of enquiry, for example, discourse analysis, semiotics, film theory, image analysis; or
(3) an exploration of a concept of particular concern in this area, for example, identity, territory, the political, temporality, space, borders, movement; or
(4) a study of a contemporary international relations or postcolonial scholar who draws on this work.

Teaching


The module is a guided reading course: there are no lectures or seminars. Students first develop their topic in conjunction with the module co-ordinator. Regular small group tutorials give students the chance to discuss issues arising from their reading as it progresses with the tutor and other module members. Students prepare an extended paper on a topic of their choice; they receive feedback on an assessed draft and bibliography early in the module and have the opportunity to present their work to the tutorial group.