Paris was THE capital of the nineteenth century, according to Walter Benjamin.  This module explores the city’s changing spaces and considers its residents, both bourgeois and avant-garde, who witnessed its exciting transformation into a modern capital.  It will examine how Parisians became a ‘spectacular’ society through the process of creating a city that was self-consciously modern.

How did artists working at the turn of the twentieth century respond to the legacy of Impressionism as the quintessential art of modern life? We will attempt to discover what it really meant to be 'modern' in turn-of-the century Europe and how artists responded to the dramatic political, social and technological changes that we call modernisation.

Thinking of doing a dissertation in your final year or research in your future career? Do you have a great idea for a topic that you wish to study in depth? This module will introduce you to qualitative research methods and will help you grasp the logic of research design. The short lectures, practical research exercises, and discussion will help you develop your own coherent research project. CS241 is a pre-requisite for the final year dissertation.

This interdisciplinary module examines the global role of the United States to understand its place in historical and contemporary world affairs. From its earliest days, the US has played an important part in the world, from its struggle against the British Empire, through its growth as a continental and hemispheric power, through to its emergence as a Superpower in the twentieth century. The module employs an innovative and exciting range of approaches to allow students to comprehend how America’s role in the world has developed and why it remains so vital to understanding international relations today

What rules affect political action? You explore how institutions and the rules they enforce, for example voting under a specific electoral system, affect political and economic outcomes, and whether these are ultimately only second-best solutions to collective action.

Why do International Institutions (IIs) have authority in international affairs? Why does the state delegate certain tasks to IIs rather than dealing with these outside of an institution? How effective are IIs in socialising states to behave in certain ways? Explore the theories, methods and case studies which allow you to analyse and assess the role of IIs.

How do international organisations and NGOs contribute to and/or undermine development? What challenges do they face in developing countries? How do they try to achieve their aims, and what can they do to improve? You examine the key issues which face developing countries including debt, disease, famine and inequality, and how IOs and NGOs intervene in these situations.

Understand the evolving field of conflict resolution through exploring the causes and effects of armed conflict across the world, and scrutinising the theory and practice of how this can be managed peacefully.

Our world is increasingly globalised, and modernisation has led to a partitioning of the world into so-called developed, developing, and underdeveloped countries. You consider the development of the state and its influence over a society in the wake of globalisation in relation to the non-western world.

Learn to analyse the everyday politics of Sub-Saharan Africa: what are important socio-economic drivers and trends? What historical factors drive political development in Sub-Saharan Africa today? Study a variety of issues related to elections, development, and conflict with the tools of comparative politics, to understand both ordinary and particular political dynamics on the continent.

How are decisions made in the EU? What impact do states and government have on European policy, and vice versa? Gain an understanding of the relationship between the EU and its members through studying the origins of European Integration and the institutional systems of the EU.

What are the major US texts since 1850? And what problems are connected to them? Study a varied spectrum of US literature, looking at issues such as the relationship between American writing and history, American “difference” and differences within American society, nationalism and regionalism, and conflicts of race and gender.

This module offers an exploration of the extent of writing on the environment, on landscape and the natural world in a time of increasing awareness of a global climate emergency. A number of primary non-fiction and fiction texts will be selected for discussion in seminars. In addition there will be choice literatures of eco-critical writing and contemporary eco-political works such as the Peoples Manifesto for Wildlife and material by Extinction Rebellion. The course will extol the virtues of the outdoor classroom -- extending learning beyond the seminar walls to explore the nature of Wivenhoe Park and through a field trip. Students will be encouraged to extend their knowledge in multidisciplinary ways to enhance their ability to analyse and write literatures of the environment.

What are the rules governing state responsibility? Or the acquisition of statehood? How do you apply international law to notions of jurisdiction? Study the theories and concepts behind public international law, plus new developments in the field. Learn to apply relevant principles to specific case studies.

How do states behave with regards to their own people? What about their territory? How do they behave to others? Build on your knowledge of public international law regarding human rights, the law of the sea, the peaceful settlement of disputes and the use of force.

Since the financial crisis of 2008, the social consequences, moral status, and even long-term viability of capitalism have come under renewed scrutiny. Does it foster economic growth and protect individual freedom, as its proponents claim? Or is it a destructive system out of control, as its detractors argue? Should the market be given even freer rein? Or should capitalism be reformed and restricted? Or should it be abolished and replaced altogether? And, if so, what would replace it?

You will examine key theories and trends in criminological thought, including the historical development of criminology and some of the more recent critiques. The themes of causation, criminalisation, correction and control run throughout the theoretical perspectives and are considered alongside some specific examples of criminal activity and organisation. Examples range from the individually-experienced through the structural inequalities relevant to understanding gender, ethnicity and crime and include the global dimensions.

Does technology determine history? Can games teach us about power? Does software shape society? Develop a critical understanding of the role played by human-machine relationships in contemporary cultural change. Evaluate recent developments in media technologies from a sociological perspective. Develop your own blog as part of your final assessment.

What are the problems with class analysis? And how can you understand citizenship rights? Are they useful for analysing inclusion and exclusion, how do they relate to gender, and where does migration fit into the picture? Build your understanding of race, class and gender by learning more about how these concepts relate to social inequality, rights and identity.

What are the problems with class analysis? And how can you understand citizenship rights? Are they useful for analysing inclusion and exclusion, how do they relate to gender, and where does migration fit into the picture? Build your understanding of race, class and gender by learning more about how these concepts relate to social inequality, rights and identity.