PPE FHS Handbook 2022-24

1. Foreword

1.1 Statement of Coverage

This Handbook applies to students starting the second year of PPE in Michael-
mas Term 2022. The information in this Handbook may be different for students
starting in other years.

1.2 Version

Version Details Date

Handbook September
Version 1.0
published 2022

1.3 Disclaimer
The Examination Regulations relating to this course are the ‘Honour School’
regulations for PPE. If there is a conflict between information in this Handbook
and the Examination Regulations then you should follow the Examination Regu-
lations. If you have any concerns please contact the PPE administrator
(violet.brand@politics.ox.ac.uk).

The information in this Handbook is accurate as at September 2022, however it

may be necessary for changes to be made in certain circumstances, as ex-
plained at www.ox.ac.uk/coursechanges. If such changes are made the Depart-
ments will publish a new version of the Handbook together with a list of the
changes and students will be informed.

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1.4 List of Contents

1. Foreword........................................................................................................ 1
1.1 Statement of Coverage............................................................................. 1
1.2 Version...................................................................................................... 1
1.3 Disclaimer................................................................................................. 1
1.4 List of Contents......................................................................................... 2
1.5 Welcome................................................................................................... 4
1.6 Useful Department Contacts....................................................................5
1.7 Buildings, Locations, Maps and Access....................................................5
1.8 Important Dates........................................................................................ 5
2. The Course Content and Structure................................................................5
2.1 Overview................................................................................................... 5
2.2 Course Aims.............................................................................................. 6
2.3 Intended Learning Outcomes...................................................................7
2.4 Course Structure...................................................................................... 8
2.5 Syllabus................................................................................................... 10
3. Teaching and Learning................................................................................ 10
3.1 Organisation of teaching and learning...................................................10
3.2 Theses..................................................................................................... 18
3.3 Supervised dissertations.........................................................................21
3.4 Expectations of study and student workload..........................................21
4. Assessment.................................................................................................. 22
4.1 Assessment Structure............................................................................. 22
4.2 Feedback on learning and assessment...................................................22
4.3 Examination Conventions.......................................................................22
4.4 Good academic practice and avoiding plagiarism..................................23
4.5 Entering for University examinations.....................................................26
4.6 Examination dates.................................................................................. 26
4.7 Sitting your in-person examination.........................................................26
4.8 Sitting your online examination..............................................................27
4.9 Submitted work...................................................................................... 27
4.10 Problems completing assessment.........................................................27
4.11 External examiner and examiners’ reports...........................................28
4.12 Prizes.................................................................................................... 28
5. Skills and learning development..................................................................28
5.1 Academic progress................................................................................. 28
5.2 Learning development and skills............................................................28

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 5.3 Opportunities for skills training and development.................................28
5.4 Employability and careers information and advice................................28
6. Student representation, evaluation and feedback.......................................29
6.1 Department representation....................................................................29
6.2 Division and University representation..................................................30
6.3 Opportunities to provide evaluation and feedback.................................30
7. Student life and support.............................................................................. 30
7.1 Whom to contact for help.......................................................................30
7.2 Complaints and appeals..........................................................................31
7.3 Policies and regulations..........................................................................32
7.4 Equality and diversity............................................................................. 32
7.5 Freedom of speech.................................................................................. 34
8. Facilities....................................................................................................... 34
8.1 Libraries and museums...........................................................................34
8.2 IT............................................................................................................. 34
9. The Future................................................................................................... 34
9.1 Taking your Degree................................................................................ 35
9.2 Proceeding to Further Study..................................................................35
Appendix A: Outline of Papers.........................................................................36
A.1 Philosophy.............................................................................................. 38
A.2 Politics.................................................................................................... 54
A.3 Economics............................................................................................... 67

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1.5 Welcome

As Chair of the PPE Committee, I'm pleased to be able to welcome you to the
Final Honour School in PPE at Oxford. As you will know, PPE is a strong and en-
gaging multidisciplinary degree programme that has been in existence in Ox-
ford for just over 100 years, and successful enough to have inspired many insti-
tutions all over the world to initiate similar programmes. We are very proud of
our Finals courses which balance the empirical with the theoretical, and the
practical with the abstract. I hope that you will find yourself drawing on many of
the ideas that you study in your future careers. PPE is unquestionably a challen-
ging degree, but we believe strongly that the end result is a well-rounded intel-
lect ready to face the future with an informed, critical and questioning mind. I
very much hope you enjoy the Finals courses.

