POLT07002 2017 Active Politics Placement
Reflecting the changed and changing contexts within which contemporary politics and political activism takes place, this module seeks to facilitate students in their quest to locate and test theoretical paradigms in the world of real politics. To this extent, students will be encouraged to undertake a short placement learning experience not exceeding 30 hours in duration during semester four of their studies whose main objective is to forge points of contact, voluntarily, with the ever burgeoning third sector, pressure groups, new social movements, community groups, mainstream constitutional political parties and individuals who are engaged in a myriad of political activities. In essence, students will be encouraged to be both reflective and reflexive and to synthesize their practical and active experiences in the context of wider politics theoretical discourses.
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this module the learner will/should be able to;
be actively familiar with an organisation, political party, pressure group, new social movement or an individual group purposefully engaged in the mobilisation of politics and political activism.
have a more holistic appreciation of the discipline of politics by way of a hands on experiential learning experience.
critically evaluate the applicability of political science theoretical frameworks and paradigmal tools of analysis to the day to day operationalisation of active political mobilisation.
creatively and innovatively consider ways in which policy making processes can be altered and/or influenced from the margins.
assess the usefulness of active political organisations and their modes of operation.
establish networks and points of contact necessary to the sustenance of a dissertation topic whose focus encompasses active politics or related areas of inquiry.
Teaching and Learning Strategies
Normally, students will seek to be hosted for at least one day per week throughout semester four or for a period equivalent to 30 hours. An independent learning contract between the student and relevant tutor based on a negotiated and agreed statement of activities between the student and the prospective host. Among other things, this contract will cover issues of confidentiality and appropriate ethical and personal behaviour considerations. Student led post‑placement reflective seminars. Students will also be supported online during their placement and in the completion of their assessments.
Module Assessment Strategies
One reflective practice presentation together with a 2000 word reflective practice assignment (RPA).
Repeat Assessments
2000 word reflectice practice assignment (RPA).
Indicative Syllabus
Active Politics seeks to encourage learners to understand and actively contribute to the myriad worlds of politics and policy‑making at the micro, macro and meso levels of political activity in modern society. Active Politics is an independent learning module that equips learners to engage critically, reflectively and reflexively with the express purpose of monitoring, participating, evaluating the contributions, inter alia, of the following local, national or international political actors: Green Peace, Friends of the Earth, Animal Rights groups, Anti‑blood sports campaigns, New Social Movements including though not limited to groups such as: Gay and Lesbian movements, anti‑disablement movement: Trade Unions; Political Parties, members of national and supranational parliaments; local elected representatives/councilors.
Considering the independent learning nature of Active Politics (at least as a taught learning experience), the delivery of this module will be predominantly student led. Five one hour preparatory sessions will be provided online to learners so as to organize their mini placement experience. Additionally, online delivery will be augmented by six one hour weekly placement surgeries. These will sessions will, inter alia, cover the following:
Introduction ‑ aims and objectives of module
Ethics and Code of Practice on Placements
Reflection as Learning
Placement Contracts
Placement surgeries (six one hour weekly face-to-face sessions)
Coursework & Assessment Breakdown
Coursework Assessment
Title | Type | Form | Percent | Week | Learning Outcomes Assessed | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Reflective presentation | Continuous Assessment | Performance Evaluation | 50 % | Week 10 | 1,2,6 |
2 | Reflective practice assignment | Continuous Assessment | Assignment | 50 % | Week 12 | 3,4,5 |
Full Time Mode Workload
Type | Location | Description | Hours | Frequency | Avg Workload |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Online Lecture | Online | Online preparatory tutorials and coordination of student presentations | 1 | Weekly | 1.00 |
Workshop | Flat Classroom | Weekly Placement Clinic | 1 | Weekly | 1.00 |
Required & Recommended Book List

2016-12-29 Political Research: Methods and Practical Skills Oxford University Press
ISBN 0198702744 ISBN-13 9780198702740
Political Research: Methods and Practical Skills is the most comprehensive political research methods textbook available. Written especially for politics students, it provides a practical and relevant approach to the subject that equips students with the knowledge and skills needed to evaluate research findings and successfully carry out independent study and research. Taking a helpful step-by-step approach, the authors guide the reader through the process of asking and answering research questions and the different methods used in political research, providing practical advice on how to be critical and rigorous in both evaluating and conducting research. With an emphasis throughout on how research can impact important political questions and policy issues, Halperin and Heath equip readers with the skills to formulate significant questions and develop meaningful and persuasive answers. An Online Resource Centre accompanies this text, and includes a range of resources for both students and lecturers. For students: - Learn from real examples of actual research to see what research proposals and literature reviews look like in practice - Take your learning further with relevant web links to reliable online content related to each chapter. For registered lecturers: - Access additional case studies, complete with accompanying questions, for use in class or to assign as additional reading - Reinforce key themes from each chapter with suggested seminar questions and activities

