BSc Politics, Philosophy and Economics

Introduction to Political Economy moves through four stages. First, we ease our way in through some big scene setting questions. Second, different conceptual tools are explored for you to use and reuse, including liberalism, Marxism, gender analysis, and racial politics. Third, we examine how capitalism was built over the past half century, a story of bankers, bureaucrats, and barons who often made a mess of it. Fourth, all these insights are mobilised for dissecting hot current issues, such as the climate crisis (literally hot), the global financial crisis and its fallout, the politics of trade competition, socio-economic inequalities, consumerism, technology, the politics of work, and macro conversations on the future of capitalism. Bonus features include: a field trip to the City of London, one of the world's financial hubs; a film screening; and social drinks (let’s extract SOAS resources for ourselves like true capitalists).

The module is organised around debates in four areas: (1) a set of scene setting questions to introduce the material; (2) conceptual frameworks, derived from the scholarly tradition of political economy and world politics, including liberalism, Marxism, gender-based approaches, and racial capitalism; (3) the post-WWII history of governing the capitalist system, including attention to finance, trade, development, and energy and the environment; and (4) contemporary issues transfixing the world economy, including the global ecological crisis, the global financial crisis and its fallout, the politics of trade regulation, socio-economic inequalities, new concerns around technology, the political economy of work, and macro debates on capitalism and its possible futures. Students are asked to think critically about how the politics of the economy is conceived, governed, and experienced, in particular through evaluating dynamics of power.

This is a session on essay writing for undergraduate students. It is meant to provide guidance for essay assignments, in the form of both readings, organising, strucutring and writing essay-based coursework. It is particularly aimed for Year 1 undergraduate (with minimal experience on essay writing), but could be openned up to other undergraduate years.

This is a first year module covering macroeconomic principles. It seeks to provide students with the basic concepts and ideas prevailing in (mainstream) macroeconomic theory. It further seeks to introduce students to basic features of macroeconomic reasoning and to develop an understanding of the workings of economic systems. The interaction of macroeconomic variables and mechanisms will be examined for the short and long period, as well as within a closed economy and in terms of the relations between nations (open macroeconomics).

This is a first year module covering microeconomic principles. It deals with the question of how societies organise resource allocation and production through prices, and with the economic behaviour of individuals and individual institutions mediated by markets.

This is a core module in both the BA Politics and BA International Relations degrees and provides a general introduction to methods of political analysis. The module provides the foundation for further study of Politics and International Relations, covering such areas as philosophy of social science, scientific methods, theoretical and methodological debates and skills key to critical reading, writing and analysis. Substantive areas of coverage include debates over structure and agency, politics and policy, historical methods, qualitative and quantitative approaches to the study of politics and international relations, measurement, inference and interpretation, the use of evidence in argumentation, narrative and language. The module is designed to complement other foundational modules in the Department of Politics and International Studies.

The module provides the foundation for further study of Politics and International Relations, covering such areas as philosophy of social science, scientific methods, theoretical and methodological debates and skills key to critical reading, writing and analysis. Substantive areas of coverage include debates over structure and agency, politics and policy, historical methods, qualitative and quantitative approaches to the study of politics and international relations, measurement, inference and interpretation, the use of evidence in argumentation, narrative and language.

This is a core module in both the BA Politics and BA International Relations degrees and provides a general introduction to methods of political analysis. The module provides the foundation for further study of Politics and International Relations, covering such areas as philosophy of social science, scientific methods, theoretical and methodological debates and skills key to critical reading, writing and analysis. Substantive areas of coverage include debates over structure and agency, politics and policy, historical methods, qualitative and quantitative approaches to the study of politics and international relations, measurement, inference and interpretation, the use of evidence in argumentation, narrative and language. The module is designed to complement other foundational modules in the Department of Politics and International Studies.

This is a session on essay writing for undergraduate students. It is meant to provide guidance for essay assignments, in the form of both readings, organising, strucutring and writing essay-based coursework. It is particularly aimed for Year 1 undergraduate (with minimal experience on essay writing), but could be openned up to other undergraduate years.

This is a first year module covering macroeconomic principles. It seeks to provide students with the basic concepts and ideas prevailing in (mainstream) macroeconomic theory. It further seeks to introduce students to basic features of macroeconomic reasoning and to develop an understanding of the workings of economic systems. The interaction of macroeconomic variables and mechanisms will be examined for the short and long period, as well as within a closed economy and in terms of the relations between nations (open macroeconomics).

This is a first year module covering microeconomic principles. It deals with the question of how societies organise resource allocation and production through prices, and with the economic behaviour of individuals and individual institutions mediated by markets.

