This module provides an Introduction to Modern British Politics with special emphasis placed on the social and cultural influences shaping Modern British Politics-Class, the Mass Media, Youth Culture, Social Media etc. We consider how socio-cultural change has affected voting behaviour since 1945; how British Prime Ministers have reacted to social and cultural change-from Wilson embracing the technological and scientific breakthroughs of the 1960s to Margaret Thatcher’s cultural war on ‘the Permissive Society’ she associated with the 1960s. Politicians-Thatcher being a prime example-can also bring about social and cultural ‘revolution’ and we examine the impact of Thatcherism in the Universities, on Youth Culture, and in the traditional mining communities of South Wales and Yorkshire. There will also be an opportunity to explore contemporary political movements that call for social and cultural change; most notably, Black Lives Matter and the Rhodes Must Fall protests that have dominated news headlines in recent weeks.

1.  Describe and explain key social and cultural influences shaping Modern British politics.

2.  Describe and explain the cultural impact, not just in Britain but across the world, of Black Lives Matter. 

3. Describe and explain how socio-cultural change affects the results of British General Elections.

4.  Describe and explain how social class has influenced Modern British politics.

5.  Use ideas from a number of academic disciplines, including contemporary British History, Cultural and Political Sociology, Political Science, and Gender Studies to critically assess social and cultural trends in Modern British politics.

The module will be taught through a blend of live online classes and guided, interactive online tasks and activities, designed to fulfil the learning outcomes. These will be delivered remotely, and on-campus if the University deems it safe and practicable.

Recommended reading and links to additional resources will be provided through Learning Central.  Lectures will be recorded and available for review on Learn Plus.

Subject specific skills.

An understanding of:

• Contemporary British politics, the nature of recent political change and the consequences for  social and cultural life. 
• The significance of the Black Lives Matter and Rhodes Must Fall movements for political and educational institutions and, more broadly, British society.
• Patterns of voter engagement and behaviour.
• How British political parties have responded historically, and are responding, to social and cultural change.

Academic skills

• Research skills – using secondary literature from a number of disciplines, accessing and reviewing peer reviewed journal articles
• Essay writing skills – critical thinking, critical writing, developing an argument, marshalling evidence
• Referencing sources
• Using theories, applying theories

Employability skills

Efficacy:

• Awareness of own beliefs, attitudes and those of others – importance of positionality and the social construction of ideas.
• Empathy
• Questioning the taken for granted
• Reflecting on own role as consumers, citizens, students and voters etc.

Metacognition

• Self-awareness – in relation to national and regional identity, gender, ethnicity, class, social, cultural and economic capital
• Appreciation of different voices and experiences
• Recognising how policy problems, social problems and academic debates are constructed and mediated (by politicians, celebrities, in social media, popular film, literature and music etc.).

The method(s) of assessing the learning outcomes for this module are set out in the Assessment Table, which also contains the weightings of each assessment component.

This module provides an Introduction to Modern British Politics with special emphasis placed on the social and cultural influences shaping Modern British Politics. Themes covered will include:

        Social Class and Modern British Politics.

        British Prime Ministers and Social/Cultural Change.

        The Mass Media, Alternative Media and Social Media in Student Political Movements.

        Punk and British Politics.      

        The Cultural and Social Revolution in Britain in the Thatcher Years.

        Elections and Social/Cultural Change.

        Black Lives Matter, Rhodes Must Fall and their Impact on British Politics.

        Gender in British Politics.

        The Rise-and Decline?-of the Far Right in British Politics.

Goodhart, D., The Road to Somewhere: The New Tribes Shaping British Politics (Penguin, 2017)

Jackson, B. and Saunders, R. (eds.), Making Thatcher’s Britain (Cambridge, 2012)

Worley, M., No Future: Punk, Politics and British Youth Culture, 1976-1984 (Cambridge, 2017; available in paperback)

Further reading for each topic will be posted on Learning Central and circulated at each lecture.  Learners will be expected to demonstrate that they have critically engaged with debates published in contemporary refereed journal articles.