World Politics: Interests, Interactions, Institutions WW Norton & Co
ISBN 0393283526 ISBN-13 9780393283525

1997-10-23 Playing Politics: The Nightmare Continues Oxford University Press
ISBN 019285321X ISBN-13 9780192853219
Do you like getting your own way, making money, cheating your friends, reneging on your promises? Then try your hand as a politician in Michael Lavers series of entertaining games in Playing Politics. From games such as Agenda and Coalitions to three-sided soccer, you can fight elections, overthrow governments, and make deals, all in the interests of winning or holding onto power.
In both the world of politics and the world of games, outcomes are decided by calculated interactions between the players as they balance team tactics against self-interest, weigh up the risks, or use their bargaining power. A fun, lively, and accessible introduction to complex political concepts, Playing Politics is the only book available which uses games to teach politics. Throughout, Laver provides detailed commentary and analysis of how games and game theory relate to real political life.
Whether you are securing public funding to support a project or coming out on top in the opinion polls, the means by which you can win may be fair or foul. Anyone can have fun with these games, and by playing politics, get a feel for the fascinating complexity of the real thing.

2015-11-11 THE PRINCE (Wisehouse Classics Edition) Wisehouse Classics
ISBN 9176370534 ISBN-13 9789176370537
THE PRINCE (Italian: Il Principe) is a 16th-century political treatise by the Italian diplomat and political theorist Niccol Machiavelli. From correspondence a version appears to have been distributed in 1513, using a Latin title, De Principatibus (About Principalities). However, the printed version was not published until 1532, five years after Machiavelli's death. This was done with the permission of the Medici pope Clement VII, but "long before then, in fact since the first appearance of the Prince in manuscript, controversy had swirled about his writings". Although it was written as if it were a traditional work in the mirrors for princes style, it is generally agreed that it was especially innovative. This is only partly because it was written in the vernacular Italian rather than Latin, a practice which had become increasingly popular since the publication of Dante's Divine Comedy and other works of Renaissance literature.
THE PRINCE is sometimes claimed to be one of the first works of modern philosophy, especially modern political philosophy, in which the effective truth is taken to be more important than any abstract ideal. It was also in direct conflict with the dominant Catholic and scholastic doctrines of the time concerning how to consider politics and ethics. Although it is relatively short, the treatise is the most remembered of Machiavelli's works and the one most responsible for bringing the word "Machiavellian" into usage as a pejorative. It also helped make "Old Nick" an English term for the devil, and even contributed to the modern negative connotations of the words "politics" and "politician" in western countries. In terms of subject matter it overlaps with the much longer Discourses on Livy, which was written a few years later. In its use of near-contemporary Italians as examples of people who perpetrated criminal deeds for politics, another lesser-known work by Machiavelli which THE PRINCE has been compared to is the Life of Castruccio Castracani.
The descriptions within THE PRINCE have the general theme of accepting that the aims of princes-such as glory and survival-can justify the use of immoral means to achieve those ends:
"He who neglects what is done for what ought to be done, sooner effects his ruin than his preservation."

2013-04-12 Insurgent Encounters: Transnational Activism, Ethnography, and the Political Duke University Press Books
ISBN 0822353628 ISBN-13 9780822353621
Contributors. Giuseppe Caruso, Maribel Casas-Corts, Janet Conway, Stphane Couture, Vinci Daro, Manisha Desai, Sylvia Escrcega, David Hess, Jeffrey S. Juris, Alex Khasnabish, Lorenzo Mosca, Michal Osterweil, Geoffrey Pleyers, Dana E. Powell, Paul Routledge, M. K. Sterpka, Tish Stringer

2002-09-05 The Insider's Guide To Political Internships: What To Do Once You're In The Door Basic Books

2014-06-17 The International Who's Who 2015 Routledge
ISBN 1857437136 ISBN-13 9781857437133
When you need to source accurate information on the past history, achievements and current activities of leading world figures, from heads of state to sporting greats, Europa's The International Who's Who 2015 provides the answer.
Published annually since 1935 The International Who's Who is your source for hard-to-find biographical details on over 25,000 of the world's most prominent and influential personalities. Each year, all the featured personalities are given the opportunity to update their entry, providing new information on education, artistic achievements, leisure interests, awards, contact details and much more.
Also available online at www.worldwhoswho.com, featuring thousands of click-through web links and email addresses, and advanced search functions enabling users to search by name, nationality, place and date of birth and by profession.

