21st Century British Studies: History and Politics 3301-KB002-INTER

In terms of knowledge, the students will:
• identify and characterize on an advanced level the role of political and historical studies as providing a context for contemporary British art, film, and literature (K_W01);
• describe on an advanced level the current political issues within English studies (K_W02);
• characterize on an advanced level the principles of designing a research project related to Policies in Britain (K_W04);
• identify the notions and principles pertinent to intellectual property and copyright (K_W05).
In terms of skills, the students:
• apply advanced terminology and notions pertinent to the discipline of political studies (K_U01);
• apply advanced research methodology within British political studies, respecting ethical norms and copyright law (K_U02);
• apply knowledge obtained during the course of studies to account for and solve a problem related to current British politics (K_U03);
• analyse social and cultural phenomena and draw generalizations on their basis in the context of societal, historical and economic factors on an advanced level (K_U04);
• discern various methodological paradigms within political and social studies (K_U05);
• find information in various sources and critically assess its usefulness for a research task at hand (K_U06).
In terms of social competences, the students will:
• apply knowledge and skills obtained during the course of studies to analyze social and political phenomena in various settings (K_K02);
• take responsibility for performing one’s professional duties, with due respect for the work of others, obey and develop the ethical norms in professional and academic settings related to the disciplines included on the curriculum of English studies (K_K03);
• assess critically one’s own knowledge and skills related to social and political studies (K_K04);
• value cultural heritage and cultural diversity as well as individual opinions (K_K06).

2500 words Policy Brief
Students are asked to produce a 2500 words policy brief that provides background information in relation to a particular policy. The work is designed to simulate policy papers produced by think tanks, NGOs and civil service departments, thus providing students - alongside content knowledge - with important specialised employability skills.
Ideas for potential topics (this is only an indicative list):
Monarchy reform
The British Empire and the issue of reparations
Welfare reform
Gender recognition
What is the contemporary meaning of parliamentary sovereignty?
Challenges to continuation of the majoritarian two-party system in Britain
EU and UK post-Brexit relations
Tensions between representative and policy sides of the Brexit process

Assessment criteria:
• Structure: the policy brief should have a clear structure, with the argument developing logically.
• Analysis: the work should demonstrate critical engagement with the issues and debates analysed.
• Knowledge and accuracy: the policy brief should be factually accurate and show engagement with relevant sources.
• Written expression and academic standards: the policy brief shoul dbe written clearly and cohesively and should show proper use of academic standards relating to the referencing of sources