This module examines approaches to a number of metaphysical questions from both Global North and Global South traditions. Students will critically approach metaphysical arguments in a comparative way, emphasising the permeable, cross-cultural way of thinking about topics such as personhood, the nature of gender, and the relationship between normativity and nature.

This module is designed to introduce students to philosophy as a human discipline, to provide a critique of the hegemonic understanding of philosophy, and to engage with core issues, debates and challenges that the acknowledgement and discourse of philosophy as a global discipline .can lead to The module will introduce students to some key debates, methodological challenges, and major themes that have emerged since the deliberate or non-deliberate recognition of non-Western philosophies beyond the predominant European philosophy in global academia. Some of the debates to be examined include the place of place and the inter in philosophy, the universality and particularities of philosophy, and the problem of accent and the superiority contest among philosophical traditions. The question of method is also examined focussing on such topics as dialogue, comparison, self-critique and language. The module also critically engages with several philosophical traditions by analysing the defining features of a philosophical tradition such as textuality and individual authorship, the gender problem in historicizing philosophy, and non-conventional forms of philosophy such as music as philosophy and street philosophy. The module also offers ways in which students can approach practical and theoretical philosophical issues such as bioethical issues, gender issues, and epistemological issues by drawing comparatively from several traditions of philosophy. Thus, this module will prepare students for topics and thematic issues they will encounter in other modules throughout the programme.   

The module begins by developing the central tasks of epistemology which include the formulation and analysis of theories and sources of knowledge, and the analysis of related concepts such as justification, belief, opinion and truth. It also examines the politics of epistemology which consists of the masculinisation and colonisation of the epistemology agenda evident in mainstream epistemology and how the emergence of alternative epistemologies in the last century or so has advanced the feminisation and decolonisation of the epistemology agenda. The module also examines various theories of knowledge in the various philosophical traditions such as Socratic, Cartesian, and Kantian epistemology from the West, communitarian epistemology from Africa, and the Pramana epistemology in India.

This module examines the nature, theories, key themes and debates in philosophical hermeneutics from different philosophical traditions. It also applies theories in these traditions to global issues and lived experiences. Philosophical hermeneutics takes an important place in philosophical discourses, and philosophy, by its very nature and essence, is interpretive and an attempt to understand and interpret being, knowledge and action. Therefore, an important metaphilosophical perspective is the conception of philosophy as an interpretive. But the philosophy of, and philosophy as, interpretation and understanding has often been conceived, approached, and taught in several HE curricula from a purely Western, Anglo-European perspective. This deprives students of richer multi-cultural, multi-place perspectives from various philosophical traditions such as theories and concepts of interpretation and understanding from African philosophy, Buddhist philosophy, Chinese philosophy, Indian philosophy, and Islamic philosophy. This module is designed to fill this gap by focusing on philosophies (rather than philosophy) of interpretation and understanding. It focuses on several philosophical traditions of interpretation and understanding and the dialogue and intersection between these traditions. It also applies the theories in philosophical hermeneutics to some important issues and lived experiences such as race, alterity, social media, gender, healthcare, beauty and nature.

This module examines the nature, theories, key themes and debates in philosophical hermeneutics from different philosophical traditions. The module applies philosophical theories of interpretation to global issues and lived experiences of, for example, race, alterity, gender, and health. This module is designed to provide a global, comparative, and decolonial approach to philosophical theories of interpretation. Far too often, the philosophy of, and philosophy as, interpretation has been conceived, approached, and taught in several university curricula from a purely western, Anglo-European perspective. This eurocentric attitude excludes African philosophies, Buddhist philosophies, and Islamic philosophies, and in doing so deprives students of having richer, multi-cultural, multi-geolocational philosophical treatments of hermeneutics.

The aim of the course is to provide a critical overview of various contributions to mainstream macroeconomic theory. It aims to shed light on how debates have evolved in the context of an analysis of short-run fluctuations, growth, and the open economy.

The objective of this module is to provide students with a firm understanding of what the financial system does and how it is organised. It is designed to examine a broad series of topics, including what a financial instrument is and how it is valued; what a financial market is and how it works; what a financial institution is and how it operates. It equips students with the core principles of finance such as time has value, investors need to be compensated for taking risk and information is the basis for investment decision.

This module provides a critical overview of theoretical, empirical and policy issues relating to international trade and investment. It provides an introduction to the main theories of international trade, including standard neoclassical free trade approaches and more recent theories addressing imperfect competition, economies of scale, national competitiveness issues, and managed trade. It also discusses topics in international trade such as the effects of trade on income distribution and poverty, the debate about import substitution and trade protection, and alternative approaches to trade policy. Moreover, it analyses drivers of international factor movements, foreign direct investment, and the role of multinational corporations.