2016-01-20 The Tallyman's Campaign Handbook: Election 2016 The Liffey Press
ISBN 1908308850 ISBN-13 9781908308856
The Tallyman's Campaign Handbook is the essential guide to what is likley to be Ireland's most dramatic election in almost a century. For the fourth election in a row, leading pundit and psephologist Noel Whelan will publish his uniquely detailed analysis in advance of an Irish general election. The handbook will set the national political scene as the election approaches. Among questions that Whelan will explore will include: * What are Fine Gael's prospects of returning to power? * How fragile is Labour and will it survive? * Is there a ceiling on the growth in Sinn Fein's vote? * Is Fianna Fail likely to experience a recovery or is in stuck in a shrunken state? * Who are the Independents, what explains their surge in the polls and will it be reflected in the ballot boxes on Election Day? * Can new micro parties like Renua and the Social Democrats make a break through? Whelan and other leading electoral commentators will analyse the key policy issues and concerns which will dominate the election debate and explore the likely campaign strategies of each of the parties.Separately, the handbook will examine how new gender quotas, campaign finance regulations, postering restrictions, turnout, and the impact of social media will shape the campaign environment. Constituency by constituency, this handbook will detail all 40 battlegrounds at the outset of the campaign. It will assess the performance of the parties and of the independents in each constituency over the last five years and their likely performance in the 2016 election. The handbook will also explore the local issues which may determine the parties' fate when voters go to the polls. The Tallyman's Campaign Handbook will be the essential guide for anyone covering, competing in or interested in Election 2016.

2015-11-06 The Reflective Practice Guide: An interdisciplinary approach to critical reflection Routledge
ISBN 1138784311 ISBN-13 9781138784314
The Reflective Practice Guide supports all students for whom the process of reflecting on developing knowledge and skills is crucial to successful professional practice. It offers an accessible introduction to a wide range of theories and models that can help you engage more effectively in critical reflection. Illustrated throughout with examples and case studies drawn from a range of interdisciplinary professional contexts, The Reflective Practice Guide offers models of practice that can be applied in a variety of settings. Reflective questions in each chapter help you apply ideas to your own professional context.
Drawing on literature from a range of disciplines, key aspects of reflection explored include:
- Becoming more self-aware
- The role of writing in reflection
- Learning from experience
- Learning from positives and negatives
- Emotions and processing feelings
- Bringing assumptions to the surface
- Learning from feedback
- Reflecting in groups
- Managing change.
The Reflective Practice Guide is an essential source of support, guidance and inspiration for all students on education, nursing, social work and counselling courses, who want to think about practice at a deeper level, question approaches, challenge assumptions and gain greater self-awareness.

2016-01-20 The Tallyman's Campaign Handbook: Election 2016 The Liffey Press
ISBN 1908308850 ISBN-13 9781908308856
The Tallyman's Campaign Handbook is the essential guide to what is likley to be Ireland's most dramatic election in almost a century. For the fourth election in a row, leading pundit and psephologist Noel Whelan will publish his uniquely detailed analysis in advance of an Irish general election. The handbook will set the national political scene as the election approaches. Among questions that Whelan will explore will include: * What are Fine Gael's prospects of returning to power? * How fragile is Labour and will it survive? * Is there a ceiling on the growth in Sinn Fein's vote? * Is Fianna Fail likely to experience a recovery or is in stuck in a shrunken state? * Who are the Independents, what explains their surge in the polls and will it be reflected in the ballot boxes on Election Day? * Can new micro parties like Renua and the Social Democrats make a break through? Whelan and other leading electoral commentators will analyse the key policy issues and concerns which will dominate the election debate and explore the likely campaign strategies of each of the parties.Separately, the handbook will examine how new gender quotas, campaign finance regulations, postering restrictions, turnout, and the impact of social media will shape the campaign environment. Constituency by constituency, this handbook will detail all 40 battlegrounds at the outset of the campaign. It will assess the performance of the parties and of the independents in each constituency over the last five years and their likely performance in the 2016 election. The handbook will also explore the local issues which may determine the parties' fate when voters go to the polls. The Tallyman's Campaign Handbook will be the essential guide for anyone covering, competing in or interested in Election 2016.
Module Resources
The Green Book: An Irish Intern's Guide to Living and Working in Brussels (and other nice European cities): European Movement, Ireland. Available from: chrome-extension://padcapdkhelngdelppbbjmkmkfceoikg/content/pdf/viewer/viewer.html?file=http://www.europeanmovement.ie/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/the_green_book_july_15.pdf