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This module introduces you to the comparative law methodology in the substantive context of ‘internet law’. As the internet has blurred jurisdictional boundaries and confronted states with their clashing legal normativities, it provides a fertile field for comparative law. Why can Europe and the US with many common cultural roots not agree on a common perspective on freedom of expression or privacy? What lies behind the First Amendment’s absolutism and how ‘absolute’ is it in fact? Equally, what are the cultural foundations of the legal insistence in Europe on privacy-in-public and online civility? Taking it a step further, how are Western foundational norms, such as free expression or privacy, received in collectivist cultures in the East? The module engages with some of the most pressing questions that the international community has faced on how the internet as a (global) public good should or should not be regulated.

This module introduces you to the comparative law methodology in the substantive context of ‘internet law’. As the internet has blurred jurisdictional boundaries and confronted states with their clashing legal normativities, it provides a fertile field for comparative law. Why can Europe and the US with many common cultural roots not agree on a common perspective on freedom of expression or privacy? What lies behind the First Amendment’s absolutism and how ‘absolute’ is it in fact? Equally, what are the cultural foundations of the legal insistence in Europe on privacy-in-public and online civility? Taking it a step further, how are Western foundational norms, such as free expression or privacy, received in collectivist cultures in the East? The module engages with some of the most pressing questions that the international community has faced on how the internet as a (global) public good should or should not be regulated.

This module introduces you to the comparative law methodology in the substantive context of ‘internet law’. As the internet has blurred jurisdictional boundaries and confronted states with their clashing legal normativities, it provides a fertile field for comparative law. Why can Europe and the US with many common cultural roots not agree on a common perspective on freedom of expression or privacy? What lies behind the First Amendment’s absolutism and how ‘absolute’ is it in fact? Equally, what are the cultural foundations of the legal insistence in Europe on privacy-in-public and online civility? Taking it a step further, how are Western foundational norms, such as free expression or privacy, received in collectivist cultures in the East? The module engages with some of the most pressing questions that the international community has faced on how the internet as a (global) public good should or should not be regulated.

Are you curious about politics around the world? Have you ever wondered why countries develop such different political systems—why some build strong democracies while others face democratic backsliding? At the same time, why do global political trends, like the crisis of political representation, seem to emerge across vastly different societies?
In this module, we will explore these critical questions. You will learn key concepts and theories that explain how political systems function worldwide. We will also examine how social scientists have studied these issues scientifically, and you will be challenged to think critically about the tools used to classify and analyze political systems.
Through this journey, you will sharpen your analytical and critical thinking skills, move beyond the headlines, challenge conventional wisdom, and develop new perspectives on the forces shaping contemporary politics.


Pre-requisite for PAIR2031, PAIR2037, PAIR3039 and PAIR3046

Are you curious about politics around the world? Have you ever wondered why countries develop such different political systems—why some build strong democracies while others face democratic backsliding? At the same time, why do global political trends, like the crisis of political representation, seem to emerge across vastly different societies?
In this module, we will explore these critical questions. You will learn key concepts and theories that explain how political systems function worldwide. We will also examine how social scientists have studied these issues scientifically, and you will be challenged to think critically about the tools used to classify and analyze political systems.
Through this journey, you will sharpen your analytical and critical thinking skills, move beyond the headlines, challenge conventional wisdom, and develop new perspectives on the forces shaping contemporary politics.


Pre-requisite for PAIR2031, PAIR2037, PAIR3039 and PAIR3046

This course provides an introduction to comparative public administration by looking at shared theoretical approaches and common problems. It does not provide descriptions of the system of public administration in any single country. The course addresses two key aims of the degree: a knowledge and critical understanding of the core theoretical perspectives in the field; and a critical understanding of the main issues and events that have shaped the development of Public Administration in different national and sub-national settings. The course will give you an understanding of the diverse contexts in which decision makers confront shared problems and the variety of solutions adopted.

This course provides an introduction to comparative public administration by looking at shared theoretical approaches and common problems. It does not provide descriptions of the system of public administration in any single country. The course addresses two key aims of the degree: a knowledge and critical understanding of the core theoretical perspectives in the field; and a critical understanding of the main issues and events that have shaped the development of Public Administration in different national and sub-national settings. The course will give you an understanding of the diverse contexts in which decision makers confront shared problems and the variety of solutions adopted.

