Module Catalogue 2025/26

Pre Requisite Comment

N/A

Co Requisite Comment

N/A

Aims

The module aims to give students an understanding of interdisciplinary methods and how they can be used to study international security. This will give students the basis for critically engaging with the disciplines within the programme – Law, Sociology, Politics and Geography. It will be especially useful for their dissertations.

Outline Of Syllabus

Indicative course content will cover:
-       The concept of interdisciplinarity and how to conceptualise security from an interdisciplinary perspective (including understanding the philosophical, methodological and disciplinary intersections across the programme disciplines);
-       How to study the social complexity and reality of security across the disciplines;
-       How to design research questions;
-       Ethics and reflexivity in research;
-       How to source materials;
-       How to apply the methods within and outside of academia, including within the public and private domains;
-       How to take ideas about research and security, and translate this into a viable postgraduate dissertation

Intended Knowledge Outcomes

At the end of the module, students should be able to:
•       Engage critically and analytically with security from different disciplinary perspectives;
•       Apply an interdisciplinary security approach to different scenarios;
•       Articulate different philosophies behind different methods and disciplinary practices;
•       Identify ethical issues and guidelines when practicing social research;

Intended Skill Outcomes

At the end of the module, students should be able to:
•       Demonstrate skills in close reading, critical thinking and analysis;
•       Achieve independence in their learning;
•       Express complex ideas clearly, both verbally and in writing.

Teaching Rationale And Relationship

Teaching methods are designed to both give students theoretical input and support their independent learning. The module will draw from a range of specialists across the four disciplines who work within security studies and will combine teaching, discussion and small group work. Some of the content will be shared with POL8041 where each week students will learn from research active staff about how to approach a research puzzle and how to operationalise a research plan. At the outset of the module students will have a separate introduction and theory session. Content will be supplemented by a number of additional sessions on themes relating to international security. Each week the lecture and seminar will be focused on a key method, supported by a subsequent recommended readings and other forms of input (pre-recorded materials, podcasts for example) to be inclusive of a variety of different modes of learning. This will allow for a rich interdisciplinary discussion as issues are examined from different disciplinary perspectives. Students enrolled will in the module will have bespoke workshops to help them prepare for their assessment and this will allow them to receive plenty of formative feedback.

Assessment Rationale And Relationship

The submitted research proposal will enable students to demonstrate their understanding of how international security can be studied from an interdisciplinary perspective. It will also enable them to showcase their critical thinking and academic writing skills. The formative assessment of the concept note will enable students to develop their thinking in preparation for the detailed research proposal, which is then used as the basis for discussion in the online reflective sessions.

General Notes

N/A