right4me Politics & International Relations – Insights Into University Modules & The Learning Experience With Dr Ciaran Gillespie From University of Surrey & Dr Kate Mattocks From University of East Anglia

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right4me is a series of subject specific webinars for Year 12 & 13 students, and equivalent. The sessions support students’ current studies and interests by giving an insight into curriculum areas covered in university modules. In addition, by hearing from 2 universities for 30 minutes each, students will appreciate how the further study of Politics & International Relations can vary between institutions, contributing to the depth of their HE research and assisting informed decision making.

In this session we will be joined by University of Surrey and University of East Anglia who will begin by exploring the fascinating academic content of their Politics & International Relations degrees.

Each university will then offer an insight into the teaching and learning experience related to their modules and to their Politics & International Relations degrees more generally.

The respective talks and speakers are below. Both speakers will share how this selected degree content is experienced by undergraduate students.

• University of Surrey: Dr Ciaran Gillespie is Lecturer in International Politics. International Relations is a subject that attempts to provide a framework for understanding the complexities of global politics. We live in a time were establishing clean, uncontested narratives about what drives behaviours, or even what actors should be the focus, are difficult to establish. In the study of international relations, we commonly look at the foundational ideas that set up these contestations in terms of competing theory perspectives and explanations. In this short session,  I will try to illustrate some of the fundamental issues that arise from competing interpretations of the ‘reality’ of international politics through different theory positions. This is a good introduction to our international relations modules, where we look at both case areas such as security, conflict, human rights, the environment etc. as well as the key theory positions within the discipline such as Realism, Liberalism, Constructivism, Feminism and Critical Theory.

• University of East Anglia: Dr Kate Mattocks is Lecturer in Political Communications. What happens to art in war? Can ‘cultural looting’ be considered a weapon of war? What should be done about it? This session will explore the issue of what happens to art, culture, and heritage sites during times of conflict. We will consider the impacts as well as what role states and international organisations play in trying to preserve heritage during conflict.

Our events are designed so that a group of students can take part from a classroom or students and teachers can take part as individuals, either from school or from home. This means that sessions will continue irrespective of possible school closures.

As a live, participative event, this session will not be recorded but slides and other resources will be shared after the event, where available.

Suitable for: Year 12 & 13 students (and equivalent) studying, or with a possible interest in studying, Politics & International Relations and related disciplines.

Preparation/Pre-Reading: Students may wish to consider the content of the talks and questions they may have. Students can also think about questions they have about studying Politics & International Relations at university level.

The IT Setup: The event will be run on Zoom and participants will be able to join using laptops, tablets, and mobile devices. If you are joining as a school group, we recommend connecting with one device and projecting on to a whiteboard. You will be able to interact with the university via a microphone and/or typed comments and questions. Full details will be sent to those who have registered (see below) prior to the event.

Booking a Place: This is free for schools and colleges. If you would like to take part in this event, please register your interest using the link to the registration form below:

Register here