Undergraduate Module Descriptor

POL3204: Politics through the Life Course

This module descriptor refers to the 2019/0 academic year.

Overview

NQF Level	6
Credits	30	ECTS Value	15
Term(s) and duration	This module ran during term 1 (11 weeks) and term 2 (11 weeks)
Academic staff	Professor Susan Banducci (Convenor)
Pre-requisites	POL1041 POL1008 POL2077
Co-requisites
Available via distance learning	No

There are a range of life events that have an effect on the development of political attitudes and behavior. For example, one of the most notable longitudinal studies found that the majority of women attending a women’s only university in the US came to hold significantly less traditional values at the end of their degree programme. Entering a partnership also has an enduring impact on political behavior. Education, friendships, employment, marriage, parenthood, divorce and aging are all life transitions that affect our identities, the resources that we have at our disposal and our social networks. In this course we examine how these life course events influence politics. We look at these relationships at the individual level and in the context of major societal developments: declining birthrates, changes to the traditional family structure and labour force participation by women. All of these socio-economic developments will have implications for how individuals navigate the political landscape and how political organization such as political parties respond to citizens (e.g. ‘Soccer Mom’ and the ‘Mumsnet Election’). Since this module will be data intensive, students should have completed POL1041, POL1004 and POL2077 (or be able to demonstrate suitable familiarity with data analysis).

Module created	01/09/2016	Last revised	01/09/2016