IB Politics

The aims of the course are:

• to introduce students to some important ideas and concepts.

• to develop students awareness of political issues and problems.

• to develop students ability to interpret and evaluate political information.

• to enable students to develop independent and critical judgement and communicate judgements with clarity and coherence.

Nature of Assessment

1. Coursework investigation: An investigation of no more than 1500 words written during the course and an oral presentation (30%)

2. Final examination:

Paper 1 (1 hour): Extract based questions on a selection from he set books (see syllabus)

Paper 2 (1 hour 45 minutes): Two essays based on political concepts (40%)

Course Content

The course will draw on a wide range of ideas from books, articles and from students. In the first term we will examine definitions of politics - what it is that makes something political?

We go on to look at some of the ideas of Machievelli and Hobbes in order to explore the concepts of power and authority. In the second term we will focus on JS Mill's 'On Liberty'  and Burke's 'Reflections on the Revolution in France' and in the third term, Marx and Engels 'Communist Manifesto' and George Woodcock's 'The Anarchist Reader'.

These books represent four distinct approaches to looking at political issues.: the liberal (Mill); the conservative (Burke); the socialist/Marxist (Marx and Engels) and the anarchist (Woodcock).

Using these four 'ideologies' as a framework, the course aims to develop a deeper understanding of a number of key political concepts.