British Politics and Policy at LSE blog (worth following). Available at: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpolicy/
‘Introduction to devolution in the United Kingdom’. House of Commons Research Briefing. Published 25 January, 2022 Available at: https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-8599/
‘The UK’s EU Withdrawal Agreement’. House of Commons Research Briefing. Published 08 July, 2019. Available at: https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-8453/.
Alston, P. 2018. ‘Statement on visit to the United Kingdom, by Professor Philip Alston, United Nations Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights’. Available at: https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/Documents/Issues/Poverty/EOM_GB_16Nov2018.pdf. Accessed: 6 February 2023.
Altinors, Gorkem, and Angelos Chryssogelos. “Beyond Populism and into the State: The Political Economy of National-Conservatism.” The British Journal of Politics and International Relations, Online First (2024
Ashcroft, R.T., Bevir, M. (2021) ‘Brexit and the Myth of British National Identity’. British Politics, 16(2), 117–132.
Barker, B., Hoskins, K. (2021) ‘Education, inequality and social mobility: Key findings from three case studies’, Forum, 63(1), 107-114.
Brooks, L. 2023. ‘UK review of gender recognition list risks ‘trans travel ban’. The Guardian. Available at: UK review of gender recognition list risks ‘trans travel ban’ | Transgender | The Guardian.
Campbell, R. and Childs, S. 2015. Conservatism, feminisation and the representation of women in UK politics. British Politics. 10 (2), 148–168.
Clancy, L. 2021. ‘The Corporate Power of the British Monarchy: Capital(ism), Wealth and Power in Contemporary Britain.’ The Sociological Review, 69:2, 330–347.
Clancy, L. 2021. ‘What’s wrong with Britain? Let’s start with the monarchy’. Open Democracy, available at: What’s wrong with Britain? Let’s start with the monarchy | openDemocracy
Dean J, Maiguashca B. 2021. ‘Gender Politics after Corbynism’. Political Quarterly. 92(2): 239-245.
Education Policy Institute. 2023. ‘Eleven Facts about the Education System in England’. Available at: NESTA-2040-Options-report-FINAL.pdf (epi.org.uk).
Europe Now. 2020. ‘Britain’s postcolonial crisis: the denial of racism in Little England’. Available at: Britain’s Postcolonial Crisis: The Denial of Racism in Little England – EuropeNow (europenowjournal.org).
Gamble, Andrew. “Taking back control: the political implications of Brexit”. Journal of European Public Policy, 25(8), (2018): 1215–1232.
Goodwin, M. 2023. ‘Values, Voice and Virtue: The New British Politics’. Pinguin: 2023. Chapter 1.
Heath, O., Bennett, M. (2023) ‘Unequal Britain: the Reawakening of Class Divisions’, National Centre for Social Research. Available at: BSA 40 Social class (natcen.ac.uk).
Hecht, K., Burchardt, T. and Davis, A. (2024) ‘Richness, Insecurity and the Welfare State’, Journal of Social Policy, 53(3), pp. 573–594
Henderson, Alice, Charlie Jeffrey, Robert Liñera, Roger Scully, Daniel Wincott, and Richard Wyn Jones. “England, Englishness and Brexit.” The Political Quarterly 87 (2) (2016): 187–199.
Heywood Andrew. Politics. Palgrave Macmillan: 2013. Chapter 1.
Institute for Government. 2022. ‘The UK constitution: reform, reject or reinvigorate?’. Available at: https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/event/online-event/uk-constitution-reform-reject-or-reinvigorate
James, Harold. Brexit and the New Globalization. Brexit Institute Working Paper Series No 2/2023. Available at: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4579946.
Joseph Rowntree Foundation. 2024. UK Poverty 2024. Available at: UK Poverty 2024: The essential guide to understanding poverty in the UK | Joseph Rowntree Foundation (jrf.org.uk).
McDonnell, E. 2023. ‘The UK is completely abandoning its duties towards refugees’. Human Rights Watch. Available at: https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/01/17/uk-completely-abandoning-its-duties-towards-refugees
McKay, L. (2024) ‘Explainer: What Do UK Political Party Manifestos Say about Trans+ Issues?’ The Bureau of Investigative Journalism. Available at: Explainer: what do the UK party manifestos say about trans+… | TBIJ (thebureauinvestigates.com).
McQueen, P. (2016) ‘Feminist and Trans Perspectives on Identity and the UK Gender Recognition Act’, British Journal of Politics and International Relations, 18(3), 671–687.
Opening of the 2012 London Olympics- available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4As0e4de-rI, accessed: 14/03/2024 (or various highlights available online).
Opening of the 2022 Commonwealth Games – Birmingham (various highlights of the ceremony available online).
Opening of the Parliament 2024: State Opening of Parliament 2024 (youtube.com)
Özkirimli, U. (2003) ‘The Nation as an Artichoke? A Critique of Ethnosymbolist Interpretations of Nationalism’, Nations and Nationalism, 9(3), 339–355.
Paterson, I. and Karyotis, G. 2022. ‘‘‘We Are, by Nature, a Tolerant People”: Securitisation and Counter-Securitisation in UK Migration Politics.’ International relations. 36.1: 104–126.
Pike, Karl. “Reform to Conserve: Europe and David Cameron’s Conservatism.” Journal of Political Ideologies 29 (2), (2022): 310–29.
Politics UK. Edited By Bill Jones, Philip Norton, Isabelle Hertner. 10th Edition. Routledge: 2022.
Richardson, R. (2015) ‘British Values and British Identity: Muddles, Mixtures and Ways Ahead’, London Review of Education, 13(2), 37–48.
Royal family website: https://www.royal.uk/
Slaven, M. 2022. ‘The Windrush Scandal and the Individualization of Postcolonial Immigration Control in Britain. Ethnic and racial studies 45.16: 49–71.
Smith, A. D. and Gellner, E. (1995) ‘The Nation: Real or Imagined?’, The Warwick debates on Nationalism, available at: Warwick Debate (lse.ac.uk).
Sobolewska, Maria, and Robert Ford. “Brexit and Britain’s Culture Wars.” Political Insight, no. 3 (2020): 4–7.
Sutton Trust and Social Mobility Commission. 2019. ‘Elitist Britain. The Educational backgrounds of Britain’s leading people’. Available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/811045/Elitist_Britain_2019.pdf
Tahir, I. (2022) ‘The UK Education System Preserves Inequality - New Report’, Institute for Fiscal Studies. Available at: The UK education system preserves inequality – new report | Institute for Fiscal Studies (ifs.org.uk)
The Constitution Society. [n.d.] ‘The UK Constitution’. Available at: https://consoc.org.uk/the-constitution-explained/the-uk-constitution/
Thomson, H. (1740) ‘Rule Britannia’, available at: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/45404/rule-britannia, accesses: 14/03/2024.
Tonge, Jonathan, Thomas Loughran, and Andrew Mycock, ‘Voting Age Reform, Political Partisanship and Multi-Level Governance in the UK: The Party Politics of ‘Votes-at-16.’’ Parliamentary affairs 74.3 (2021): 522–541.
Ward, S. (2023) Untied Kingdom: A Global History of the End of Britain, Cambridge University Press.
Weale, Albert. “Nostalgic Democracy Triumphs Over Democratic Internationalism.” The Political Quarterly 87 (3) (2016): 352–354.
Wright, Tony. British Politics: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press 2023.

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