Postgraduate Course: International and European Politics: Theory and Practice (PLIT11025)
Course Outline
| School | School of Social and Political Science |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
| SCQF Credits | 40 |
ECTS Credits | 20 |
| Summary | This course provides an overview of the key academic debates and political issues in the study and research practice of International and European Politics. It is specifically designed to serve as a core course for the MSc International and European Politics and has a strong academic skills component that aims to prepare students for their dissertations. |
| Course description |
The course covers the following inter-related components in the academic study of International and European Politics:
1) Foundations: it provides an overview of the history and institutional workings of the European Union and its wider international context, discusses how scholarly engagement with the European integration process and its theorisation have evolved over time and in relation to key disciplines, especially Political Science and International Relations.
2) Key issues and policies: based on the historical, conceptual and theoretical foundations this course provides, students are given the opportunity to explore a range of policy domains and learn how to situate key issues in International and European Politics in the broader global context.
3) Research practice: over the course of a series of thematic seminars, students get to apply their foundational empirical and theoretical knowledge to key issues and policies and engage deeply with original research on International and European Politics under the guidance of specialised academic staff.
Beyond its substantive contents on the theory and practice of International and European Politics, the course places particular emphasis on conveying applied academic skills, and aims to provide students with a theoretical and analytical toolkit that they can draw on across other aspects of their programme, including their dissertations.
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Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2025/26, Not available to visiting students (SS1)
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Quota: None |
| Course Start |
Semester 1 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
400
(
Lecture Hours 10,
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 32,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 8,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
350 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
70 %,
Practical Exam
30 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
20% Essay, 2000 words max
10% Poster Presentation, 500 words max
50% Research Review, 3000 words max
20% Participation
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| Feedback |
The essay is formative in the sense that its weighted low overall, and students will be provided with a range of opportunities to deliberate on the assignment in class and on a 1:1 basis with the Course Organiser.
Leading up to the submission of the research review, students will be able to get formative/informal feedback on their research review plans and their choice of articles for the review. The research poster presentation is then also an opportunity for students to get formative feedback including from their peers before submitting their main written assignment for the course, the research review.
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| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Understand and critically reflect on how the study of International and European Politics has developed across particular historical contexts and in relation to other academic disciplines, especially Political Science and International Relations
- Systematically analyse key issues across a range of EU policy domains, including from a comparative perspective and in a global context
- Situate key issues in the study of International and European Politics in relation to broader academic debates about public policy, political institutions and democracy
- Critically evaluate and apply competing analytical perspectives of International and European Politics to specific analytical puzzles
- Demonstrate critical awareness of their own analytical viewpoint and the consequences for their research, including their dissertation project
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Reading List
Faure, S. B., & Lequesne, C. (eds.) (2023). The Elgar Companion to the European Union. Edward Elgar Publishing.
Bradford, A. (2020). The Brussels Effect: How the European Union Rules the World. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
D'Amato, Silvia, Matteo Dian, Alessandra Russo (eds) (2023) International Relations and Area Studies. Debates, Methodologies and Insights from Different World Regions. Cham: Springer Nature.
Saurugger, Sabine (2013, 2019) Theoretical Approaches to European Integration. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
Moravcsik, Andrew (1998), The Choice for Europe, Cornell, NY: Cornell University Press.
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
This course contributes towards the development of the following graduate attributes:
Ability to research a topic independently (under supervision)
Self-confidence to present themselves as serious social scientists and to convincingly defend their world-view both orally and in writing.
Refined communication skills with an ability to engage confidently and articulately in interpersonal relations, both orally and in writing
Ability to develop answers to complex questions |
| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Adam Chalmers
Tel:
Email: adam.w.chalmers@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Mrs Casey Behringer
Tel: (0131 6)50 2456
Email: Casey.behringer@ed.ac.uk |
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