Professor Paul Martin

Chair of the PPE Committee
Associate Professor of Politics, Department of Politics and International Rela-
tions
Tutorial Fellow in Politics, Wadham College

1.5.1 Purpose of the Handbook

This Handbook contains useful information about the second and third years of
PPE. Other sources of information are listed in the next section.

1.5.2 Other Key Sources of Information

On Department websites you will find the contact details of academic and ad-
ministrative staff. See www.philosophy.ox.ac.uk and www.politics.ox.ac.uk and
www.economics.ox.ac.uk. On Canvas you will find lecture lists, reading lists,
and other course materials. You can access Canvas by clicking on ‘current stu-
dents’ at www.ppe.ox.ac.uk.

In the Examination Regulations you will find the formal rules that govern your
course choices and examinations for Prelims and Finals:
https://examregs.admin.ox.ac.uk. The Examination Conventions set out how ex-
amined work will be marked and how the resulting marks will be used to arrive
at a final result and classification of an award. You will be notified by email
when the Conventions that apply to you become available, normally one term
before the examination begins. Conventions from previous years are on PPE
Canvas at https://canvas.ox.ac.uk/courses/71230/pages/exam-information.

The Oxford Students website provides information about the services and re-
sources available to you across the University: www.ox.ac.uk/students. For gen-
eral information and guidance and formal notification and explanation of the
University’s codes, regulations, policies and procedures, refer to the University
Student Handbook:
www.ox.ac.uk/students/academic/student-handbook. For College regulations,
refer to your College Handbook.

1.6 Useful Department Contacts

The Chair of the PPE Committee or the PPE administrator can be contacted for
questions about PPE as a whole. The Chair is Professor Paul Martin

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(paul.martin@politics.ox.ac.uk) and the PPE administrator is Violet Brand
(violet.brand@politics.ox.ac.uk).

The Director of Undergraduate Studies (DUS) or the Undergraduate Adminis-

trator can be contacted for questions about each Department. In Philosophy the
DUS is Thomas Sinclair (thomas.sinclair@philosophy.ox.ac.uk) and the adminis-
trator is James Knight (james.knight@philosophy.ox.ac.uk). In Politics the DUS
is Professor Paul Martin (paul.martin@politics.ox.ac.uk) and the administrator
can be contacted at (ug.studies@politics.ox.ac.uk). In Economics the DUS is
Professor Chris Bowdler (christopher.bowdler@economics.ox.ac.uk) and the ad-
ministrator is Katherine Cumming (econundergrad@economics.ox.ac.uk).

The student representatives can be found on the Canvas site of each Depart-
ment or by contacting the relevant undergraduate administrator. The disability
contacts for each Department can be found at
www.ox.ac.uk/students/welfare/disability/aboutdas.

1.7 Buildings, Locations, Maps and Access

Most of your lectures and classes will take place in the Examination Schools on
the High Street. You are also likely to visit the Manor Road Building on Manor
Road (which houses the Politics and Economics Departments and the Social Sci-
ence Library) and the Radcliffe Humanities building on the Woodstock Road
(which houses the Philosophy Faculty and Library). The access guide website
provides interactive maps, floor plans, and access information for all University
buildings: www.accessguide.ox.ac.uk.

1.8 Important Dates

The Oxford year is divided into three terms and three vacations. Within each
term, a full term of eight weeks is the main teaching period. The dates of full
term for this year are below. Future term dates are at
www.ox.ac.uk/about/facts-and-figures/dates-of-term.

