International Year One in International Relations and International Development

Academic English Skills aims to provide thorough training in the language and related academic skills which will enable international students to best achieve their academic potential at university. Our Academic English programme is validated by UK ENIC, the UK government agency responsible for providing information and expert opinion on qualifications and skills worldwide.

You will develop awareness and competency in a range of language-related academic skills, including the processes of academic writing, effective and extensive reading strategies, effective participation in seminars and delivery of presentations, and listening to and recording information effectively from lectures. You will also develop the accuracy and range of written and spoken language required to use language effectively and appropriately, with clarity and confidence in an academic context.

Alongside your classes, your studies will be supported by an online learning platform, providing you with a range of tasks and activities specifically designed to develop and extend your language and academic skills outside the classroom and to give you more control over your own learning.

The purpose of this module is to introduce you to one of the foundation pillars of the modern international system. The content will include slavery, imperialism, colonialism, development and under development and post-colonial IR theory. Themes of independence and oppression and its effects on identity will echo throughout the module.

This module aims to introduce you to the key issues facing low income economies in the global south.

The objective of this module is for you to develop an understanding of the key issues surrounding defining historical occurrences in the shaping of the International system. The course begins with a review of the city state and moves to the introduction of the Westphalian state as the basis of the international system. It discusses key concepts such as fascism, communism, the league of nations, WW2, the re-emergence of China and decolonisation. The cold war and post-cold war periods are also explored. Major international events are examined from the point of view that understanding varying perspectives and how they influence interpretation of these events is a major tool for social scientists.

This module is designed to complement the other International Relations and International Development modules in International Year One. The aim of the module is to develop skills which students can utilise when reading articles and text books specifically related to IR and ID. The objective of this module is to advance the basic skills of how to engage with a particular text, annotating, summarising, critical review and developing various reading strategies. The skills learnt in this module will provide a strong foundation for Years 2 and 3 of degree studies which involve engaging with a significant number of articles. The module also provides transferrable skills which can be used in any discipline in future studies.

The objective of this module is for you to develop an appreciation of the dynamics at play in global politics. Issues and debates which inform international political economy and global affairs will be introduced as a foundation for understanding more detailed analysis in future studies. The module will demonstrate how political life at all levels, both nationally and regionally, influences affairs and policy around the world.

This module will acquaint you with the theories which form the basis of International Relations study. You will also be introduced to the historical development of the Global system and the inter relatedness which critical analysis of issues and debates in the field must take into account. Key concepts will also be delivered.

The aim of this module is to introduce you to the life and work of some of the seminal thinkers in the field of International Development. With its emergence during the era of decolonisation half a century ago to its contemporary emphasis on poverty reduction, the field has attracted thinkers and practitioners from diverse multidisciplinary backgrounds and geographical regions.