SHAKESPEARE & BRITISH POLITICS: COMPARATIVE ANALYSES POLITIC4173

  • Academic Session: 2024-25
  • School: School of Social and Political Sciences
  • Credits: 20
  • Level: Level 4 (SCQF level 10)
  • Typically Offered: Either Semester 1 or Semester 2
  • Available to Visiting Students: Yes
  • Collaborative Online International Learning: No

Short Description

This course considers four case studies from British politics and analyses them comparatively with four of Shakespeare's major plays.

Timetable

This course may not be running this year. For further information, please check the Politics Moodle page or contact the subject directly.

Requirements of Entry

Mandatory Entry Requirements

Entry to Honours Politics requires a grade point average of 12 (Grade C) over Politics 2A and Politics 2B as a first attempt.

Excluded Courses

None

Co-requisites

None

Assessment

Two assessed essays, 2500 words in length, each worth 50% of the overall mark for the course.

Are reassessment opportunities available for all summative assessments? Not applicable for Honours courses

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Course Aims

The aim of this course is to provide students with the opportunity to blend an Arts Subject (English Literature, specifically the works of Shakespeare) with a Social Sciences Subject (Politics) to develop an interdisciplinary comparative analytical framework for the study of British politics. It will focus upon four of Shakespeare's major plays, applying analysis of these to four matching case studies from British politics, requiring students to think critically and afresh about a series of political issues.

Intended Learning Outcomes of Course

By the end of this course students will be able to:

a) demonstrate knowledge of four of Shakespeare's major plays and key events and developments in British politics.

b) evaluate specific concepts and examples from a Social Sciences Subject (Politics), such as political rhetoric and political leadership, through comparative analysis of an Arts Subject (English Literature).

c) compare and contrast Shakespeare's use of rhetoric, statecraft, character and gender with political science analyses of key events and developments in British politics from the 1970s through to the present day.

d) present integrated arguments orally and in writing in response to set questions on Shakespeare and British Politics evaluating established literature from both Subjects.

Minimum Requirement for Award of Credits

Students must submit at least 75% by weight of the components (including examinations) of the course's summative assessment.