Course description
During their year with us, full-time students study one
core module and two options in each of the two
semesters, and then write a 15,000 word dissertation on
a related topic over the summer. Part-time students
spread this work over two years, taking at least the core
modules in their first year, with the dissertation being
taken in the second year. Part-time students distribute the
remaining four options over the two years (in consultation
with the Department).
Programme structure
Core
Discourses of Civilisation and Barbarism (Semester one)
Changes in the discourses of civilisation and barbarism
have had profound effects on power and domination
within all recorded societies, whether national, international
or global. Starting with ancient Greece, this module
analyses the Christian and Islamic worlds, considers
nineteenth and twentieth century attitudes such as one
finds in the work of John Stuart Mill and R.G. Collingwood,
and concludes with a consideration of contemporary
political ideologies embodied in the theory and practice
not only of the West (particularly the US) but of countries
and actors across the globe.
Terrorism, Civil Disobedience and Dissent (Semester two)
Civil disobedience and dissent were recurring features of
all societies even before concerns about terrorism took
centre-stage in the contemporary world.With this in mind
(and building on the previous core module) this course
explores different attitudes to rebellion and political
conflict, especially the justifications offered for terrorism,
civil disobedience and dissent. It covers such figures as
Socrates, Thoreau, TH Green, Lenin, Mao, Sorel, Marx,
Horkheimer, Marcuse, Mandela, Bedau and bin Laden.
Options
In each semester, students choose two optional modules
from among the Department’s large range of
postgraduate course, probably the most relevant for this
programme being (subject to availability):
Capitalism, Alienation and Power
British Idealist Political Thought
Frameworks of Global Governance: Freedom,
democracy and the new imperialisms
Globalisation and Governance in Practice
Hegel and Marx: Selected texts
Political Theory of Multiculturalism
Governing Global Finance
International Relations Theory 1: Classical and Postclassical
approaches
International Relations Theory 2: Practical case studies
Other options may also be available in other departments
at Hull, such as Philosophy and Law.
Period Three
15,000 word dissertation within the broad area of
civilisation, terrorism and dissent. Students choose a topic
that interests them, and – in consultation with a
supervisor who is an expert in the field - refine and
research the area, before producing the final version of
their masterpiece. This allows students to throw
themselves into the area that fascinates them most.
Gaining your MA is usually only one very significant step
in a life in this field. Many of the Department’s former
students have gone on to jobs in academia, and in
parliaments around the world and regional organisations
such as the EU, in lobbying organisations and NGOs and
in the military. Many others have gone into the private
sector, including management consultancy at
PriceWaterhouseCoopers, financial journalism with Dow
Jones Capital Markets, and publishing with the Indian
head-office of one of the world’s leading academic
publishers.
