Seminar options
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British Political Ideologies
This course will introduce students to British political ideologies, starting from the mainstream conservative, liberal and social democratic traditions and moving on to more radical ideas such as Marxism, different forms of nationalism and environmentalism. In addition to exploring the key ideas and prominent thinkers of each tradition, it will also look at the impact of ideologies on policy-making, and ask whether some of the more radical ideas have moved from the margins to the mainstream. Finally, the course will look at recent developments and ask whether there is a future for ideology in the age of globalisation, social media, ‘post-truth’ and identity politics.
Tutor: Dr Geoff Andrews is Senior Lecturer in Politics at The Open University. He has written widely on the history of political ideas and movements, including aspects of British and Italian history and the politics of the 1930s.
The European Union in Times of Polycrisis and Uncertainty
The recent times have been the most challenging in the history of the European Union as it navigated from crisis to crisis - from the eurozone to the refugee, from Brexit to COVID, and from the war in Ukraine to energy crisis. Faced with economic, political, social and geopolitical challenges, the EU is adapting to a new reality of crises and unpredictability. This course looks at how the EU responds to crises and uncertainty within a competitive multipolar world, and seeks to understand whether all these consecutive critical events make it stronger or weaker internally as well as eternally in the world. As such, the course will look into the progress of European integration vis a vis main challenges in the fields of security and defence, climate and energy, migration and populism, as well as competition with other world powers.
Tutor: Dr Othon Anastasakis is Senior Research Fellow and Tutor in South East European Studies at St Antony’s College, Oxford. He supervises post-graduate students at Oxford's Department of Politics and International Relations and at the Faculty of History. He teaches at the Oxford School of Global and Area Areas Studies and at the Oxford Prospects Programme. He is the Director of South East European Studies at Oxford (SEESOX). He is an Adjunct Professor at Simon Fraser University in Canada, a Visiting Professor at the Prague School of Economics, and Region Head of Europe at Oxford Analytica.
Gender, Power and Social Change: Western Perspectives from the 1950s to the Present
Are sex and gender synonymous? Does gender power have an evolutionary explanation or is it socially constructed? How fluid is sexuality? This course will examine the main theories of gender utilised in evolutionary psychology and sociology with particular emphasis on the origins and perpetuation of a gendered power dynamic in modern Western societies. The course will explore gender and sexuality in the context of the family, personal relationships, employment, education, the media, criminality and the state.
Tutor: Dr Amanda Palmer is a Fellow of Harris Manchester College, Oxford, and the Director of Studies for Human Sciences at Harris Manchester College, Oxford. She is also Chair of Examiners for Human Sciences. She is the Director of the History, Politics & Society Summer School.
The Politics of Migration: Colonial Legacies, Nation-Making, and Cultures of Resistance
This course explores global migration patterns with a particular focus on the UK. We will begin by understanding the causes of migration and methodological approaches to understanding these, which will be rooted in interdisciplinary approaches including but not limited to anthropology, geography, and sociology. We will then turn to considering the colonial legacies of migration, laying the foundations to understanding why migration is a highly politicised subject in contemporary society. We will focus on the way the politics of migration particularly employed in nation-making practices and the implications for lived experiences, including forms of discrimination such as Islamophobia. In later sections of the course, we will turn to examining cultures of migration and resistance. This course aims to provide a multi-dimensional and decolonial examination of migration in the 21st century.
Tutor: Dr Suriyah Bi is a Lecturer in Human Geography at the University of Bristol, and Lecturer in Islam in Britain at SOAS University of London. She has previously lectured at Oxford University and the University of Edinburgh. She also works to translate academic research into policy through the Equality Act Review, which she founded in 2018.
The Social Mind and Matrix
To properly understand the events that have influenced the contemporary world, it is important to understand the minds of the people who have been part of them. This course begins by introducing students to the scientific method used to examine some of the main mental principles guiding social behaviour and macro thought. We then explore how individuals change when in groups, crowds and cults, to better understand how seemingly evil acts can be committed by seemingly ordinary civilians. We end the course by exploring how best to utilise the powerful social forces within us for good, leading not only to individual thriving, but also societal and global thriving.
Tutor: Sabina Funk has a background in neuroscience and now works at Oxford University's Wellbeing Research Centre as a research associate. She is fascinated by the mechanisms of the mind and why we feel, think and behave as we do. She focuses on how this knowledge can be used to better understand the nature of events influencing the modern world.
Ukraine, Belarus and Russia in the 21st Century: Identity and International Political Change
The 21st century has presented a number of challenges and opportunities for international politics in the geostrategically volatile territories of Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia, most recently observed with Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. By examining the causes and impacts of trends and major events from the 1990s to today, this course provides students with a solid grounding of how competing identities, national interests, agency, and change hold significant implications for the political composition of Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia, as well as their relationships with the rest of the world.
Tutor: Anna Davidson is a DPhil (PhD) researcher at the Oxford School of Global and Area Studies at Oxford University. Her work explores how states construct and express their identities by ascribing different and nuanced meanings to materiality, with a specialisation in the Post-Soviet region. At Oxford, she teaches area studies research methods, international politics, Cold War international relations, and Russian and East European studies.