Michaelmas Term 2022

Sunday 9 October – Saturday 3 December

Hilary Term 2023

Sunday 15 January – Saturday 11 March

Trinity Term 2023

Sunday 23 April – Saturday 17 June

2. The Course Content and Structure

2.1 Overview
PPE seeks to bring together some of the most important approaches to under-
standing the social and human world. It fosters intellectual capacities that you
can apply across all three disciplines and develops skills that you will find useful
for a wide range of careers and activities after graduation. The degree is con-
structed on the belief that the parallel study of related disciplines significantly
enhances your understanding of each discipline, bringing added dimensions of
understanding and perspective.

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The study of Philosophy develops analytical rigour and the ability to criticise
and reason logically. It allows you to apply these skills to many contemporary
and historical schools of philosophical thought and to questions concerning how
we acquire knowledge and how we make ethical recommendations.

The study of Politics gives you an understanding of the issues dividing societies
and of the impact of political institutions on the form of social interest articula-
tion and aggregation and on the character and effects of government policies.
Among the big issues considered in Politics is why democracies emerge and
may be consolidated or why states go to war or seek peace.

The study of Economics aims to give you an understanding of the workings of

contemporary economies. This includes the study of decisions of households,
the behaviour of firms, and the functioning of markets under competition and
monopoly, as well as the role of government policies in many areas. The course
also looks at the determination of national income and employment, monetary
institutions, inflation, and exchange rates, and considers issues in macroeco-
nomic policy, focusing in part on the UK economy. The course provides training
in statistical and econometric methods for analysing economics data.

The UK Quality Assurance Agency is the independent body responsible for mon-
itoring, and advising on, standards and quality in UK higher education. It pub-
lishes Subject Benchmark Statements which set out expectations about stand-
ards of degrees in a range of subject areas. They describe what gives a discip-
line its coherence and identity, and define what can be expected of a graduate
in terms of the abilities and skills needed to develop understanding or compet-
ence in the subject. The statements for Philosophy, Politics, and Economics can
be found at www.qaa.ac.uk/quality-code/subject-benchmark-statements.

After successfully completing the PPE programme, which lasts three years, you
will be awarded a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Philosophy, Politics and Eco-
nomics (FHEQ Level 6).

2.2 Course Aims

The course aims to enable PPE students to:
 acquire a good knowledge and understanding of the academic disciplines
of Philosophy, Politics and Economics;
 engage and enhance their critical and analytical skills, to look for under-
lying principles, and to identify and analyse key concepts;
 develop the skill of independent thinking, good writing skills, a facility for
independent learning and investigation and effective organisational skills;
 develop their ability to present their own critical understanding of the is-
sues studied to tutors and peers, and to engage in dialogue with them;
 develop the ability to analyse topics in Philosophy, Politics and Economics
on the basis of directed and independent reading, and to produce good
quality essays and class assignments to deadline;
 promote skills of relevance to the continued professional development of
philosophical understanding, and political and economic analysis, and
which are transferable to a wide range of employment contexts and life
experiences.

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2.3 Intended Learning Outcomes
You will develop knowledge and understanding of:
 Philosophy: Selected philosophical texts and basic philosophical issues,
concepts, theories and arguments, and the elementary techniques of
formal logic.
 Politics: Key areas of the discipline, including empirical politics and
political theory, as well as sociology and international relations.
 Economics: the basic principles of modern Economics, including appro-
priate mathematical techniques.

You will also develop knowledge and understanding, at a higher level, of at least
two of the following:
 Philosophy: a higher-level knowledge and understanding of central
philosophical texts of different ages and/or traditions, and of the inter-
pretative controversies that surround them, and a deeper knowledge and
understanding of philosophical issues, concepts, theories and arguments,
and their application to a wide variety of different problems.
 Politics: a higher-level knowledge and understanding of the philosoph-
ical, theoretical, institutional, issue-based and methodological approaches
to Politics and International Relations based on comparative study of soci-
eties, and higher-level knowledge of some of the principal sub-areas of
the discipline, different methods of data analysis, and the issues currently
at the frontiers of debate and research.
 Economics: a higher-level knowledge and understanding of the prin-
ciples of modern Economics, including appropriate mathematical and
statistical techniques, a knowledge and appreciation of economic data
and of the applications of economic principles and reasoning to a variety
of applied topics.