The objective of this module is to provide students with a firm understanding of financial global markets. The module will focus on topics including the role of finance in economic development, the relevance of different financial system structures, and the European Monetary and Economic Union.

This module is designed to introduce students to the major theoretical approaches and concepts in contemporary Development Economics. Both mainstream and heterodox approaches to Development Economics will be covered. Students will have the opportunity to critically engage with international development policy debates by unpicking the theories, frameworks and methods underpinning these debates. The module will apply theories to contemporary issues in low income countries, relying on a variety of case studies throughout.

This module explores the origin, development and diversity of Buddhist philosophical thought. It examines Buddhist philosophical ideas, such as the nature of reality, the position of the individual within the wider ontological framework, idealist trends, epistemology, and logic. Each philosophical issue treated by Buddhist thinkers is carefully framed through the study of Buddhist doctrinal tenets and the broader intellectual environment within which Buddhist masters sought to establish themselves. In doing so, this module contextualises Buddhist philosophical thinking within the wider Asian cultural traditions. While much of the course focuses on philosophical issues, it also explores the institutions within which these ideas were developed.

This module will examine the historical development of African philosophy focusing on the two key periods or phases: the precolonial period and the postcolonial period of African philosophy as well as the key approaches and trends within these periods.

It will also examine the primary concerns and key themes in African metaphysics, African epistemology and African ethics. The module will also explore some other aspects of African philosophy such as African political philosophy, African existentialism, African feminism, African philosophy of difference and disability.

The aim of this course is to provide students with an overview of the principal philosophical questions and perspectives that emerged in ancient India and shaped philosophical and religious debates throughout Indian history, such as origin and building blocks of the universe, ways of knowing, the nature of existence, self and God, causality, action and its consequences, limits of morality, paths of salvation.

The course challenges narrow western representations of Indian philosophy as per se spiritualistic and focuses on the competition and consequences of key ideas, individual philosophers and schools of thought in historical context.

The course focuses on early Vedic texts such as the ?gVeda and the Upani?ads and on the literature of later Brahmanical schools of Sa?khya, Yoga, Nyaya, Vaise?ika and Vedanta, and the schools of the Lokayatas, Jainas and Ajivikas, which, like those of the Buddhists, present themselves as non-Vedic. The course culminates in a comparison of competing doxographic approaches, philosophies of philosophy, and the Jaina philosophy of non-one-sidedness, and concludes with a comparison of the teachings of three key individual thinkers of classical Indian philosophy, Nagarjuna, Kundakunda and Sa?kara.

This course will discuss the many different ways in which Jews have expressed their ethnic, cultural, and religious identity historically from antiquity to modern times. Jewish identity formation and expression needs to be explored within the context of the respective historical, political, social, and economic circumstances in which Jews lived. For the respective time periods under discussion here, the various forms of acculturation and assimilation to surrounding societies and cultures will be examined. Even the more traditional religiously defined forms of Judaism functioned within and in reaction to the non-Jewish cultures Jews had contact with. We shall analyse the significance of ethnicity, nationalism, culture and religion in the definitions of Jewishness and trace developments in the expression of Jewish identity. Our approach is primarily historical and sociological. For some subject areas literary criticism and gender studies approaches will be employed.

This module offers an introductory intellectual history of Islam with especial focus on the different religio-philosophical strands that constitute Muslim worldviews. It will introduce students to the academic, particularly historical study of Islamic thought. The module will start with outlining the emergence and early development of Islam within its wider historical context, will introduce its principal textual sources and doctrines, and will then turn to major religio-philosophical disciplines, such as theology, jurisprudence and philosophy, and to some of the diverse schools of thought and movements that developed in Muslim societies. Attention will be given to the plurality of interpretations of textual sources attested among these schools of thought and to the interplay between religious texts and reasoning in various religious and intellectual contexts

The philosophy of language is the branch of philosophical inquiry concerned with questions related to the nature, use and limits of language as a medium between language-users and between them and the world.

Do words merely describe non-linguistic things in the world, or does language have more to do with expressing intentions, vulnerabilities, and the like? This module looks at a range of Anglo-American, critical theoretic, and African takes on language - with particular attention devoted to language's interrelations with a range of power dynamics.

Students will learn how these various perspectives stand in conversation with each other, how the analysis of language has been linked to and conditioned by metaphysical commitments, and how language's imbrication with power buttresses different self-understandings of the aim of philosophical discussion.