The youth of today' has long been a source of curiosity to older generations, and sociologists and criminologists are no exception to this trend. Over the past 100 years, there have been attempts both to explain society's fascination with the younger generation, and to delineate young people's experiences within a theoretical framework. Young people have always been discussed as troublesome, or in trouble, and this module takes this as its main theme. However, youthful crime and indiscretion cannot be divorced from the transition from youth to adulthood. Therefore, we will also spend some time on the more general sociological issues that have arisen in the field of the sociology of youth. Of course, the sub-discipline's subject matter is something we all know about from our own experience: indeed, most if not all of you taking this unit would be considered prime targets for contemporary sociologists of youth!

This module is designed to introduce you to some of the central themes and concepts in the sociology of youth and criminological concerns with youth crime, and to some of the key substantive concerns of contemporary youth researchers. With regard to the former, we will explore the social construction of youth and youth crime, dominant discourses surrounding the study of youth, subcultural approaches to youth, the youth transitions tradition, and more recent approaches drawing on theories of reflexive modernisation, which have explored the nature and extent of processes of detraditionalisation and individualisation in young people’s lives. Along the way, we will touch upon the following substantive topics: youth subcultures, youth cultures in the context of globalisation, the youth labour market and what the impact is on young people excluded from it, household formation, the youth justice system, social exclusion and civic engagement, the rise of individualised lifestyles, debates concerning gender convergence, ‘post-feminism’, the purported ‘crisis in masculinity’ and broader generational change. Where possible, the course will shed further light on these themes by taking a cross-cultural perspective, with examples both from the UK and from a variety of international contexts, including a final session on young people in post-socialist Eastern Europe.

The youth of today' has long been a source of curiosity to older generations, and sociologists and criminologists are no exception to this trend. Over the past 100 years, there have been attempts both to explain society's fascination with the younger generation, and to delineate young people's experiences within a theoretical framework. Young people have always been discussed as troublesome, or in trouble, and this module takes this as its main theme. However, youthful crime and indiscretion cannot be divorced from the transition from youth to adulthood. Therefore, we will also spend some time on the more general sociological issues that have arisen in the field of the sociology of youth. Of course, the sub-discipline's subject matter is something we all know about from our own experience: indeed, most if not all of you taking this unit would be considered prime targets for contemporary sociologists of youth!

This module is designed to introduce you to some of the central themes and concepts in the sociology of youth and criminological concerns with youth crime, and to some of the key substantive concerns of contemporary youth researchers. With regard to the former, we will explore the social construction of youth and youth crime, dominant discourses surrounding the study of youth, subcultural approaches to youth, the youth transitions tradition, and more recent approaches drawing on theories of reflexive modernisation, which have explored the nature and extent of processes of detraditionalisation and individualisation in young people’s lives. Along the way, we will touch upon the following substantive topics: youth subcultures, youth cultures in the context of globalisation, the youth labour market and what the impact is on young people excluded from it, household formation, the youth justice system, social exclusion and civic engagement, the rise of individualised lifestyles, debates concerning gender convergence, ‘post-feminism’, the purported ‘crisis in masculinity’ and broader generational change. Where possible, the course will shed further light on these themes by taking a cross-cultural perspective, with examples both from the UK and from a variety of international contexts, including a final session on young people in post-socialist Eastern Europe.

The youth of today' has long been a source of curiosity to older generations, and sociologists and criminologists are no exception to this trend. Over the past 100 years, there have been attempts both to explain society's fascination with the younger generation, and to delineate young people's experiences within a theoretical framework. Young people have always been discussed as troublesome, or in trouble, and this module takes this as its main theme. However, youthful crime and indiscretion cannot be divorced from the transition from youth to adulthood. Therefore, we will also spend some time on the more general sociological issues that have arisen in the field of the sociology of youth. Of course, the sub-discipline's subject matter is something we all know about from our own experience: indeed, most if not all of you taking this unit would be considered prime targets for contemporary sociologists of youth!

This module is designed to introduce you to some of the central themes and concepts in the sociology of youth and criminological concerns with youth crime, and to some of the key substantive concerns of contemporary youth researchers. With regard to the former, we will explore the social construction of youth and youth crime, dominant discourses surrounding the study of youth, subcultural approaches to youth, the youth transitions tradition, and more recent approaches drawing on theories of reflexive modernisation, which have explored the nature and extent of processes of detraditionalisation and individualisation in young people’s lives. Along the way, we will touch upon the following substantive topics: youth subcultures, youth cultures in the context of globalisation, the youth labour market and what the impact is on young people excluded from it, household formation, the youth justice system, social exclusion and civic engagement, the rise of individualised lifestyles, debates concerning gender convergence, ‘post-feminism’, the purported ‘crisis in masculinity’ and broader generational change. Where possible, the course will shed further light on these themes by taking a cross-cultural perspective, with examples both from the UK and from a variety of international contexts, including a final session on young people in post-socialist Eastern Europe.