In addition, you will acquire and develop a particular set of intellectual, prac-
tical and transferable skills:
 Intellectual skills: the ability to gather, organise and deploy evidence,
data and information from a wide variety of secondary and some primary
sources; interpret such material with sensitivity to context; identify pre-
cisely the underlying issues in a wide variety of academic debates, and to
distinguish relevant and irrelevant considerations; recognise the logical
structure of an argument, and assess its validity, to assess critically the
arguments presented by others, and by oneself, and to identify methodo-
logical errors, rhetorical devices, unexamined conventional wisdom, un-
noticed assumptions, vagueness and superficiality; construct and articu-
late sound arguments with clarity and precision; engage in debate with
others, to formulate and consider the best arguments for different views
and to identify the weakest elements of the most persuasive views.
 Practical skills: the ability to listen attentively to complex presentations
and identify the structure of the arguments presented; read with care a
wide variety of written academic literature, and reflect clearly and critic-
ally on what is read; marshal a complex body of information in the form of
essays, and to write well for a variety of audiences and in a variety of con-
texts; engage in oral discussion and argument with others, in a way that
advances understanding of the problems at issue and the appropriate ap-
proaches and solutions to them.
 Transferable skills: the ability to find information, organise and deploy
it; draw on such information, and thinking creatively, self-critically and

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 independently, to consider and solve complex problems; apply the tech-
niques and skills of philosophical argument to practical questions, includ-
ing those arising in ethics and political life; apply concepts, theories and
methods used in the study of Politics to the analysis of political ideas, in-
stitutions practices and issues; make strategic decisions with a sophistic-
ated appreciation of the importance of costs, opportunities, expectations,
outcomes, information and motivation; motivate oneself, to work well in-
dependently, with a strong sense of initiative and self-direction, and also
with the ability to work constructively in co-operation with others; com-
municate effectively and fluently in speech and writing; plan and organise
the use of time effectively; where relevant, make appropriate use of nu-
merical, statistical and computing skills.

2.4 Course Structure

The PPE degree is divided into two parts. The first year is designed to give you
a foundation in all three branches. You take three compulsory papers: Introduc-
tion to Philosophy, Introduction to the Theory and Practice of Politics, and Intro-
ductory Economics.

After the first year the choices are greater. First you must decide whether to
select two branches from Philosophy, Politics, and Economics, which will make
you ‘bipartite’, or to keep going with the third as well, making you ‘tripartite’.
This choice may be easy for you, if you were originally attracted to PPE for the
sake of one or two of its branches and have not changed your priorities during
your first year; or it may be difficult. If it is difficult, go by what interests you,
provided that your tutors think you are suited to it; do not be too much affected
by your marks in Prelims, which can differ greatly from Finals marks. A few sub-
jects are available under more than one branch. Refer to the Examination Regu-
lations for lists of subjects and the combinations in which they can be taken.
Further guidance on the choice of individual subjects within the three discip-
lines is given in Appendix A. An outline of the course structure is given in the
table at the end of this section.

You will be exposed to current, research-informed teaching via lectures, classes

and tutorials. You will be provided with experience of a research environment
when you prepare work for classes and tutorials, and if you choose to do a
thesis, supervised dissertation or project work.

Outline course structure

Year 1
Introduction to Philo- Introduction to the The- Introductory Economics
sophy ory and Practice of
Politics
Examination: PPE Prelims

Years 2 and 3
Philosophy and Philosophy and Politics and Eco- Philosophy, Polit-
Politics Economics nomics ics and Econom-
ics
Compulsory Core Compulsory Core Compulsory Core Compulsory Core
Philosophy: 103 Philosophy: 103 Politics: two of Philosophy: 103