The amended module focuses on major concepts, theories, methodologies and academic approaches to the study of nationalism, national identity and nationhood. It begins with an examination of the historical contexts and socioeconomic conditions under which nationalism emerged in the West and subsequently spread across the globe. By familiarising students with the key concepts, theories and approaches to the study of nationalism, the module aims at enabling students to understand the processes which appear to make nationalism a powerful mobilizing and homogenising force and also point to its contingent, shifting and fluid nature. The module focuses on understanding the political contestations underlying the notion of nationalism in various regional contexts

This module focuses on the domestic politics of sub-Saharan Africa since Independence and particularly the question of the state. Because of the sheer number and diversity of African states the module is structured thematically but the readings allow students to follow up regions and countries of particular interest.

This module will impart a solid grounding in the dynamic evolution of the Chinese state and Chinese nationalism, China's self-identified problems of weakness and underdevelopment, the difficult choices made by political elites over the course of three quite different regimes of the 20th and 21st century. Throughout the academic year, this module will stress how this legacy offers both the opportunity and constraint for the present politics of China.

This module introduces students to the phenomenon of war and demonstrates its ubiquity across time and space in human affairs, and develops an account of war as a constitutive force in the production of world politics past, present and future.

This module will impart a solid grounding in the dynamic evolution of the Chinese state and Chinese nationalism, China's self-identified problems of weakness and underdevelopment, the difficult choices made by political elites over the course of three quite different regimes of the 20th and 21st century. Throughout, this module will stress how this legacy offers both the opportunity and constraint for the present politics of China.

Building on the grounding in the dynamic evolution of the Chinese state and Chinese nationalism, established in Government and Politics of China I, this module will consider the contemporary reform era. Starting with an intensive discussion of the structure of the party-state, the contrast between urban and rural China, and then considering important questions of public policy: the environment, public health, the ongoing problem of corruption, and current prospects for the intensification or easing of authoritarianism.

This module provides an overview of the dynamics that shape state-society relations in the modern Middle East and North Africa since the late Ottoman period. It is a ten-week introduction that is followed by a second module that deepens this exploration using further in-depth country cases. Over the course of both modules, we will compare ruling regimes, economic programmes, ideological struggles, group identity categories, and modes of collective action and expression in relation to key developments across the region in the modern period. The module is organised thematically whilst maintaining a chronological integrity that follows the sequence of historical developments in the region.

This module follows on from Government and Politics of the Middle East I in providing an introduction to the dynamics that shape state-society relations in the modern Middle East and North Africa since the late Ottoman period. In this second ten-week module, students will examine processes relating to the second half of the twentieth century and lasting until the present day, and will deepen their knowledge with more in-depth country cases. Over the course of both modules, we will compare ruling regimes, economic programmes, ideological struggles, group identity categories, and modes of collective action and expression in relation to key developments across the region in the modern period. Both modules are organised thematically whilst maintaining a chronological integrity that follows the sequence of historical developments in the region.

This module is a Year 3 optional module for Economics Undergraduates. It aims at providing students with a thorough understanding of core economic policy challenges in the contemporary global economy, and to equip them with the theoretical and applied skills necessary to evaluate policy debates and challenges and contemplate policy solutions to such challenges.

This module is a Year 3 optional module for Economics Undergraduates. It aims at providing students with a thorough understanding of core economic policy challenges in the contemporary global economy, and to equip them with the theoretical and applied skills necessary to evaluate policy debates and challenges and contemplate policy solutions to such challenges.

The Research Project in PPE involves students engaging in a project which can take a form of an independent research on a topic related to their degree, which will in turn enhance their ability to analyse issues relating to World Philosophy, Politics and Economics. The Research Project will also provide opportunities to engage with activities that prepares students to embark on careers after graduating.

The Research Project in PPE involves students engaging in a project which can take a form of an independent research on a topic related to their degree, which will in turn enhance their ability to analyse issues relating to World Philosophy, Politics and Economics. The Research Project will also provide opportunities to engage with activities that prepares students to embark on careers after graduating.

This course provides an introduction to the post-1950 evolution of the main economies of the Asia-Pacific region (China, Japan, Taiwan, South Korea and the ASEAN 10). It looks at macroeconomic issues, with a particular focus on growth, trade and investment flows, and fluctuations in economic indicators since the middle of the 1990s.

