Core modules
This joint degree is 50:50 between Politics and Modern Languages, with an optional split of 75:25 in the final year. It is four years and normally includes a year of study or work placement abroad in the third year in a country where French is an official language.
You can focus on a range of sub-fields including:
- Political theory
- Political systems
- Comparative politics
- French politics
- Francophone society and culture
- International relations
- International political economy
- French literature
- French cinema
- International development
Year One
Introduction to Politics
Introduction to Politics gives you a broad overview of the main issues and theoretical perspectives within Politics. You'll learn first to understand and then apply the core concepts of comparative political science and theory to processes, institutions, ideologies and practical policy-making. You'll conduct a comparative study of different political systems and political change, both in writing and in open debate.
World Politics
In this module, you'll be introduced to world politics and the role that international relations plays in the interactions between nations. You'll gain a solid understanding of the historical underpinnings of the structure and systems of states, and become familiar with major theories of international relations post-1945. You'll analyse contemporary writings on world politics and engage critically, both orally and in writing, with key concepts and theoretical debates on the nature of international political systems.
Modern French Language 1
You will deepen your understanding of French grammar and syntax with the help of tutors experienced in facilitating the transition from A-level to university-level competence. You will learn appropriate technical vocabulary and handle complex structures. You will develop the skills required to produce authentic and accurate translations of written texts in both English and French. Finally, writing in formal French introduces you to the structures and methods used to debate ideas on contemporary issues. You will increase your reading and comprehension skills and develop your ability to exploit texts for vocabulary, idioms, syntax and grammatical structures. Working with a native speaker in small groups, you will discuss topics on contemporary French and Francophone culture and society, using audio, video and written resources.
The Story of Modern France
Why is modern France so deeply invested in the past? What are the milestones in the creation of modern France? How have notions of France and Frenchness been shaped through the stories told about them? These are some of the questions you will explore through close reading of primary sources from major periods and events in French history. You will explore a range of written, visual, and audio-visual materials, from the student posters of May 1968 to prints dating back to the French Revolution, and from stories of Charlemagne to films and texts reflecting France’s ongoing preoccupation with its (often controversial) recent past. Equipped with these foundations, you will be well prepared to study further aspects of French and Francophone culture in the later stages of your degree.
Year Two
Political Theory from Hobbes: Seeking Freedom and Equality
How should human beings be governed? The thinkers you'll study – from Hobbes to Marx – had very different answers to this question. Building on your understanding of political philosophy, you'll read significant primary and secondary texts to develop your understanding of how political convictions are shaped by the context and history of individual thought and social interaction. You'll confront and assess complex ideas in political theory, and present and defend your point of view, both orally and in writing.
Modern French Language 2
You will consolidate and develop the productive and receptive language skills acquired in your first year. By the end of the module, you should have appropriate knowledge of vocabulary and syntactic and grammatical structures to produce written French in two prescribed genres. You will develop your skills in translation to and from French, with a focus on specific translation problems, and increase the accuracy with which you use grammatical structures. In spoken French, you will comprehend and produce structured spoken French on a range of topics of contemporary significance in the context of simulated scenarios.
Year Three
This year is spent studying or on a work placement abroad in a country where French is an official language.
Year Four
Issues in Political Theory
Should parents send their children to private schools? Is freedom of movement a moral right? Is it unjust to rear animals for food? Who should bear the costs of climate change? You'll explore fundamental questions of political morality by critically analysing complex arguments from contemporary political philosophy. You'll study closely John Rawls’s theory of justice, and consider the rival theories of Robert Nozick, G. A. Cohen and Ronald Dworkin. You'll have practical opportunities to develop and defend your own ethical standpoint through your considered judgements on current dilemmas, taking into account opposing arguments and perspectives.
Modern French Language 3
You will consolidate and develop your ability to write and speak confidently and at a level of intellectual sophistication in correct French. By the end of the course, you should be able to produce a structured written argument on a given topic, in French that is grammatically correct, idiomatic, varied in vocabulary and grammatical structure, and in an appropriate register. You should be able to translate from French to English and English to French accurately, using your detailed knowledge of grammar, vocabulary and idiom, and employing an appropriate register. You will strengthen your skills in pronunciation and intonation and demonstrate these through fluent oral presentation and discussion of an intellectually serious topic.
Optional modules
Year Two - optional modules in Politics
- Politics of International Development
- Politics in the UK
- Politics of the USA
- Theories of International Relations
- Politics of Contemporary China
- States and Markets: An Introduction to International Political Economy
- International Security
- Core Issues in Comparative Politics
- Themes in European Integration
- Gender Matters in International Relations
- Capitalism and its Alternatives
- Political Economy and the Liberal Democratic State
- Introduction to Comparative Public Policy
- 21st Century Challenges and Public Policy Solutions
- Introduction to Qualitative Methods
- Introduction to Social Analytics I
- Introduction to Social Analytics II
- Understanding Social Inequalities
- Intermediate Social Analytics: Survey Design and Data Collection
- Intermediate Social Analytics: Survey Analysis and Reporting
Year Two - optional modules in French Studies
- Modern French Thinkers
- Colonial Memory
- French Presidents and the Media
- Introduction to French Linguistics
- The Right in France, from Dreyfus Affair to Le Pen
- Representations of the Holocaust
- The Medieval World and its Others: Gender, Race, Religion
- Shape
Year Three - optional modules in Politics
- Gender and Development
- Governing Britain Since 1918
- European Union Policy-Making
- Politics of Globalisation
- United States Foreign Policy
- Britain and the War on Terror
- Critical Security Studies
- Vigilant State: The Politics of Intelligence
- East Asian Transformations: A Political Economy Perspective
- State, Power, Freedom: European Political Theory
- The Political Economy of Money
- International Relations of the Americas
- Latin America: Democratisation and Development
- War in the 21st Century
- Politics and Culture in the Middle East
- Violence, Rights, Justice and Peace in the Middle East
- The Global Energy Challenge
- The Politics of Climate Change
- Applying Quantitative Methods to Social Research
- Experiments in the Social Sciences and Humanities
- Public Opinion
- Determinants of Democracy
- Dissertation
Year Three - optional modules in French
- Modern French Thinkers
- Slavery and After: Writing the Francophone Caribbean
- The Left and the Trade Unions in France
- The French Revolution
- States of the Nation: French Cinema and Society from the 1990s to the Present
- France and the Orient: The Politics of Difference
- Violence, Religion and Revolt in Renaissance France