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 Year 1
plus one of 101, plus one of 101, 201, 202, 203, plus one of 101,
102, 115, 116 102, 115, 116 214, 220 102, 115, 116
Politics: two of Economics: at Economics: at Politics: two of
201, 202, 203, least three sub- least three sub- 201, 202, 203,
214, 220 jects* jects* 214, 220
Economics: at
least two sub-
jects*
Optional Optional Optional Optional
Four subjects Three subjects Three subjects Two subjects.
chosen from chosen from chosen from Certain combina-
those listed un- those listed un- those listed un- tions of subjects
der Philosophy der Philosophy der Politics and may not be
and Politics. At and Economics. Economics. At offered.
least one must be At least one must least one must be
a subject in Philo- be a subject in a further subject
sophy; at least Philosophy; one in Politics (other
one must be a but only one may than a thesis/su-
subject in Politics be a subject in pervised disserta-
(other than a Politics (see per- tion); one but
thesis/supervised mitted list in Ex- only one may be
dissertation); one amination Regu- a subject in Philo-
but only one may lations); and cer- sophy; and cer-
be a subject in tain combinations tain combinations
Economics, selec- may not be of subjects may
ted from the fol- offered. not be offered.
lowing list: 300,
301, 302, 311;
and certain com-
binations may not
be offered.
Examination: PPE Finals

*see the Options Fair page on Economics Canvas for further information on
what those courses have to be.

2.5 Syllabus
Detailed syllabus information (for example, dates and times of lectures or
classes and reading lists) is given on the Canvas site of each Department.

3. Teaching and Learning

3.1 Organisation of teaching and learning

You will learn through a mixture of lectures, classes, and tutorials, with the last
playing a particularly important part. The syllabus is set by the University,
which grants degrees and therefore examines for them; but most teaching,
apart from lectures and some classes, is arranged by your College. Tutorials are
what differentiates Oxford from most universities in the world. The following
brief notes should help you understand the importance of tutors, tutorials, and
University lectures and classes for the course. All of these learning experiences
will enhance your knowledge of the subjects being studied and contribute to

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your performance in the final examinations in which your degree classification
is determined. If you have any issues with teaching or supervision, please raise
these as soon as possible so that they can be addressed promptly. Details of
who to contact are provided in the complaints and appeals section.

There may changes to the delivery of your teaching as a result of the Covid-19
pandemic. For example, lectures may be delivered online or pre-recorded and
tutorials may be delivered online rather than in person.

3.1.1 Tutors
Anyone to whom you go for tutorials or College classes counts as one of your
tutors. For PPE Prelims there will be at least three of them, and over the whole
course there may well be eight or ten. Some will be tutorial fellows or lecturers
of your own College; some may be tutorial fellows or lecturers of other Colleges,
or research fellows, or graduate students. The overall responsibility for giving
or arranging your tuition will lie with tutorial fellows or lecturers of your own
College, probably one in each of Philosophy, Politics, and Economics. Behind
them stands the Senior Tutor, who must see that proper arrangements are
made if one of these people is absent through illness or on leave.

Tuition for a term is normally arranged at the end of the preceding term; so, be-
fore going down each term you should make sure that you have received read-
ing guidance and the names of your tutors for all the work you will be doing in
the following term. (In the occasional cases in which the name of the tutor is not
yet known you should make sure you have received an explanation and that you
are confident that arrangements will be in place by the beginning of term.)
Some tutors like to see their pupils at the end of the preceding term to make de-
tailed arrangements. Colleges have different rules about when term ‘begins’.
The official start is Sunday of First Week of Full Term, but you will almost cer-
tainly be required back before then, and you should try to ensure that by the
Sunday at the very latest you know who your tutors for the term will be, have
met or corresponded with them, and have been set work and assigned tutorial
times by them.

If you would like to receive tuition from a particular person in Oxford, ask the
in-College tutor concerned; do not approach the person yourself, who cannot
take you on without a request from your College. If you would like a change of
tutor, say so if it is not embarrassing; otherwise do not just do nothing, but take
the problem to someone else in your College, such as your College Adviser, the
Senior Tutor, or even the head of College, if your difficulty is serious. Most such
problems arise from a personality clash that has proved intractable; but since in
a university of Oxford’s size there are almost certain to be alternative tutors for
most of your subjects, there is no point in putting up with a relationship that is
impeding your academic progress. In these circumstances you can usually ex-
pect a change, but not necessarily to the particular tutor whom you would
prefer.