This course is about the economic structures, institutions and policy challenges in the countries of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). The course starts with a broad economic history of the region and goes on to address the emergence of the economic structures, resource endowments, and political economy institutions of the modern Middle East. The course highlights the specificities of the political economy of the region in a global cotext and covers selected aspects of economic policy in the contemporary period in these countries. The contemporary nature of the problems facing the MENA countries are addressed throughout the course.

This course looks at the interaction between China's economic transformation and world development since the late 1970s until the present time. The emphasis is on critically analyzing and assessing this interaction from alternative historical and theoretical perspectives.

This module explores economic development in post-colonial Sub-Saharan Africa, bringing together macroeconomic and microeconomic perspectives. It presents theoretical and policy-relevant debates that are of interest not only to those who want to learn about Sub-Saharan Africa specifically but also to those who are seeking to develop a global understanding of economic dynamics.

This module explores ideas developed by the most influential systems of East Asia Buddhism, with specific attention to Japan. It will interrogate the ontological, epistemological and logical positions of the Tendai, Zen and Tantric traditions, considering the discrete terminology through which each school articulates its signification of reality, as well as the concerns and interpretations they shared.

This module focuses on aspects of the intellectual history of the medieval Islamic world, above all the history of philosophy and systematic theology. It will examine various thinkers and schools of thought of the classical and post-classical periods, including Aristotelianism, Mu‘tazilism and Ash‘arism, and will introduce key concepts, problems and debates, particularly in metaphysics, natural philosophy, epistemology, ethics and anthropology. These topics will be approached analytically, situated and interpreted within their broader contexts, and read through representative primary texts in translation. Attention will be given to contemporary scholarly methodologies and debates in the field.

This course will explore the deconstruction and reconstruction of philosophy from ‘the margins’, primarily examining epistemological arguments about the nature and form of knowledge, truth, subjectivity, and power (and their intersections) from perspectives traditionally marginalised by mainstream philosophy.

This module explores the impact of modernity, colonialism and Orientalism on the representation and framing of Indian Brahmanical (Hindu") and Buddhist thought in the modern period. The modern exclusion of Indian thought from the category of "Philosophy" will be explored through a range of theoretical and postcolonial approaches, examining the formation of "Hinduism" and "Buddhism" as "world religions" and the role that taken for granted concepts such as religion, mysticism and spirituality have played in the normalisation of a Eurocentric framing of South Asian intellectual traditions and identities in the late colonial/modern era. "

In this module we will examine forms of global governance across a range of issue areas – including security, human rights, migration, and humanitarianism. Students will be asked to critically examine how power and hierarchy is being made and remade through the idea of global governance.

This module traces the history and politics of Palestine and the Zionist movement, within a regional and international context, from the late nineteenth century to the present. It examines Palestinian and Israeli understandings of the past and present through primary sources, scholarship, and cultural production. The module seeks to understand how and at what costs Israeli and Palestinian political institutions and nationalisms have been constructed and analyzes British and US involvement in the conflict. Key themes to be introduced and explored include imperialism, settler colonialism, nationalism, Orientalism, violence, anticolonialism, and revolution, all as understood by a variety of actors involved in the region.

This course will chart the dominant features of this scholarly territory by familiarizing students with major issues and controversies in immigration research and by examining empirical cases in Africa, the GCC, and East Asia.

The climate crisis is clearly one of the primary existential threats facing the human species. But how we understand the roots of the climate crisis, its current and future impacts on world politics, and its possible solutions, is inherently contested terrain. Nothing less than the future of life on earth, and competing conceptions of the ‘good life’ and how we should organize our societies, is at stake. This course will investigate the global politics of the climate crisis, starting with scientific debates regarding the possible severity of climate change (how bad could it get?), and then moving through questions about climate governance, the political economy of climate change, the energy and food system transitions, migration, geoengineering, possible global futures, and activism. We can hardly hope to exhaust such a complex topic in the span of 10 weeks. Instead, we will cover some key topics and hear from a wide range of perspectives. The goal will be to give students a basic grounding in the science, politics, and economics of climate change; to enable them to critically engage with a multiple perspectives on the key causes and possible solutions to the climate crisis; and to help them think through its implications for their own lives and futures.

This module is about the politics of normative change in world politics, and more specifically, in international responses to violent conflict i.e. the contestations over the norms, institutions, and law associated with the regulation of armed conflict and the management of its effects and consequences, and, more generally, the securing of a peaceful world. The module examines these both theoretically and empirically, with a focus on key domains within world politics - including human rights, humanitarianism, international criminal justice, the laws of war, and the legitimacy of the use of armed force - and the associated frameworks that have developed over the in recent decades as a wider architecture understood as ‘liberal’ in its ostensible foundations, goals, and commitments.