Beyond rights and responsibilities:
An Introduction to Citizenship in the New Century

What does it mean to be a citizen?  What are our rights – and our responsibilities?  Democracy and participation form central arguments in discussions about citizenship.  This module will give you an excellent introduction to theories of citizenship, helping you to understand how these appear in current policy debates.  And, importantly, you’ll have the opportunity to examine and evaluate these concepts in practice.

What does the module cover?

Gain a sound understanding of the evolution of citizenship theories.  You’ll explore the concept of rights and obligations and apply concepts of citizenship to contemporary policy.  Using critical thought you’ll examine a variety of theories and perspectives of contemporary citizenship and drawing on your experience with an identified community you’ll have the opportunity to link these theories to practice.

More Information

Module Code:

ED1030

Key topics

• Citizenship: an overview of modern dilemma and perspectives
  -Liberal theories
  -Communitarianism
  -Active citizenship
  -Multicultural citizenship
  -Feminist and Marxist perspectives on citizenship
• Citizenship in practice
  -Active citizenship and community cohesion
  -Creating future citizens? Citizenship and young people
  -Citizenship, immigration and social exclusion

Pre-requisites

None

Number of credits & study time

20 credits / 200 hours

Assessment

In this module you’ll need to complete a number of formative assessments as part of your coursework that you forward to your academic tutor for grading and comments.  You'll also need complete a summative assessment which takes the form of an essay (4,000 words) to meet your final grade.