Writing the Dictator, Writing under Dictatorship (SPAN0091)

Core Year 2 module for students on degree programmes with Serbian/Croatian.

This module has two main aims: to provide second-year students taking the...

Introduction to Serbian and Croatian Literature (SEEY0010)

Core Year 2 module for students on degree programmes with Serbian/Croatian.

This module has two main aims: to provide second-year students taking the Serbian/Croatian core with an additional experience of reading in the language. The second aim is to offer a survey of the development of Serbian, Croatian and Bosnian literature. By the end of the module, students will have acquired the ability to read literary texts in Serbian/Croatian, and the ability to understand Serbian, Croatian and Bosnian culture from the middle ages to the twentieth century, its relationship with local history of the same period, and a good knowledge of some of the most important texts and their significance in their respective cultures.

This module explores the role and functions of legislatures and the parties that dominate them in the modern state. Taking a comparative approach,...

Parliaments, Political Parties and Policy Making (PUBL0033)

This module explores the role and functions of legislatures and the parties that dominate them in the modern state. Taking a comparative approach, illustrated with numerous case studies of different countries, it asks which factors matter to the role of parliaments/legislatures today.

Does it, for example, matter that just 23% of the world's legislators are women? Why do some parliaments have two chambers rather than one? How do parties choose the people who make up the majority of parliamentarians? What influence does party discipline have on the functioning of modern parliaments, and does
the dominance of parties in the legislative process exclude citizens? What factors influence parliaments' strength with respect to their core functions of scrutiny, law making and representation, and how much of a policy difference do they make? By taking a joint focus on parliaments and political parties the course gives an
insight into some of the most important functions of both, and of how public policy is made.

Learning objectives:

By the end of the course you should:

be familiar with the range of roles that legislatures play within political systems;
	be able to critically compare different models of legislative design and the effectiveness of legislatures in various modern states;
	have a sound grasp of the roles of elected representatives;
	be able to critically assess the different elements of the party/parliament relationship and how they are likely to impact on policy;
	be able to explain the features of their own legislature within a comparative framework of examples from similar and different systems;
	be able to apply real-world evidence to assess academic debates concerning legislatures.
 