Unit information: Global Challenges in 2022/23

Unit name	Global Challenges
Unit code	SPOL10041
Credit points	20
Level of study	C/4
Teaching block(s)	Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24)
Unit director	Dr. Oscar Berglund
Open unit status	Not open
Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units)	None
Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units)	None
Units you may not take alongside this one	None
School/department	School for Policy Studies
Faculty	Faculty of Social Sciences and Law

Unit Information

The challenges that people and societies across the world face are increasingly global in their origin and possible solutions. This unit offers an introduction to such challenges in international public policy. The first part of the unit will look at different theoretical perspectives on how to understand and study international public policy. It will then look at various key actors involved in the making of public policy, namely International Governmental Organisations, Non-Governmental Organisations and Civil Society. The second half of the unit will then explore various global issues and policy challenges, including climate change, racism, migration and global health.

Aims:

• To analyse different theoretical perspectives in international public policy
• To explore the main actors in the making of international public policy
• To explore the role of these actors and theories in relation to some major challenges facing people and societies across the world
• Ultimately the unit offers an introduction to theories and themes that will be further explored and studied in mandatory and optional units throughout the programme(s).

Your learning on this unit

By the end of this unit, students will be able to:

1. Understand key theoretical perspectives in global public policy
2. Identify key actors in global public policy
3. Develop a basic understanding of some of the main challenges facing people and societies globally
4. Critically evaluate some of the dynamics around these challenges using theoretical perspectives

How you will learn

The unit will be taught through one 2 hour lecture and one 1 hour seminar weekly, over 10 weeks.

How you will be assessed

Annotated bibliography (1000 words, 25%)

Essay (1500 words, 75%)

Resources

If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.

If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. SPOL10041).

How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks, independent learning and assessment activity.

See the Faculty workload statement relating to this unit for more information.

Assessment
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit. The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. If you have self-certificated your absence from an assessment, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (this is usually in the next assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any extenuating circumstances and operates within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.