In Economics, the provision of classes and tutorials for courses other than Mi-
croeconomics, Macroeconomics, and Quantitative Economics is coordinated by
the Department. Centrally nominated subject convenors will communicate with
College tutors at the end of each term on the allocation of students to particular
tutors for the forthcoming term.

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3.1.2 Tutorials, Classes, Collections and Data Labs
What you are expected to bring to a tutorial is knowledge of the reading that
was set for it (or a variant on your own initiative if some book or article proves
really inaccessible) and any written work demanded. What you have a right to
expect is your tutor’s presence and scholarly attention throughout the hour
agreed, plus guidance, e.g. a reading list, for next time. Beyond that, styles dif-
fer, depending on how many students are sharing the tutorial, the nature of the
topic, and above all the habits and personality of your tutor. You must not ex-
pect uniformity, and you will gain most if you succeed in adapting to differ-
ences.

You will nearly always have more than one tutorial a week. You should not nor-
mally be expected to write more than twelve tutorial essays a term. All written
work for a tutorial will receive either written or oral comments. Tutors submit
written reports on the term’s work as a whole, and you are entitled to see these.
Many Colleges have timetabled sessions at which College tutors discuss reports
with their students.

Work on a tutorial essay involves library searches, reading, thinking, and writ-
ing. It should occupy a minimum of three days. Read attentively and thought-
fully. As your reading progresses, think up a structure for your essay (but do not
write an elaborate plan which you will not have time to execute). Expect to have
to sort out your thoughts, both during and after reading. Use essays to develop
an argument, not as places to store information. You will learn a lot if you share
ideas with fellow students, and if you try out ideas in tutorial discussion. Re-
member that tutorials are not designed as a substitute for lectures, or for accu-
mulating information, but to develop coherent verbal arguments and the capa-
city to think on one’s feet, and to tackle specific difficulties and misunderstand-
ings. This means that note-taking, if it occurs in a tutorial at all, should be very
much incidental to the overriding dialogue. You should, however, leave time
after the tutorial to make a record on paper of the discussion.

Students are broadly encouraged to use computers, though there is a danger of

getting out of practice in hand-writing time-limited examinations, especially
University examinations, in which computers are not normally used. You are ad-
vised to practise hand-writing in advance of those examinations.

Some tuition is by means of classes, a system specially suited to subjects in

which written work is exercises rather than essays, for example econometrics or
statistics. You have a right to expect that written work for a class will be re-
turned to you with written or oral comments.

Most Colleges will require you to sit College examinations, so-called ‘collec-
tions’, before the start of each term. Their object is to test your comprehension
of work already covered, and to give you practice in sitting examinations. Make
sure at the end of each term that you know the times and subjects of next
term’s collections.

Oxford trains you as a writer to deadlines; so equip yourself with a writer’s tools
– a dictionary, such as the Concise Oxford Dictionary, and, unless you are very
confident, a thesaurus and Modern English Usage.

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As mentioned in the intended learning outcomes section, you are expected to
develop the ability to make appropriate use of numerical, statistical, and com-
puting skills. This ability is provided for in both the economics and politics com-
ponents of the course. In economics, opportunities to develop these skills are
provided in the Prelims Quantitative Methods lectures and classes and in the
optional Finals papers 300 (Quantitative Economics) and 314 (Econometrics)
and the use of statistical techniques is examined in this paper. In politics, the
quantitative methods component of the first-year course provides students with
experience of data manipulation, data handling, and data analysis. You can go
on to further quantitative methods study in Politics if you choose either 214 (In-
ternational Relations) or 220 (Political Sociology) or 201 (Comparative Govern-
ment) as a second-year paper. Data labs are a core element of the course, espe-
cially in the first year. The labs provide you with an introduction to statistical
software packages like STATA and R.

