Undergraduate Course: Social and Political Science in Practice (SSPS10026)
Course Outline
| School | School of Social and Political Science |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 4 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | Students looking to take this course should contact the course organiser in the first instance.
Social and Political Science in Practice provides the framework for Honours students (typically in their 4th Year) to undertake faculty-student collaboration on research, teaching or public education and engagement |
| Course description |
Social and Political Science in Practice provides the framework for Honours students (typically in their 4th Year) to undertake faculty-student collaboration on research, teaching or public education and engagement. In the first years of development it will focus on group rather than individual projects. It may also be used for student-directed research and practical projects; and, exceptionally, for work-based placements and service learning. Project ideas may be initiated by staff or students but must be agreed by the course convenor. A key part of the process is the negotiation of the learning contract. Learning and teaching activities will vary according to the specifics of the agreed project and the Learning contract but will typically include intensive group work. Whilst projects will differ from year to year, an emphasis will be placed upon putting knowledge, theory, critical thinking and creativity - to work - on social and political issues. This may include identifying concrete actions for raising awareness and affecting social change.
In 2020-21 this interdisciplinary practice course provides an overview of the major issues at stake in the study of race, racialization and decoloniality from a broadly conceived social science and humanities tradition. Dispelling the myth that race is an innate variable of identity (and thus can be studied in isolation or used interchangeably with ethnicity), this course instead approaches race as a constituent of power that shapes the social, political, cultural, economic, legal and temporal fabric of quotidian life. Starting from this premise, this course approaches race as a dynamic and socio-historical phenomenon that shapes the present and considers its relation to decolonial orders (present and future). Examining race and decoloniality as subjects of analysis (i.e. as socio-historical processes) and their respective fields as objects of analysis (i.e. with epistemic and methodological invitations), this course helps us understand the making of race, racialization and the possibility for decolonial worlds. As a practice course aimed to serve as a RACE-ED course across the college, this key aim of this course is to develop it as one that run with and across other disciplines including but not limited to: Politics and International Relations, Anthropology, History, Geography, Philosophy, Divinity, and Business.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Course Delivery Information
| Not being delivered |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Negotiate and prepare an appropriate and agreed learning contract, demonstrate efficiency, collaborative team-working (when appropriate) and autonomy in the management of the required project and delivery of agreed outcomes.
- Apply knowledge and critical thinking to new context (the project) and demonstrate ability to identify, define and analyse problems and identify or create processes to solve them
- Communicate project findings and outcomes in a professional and creative manner to relevant audiences
- Demonstrate reflexivity as independent learner
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Research and Enquiry: be able to identify, define and analyse problems and identify or create processes to solve them; be able to exercise critical judgement in creating new understanding
Personal and Intellectual Autonomy: to be independent learners who take responsibility for their own learning, and are committed to continuous reflection, self-evaluation and self-improvement; and to be able to use collaboration and debate effectively to test, modify and strengthen their own views
Communication: make effective use of oral, written and visual means to critique, negotiate, create and communicate understanding; use communication as a tool for collaborating with others; seek an value open feedback
Personal Effectiveness: be able to flexibly transfer knowledge, learning, skills and abilities from one context to another and to concrete projects; understand social, cultural, global and environmental responsibilities and issues
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| Special Arrangements |
The course has a strict quota of 20 students and places will be allocated based on application. If you wish to apply, please send an email to the course organiser. |
| Keywords | Student-researchers,student-practitioners,faculty-student collaboration |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Shaira Vadasaria
Tel: (0131 6)51 3060
Email: svadasar@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Mr Ewen Miller
Tel: (0131 6)50 3925
Email: Ewen.Miller@ed.ac.uk |
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