3.1.3 Lectures
While tutorials and classes will be mainly organised by your College, lectures
are provided centrally by the University Departments and Faculties. All three
Departments also publish lecture lists, as well as provisional programmes for
lectures for the remainder of the academic year, which will help you to plan for
the future. The lists can be found via PPE Canvas at
https://canvas.ox.ac.uk/courses/71230/pages/lecture-lists. Take your copy of the
lists to your meetings with tutors: all of them will have advice on which lectures
to attend. Remember that printed lecture lists often go out of date and the most
up-to-date versions will be online.

Do not expect lectures on a subject always to coincide with the term in which
you are writing essays on that subject. Important lectures may come a term or
two before or after your tutorials, and in the case of some less popular options
they may come in your second year and not be repeated in your third year: con-
sult your tutors early about this risk.

The importance of lectures varies from subject to subject within PPE. Some lec-
tures give a personal analysis of a book or a set of books. Others provide an au-
thoritative view on a fast-developing subject, or an overview on a subject whose
boundaries are not well recognised in the literature. It is perilous to miss the
‘core’ lectures on your chosen options: although in Oxford’s system lecturers do
not necessarily set the University examinations, they may be consulted by those
who do.

3.1.3.1 Policy on the recording of lectures and other formal teaching sessions
by students

Introduction

1. The University recognises that there are a number of reasons why students
might wish to record lectures or other formal teaching sessions (such as sem-
inars and classes) in order to support their learning. The University also recog-
nises that in most cases copyright in lectures resides with the University or with
the academic responsible for the lecture or formal teaching session, and that
academics and students may have concerns about privacy and data protection.
This policy sets out the circumstances in which such recordings may take place;

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the respective roles and responsibilities of those involved in such recordings;
and the implications of breaches of this policy.

2. For the purposes of this policy, the term 'recording' refers to any audio or
visual recording of a lecture or other formal teaching session, made with any
type of audio or visual recorder.

Permission to record a lecture or other formal teaching session

3. Students who have been given permission to record lectures or other formal
teaching sessions as a reasonable adjustment on disability-related grounds do
not need to ask for permission to record from individual academics. Students
who believe they have disability-related grounds for recording should contact
the University’s Disability Advisory Service
(www.ox.ac.uk/students/welfare/disability/study or disability@admin.ox.ac.uk)
for further information on the process for obtaining such permission.

4. Students may request permission to record any lectures or other formal

teaching sessions. All such requests should be made in writing (including by
email) prior to the lecture course or equivalent, to the academic responsible.
Subject to paragraph 3 above, the decision on whether to grant permission is at
the discretion of the academic. Students may only record lectures where the
academic responsible for the session has given their consent prior to the start of
the lecture in writing (e.g. by email), and recordings of lectures may not be
made by students unless this consent has been given. Retrospective requests
are not permissible under this policy and covert recording of lectures will be
treated as a disciplinary offence.

5. Students granted permission in writing to record a formal teaching session

other than a lecture should ask the session leader to check at the start of the
session that there are no objections from others present to a recording being
made.

6. Where recordings are made available routinely by Departments and Fac-

ulties, students may not make personal recordings unless they have been given
permission to record as a reasonable adjustment.

Use of recordings

7. Recordings of lectures or other formal teaching sessions may only be made

for the personal and private use of the student.

8. Students may not:

a) pass such recordings to any other person (except for the purposes of
transcription, in which case they can be passed to one person only);
b) publish such recordings in any form (this includes, but is not limited to,
the internet and hard copy publication).

9. Students may store recordings of lectures for the duration of their pro-
gramme of study. Once they have completed the programme of study, students
should destroy all recordings of lectures or other formal teaching sessions.

Implementation

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10. Where a student breaches this policy, the University will regard this as a
disciplinary offence. All such breaches will be dealt with in accordance with
Statute XI (http://www.admin.ox.ac.uk/statutes/352-051a.shtml).

3.1.4 Teaching patterns

The recommended patterns of teaching for the second and third year of PPE are
below. Lectures, classes, and tutorials typically last an hour.

Faculty College Comments

Classes

Classes
Tutori-
Paper

Term

tures
Lec-

als
In Philosophy, the core subjects are 103 and one of 101, 102, 115 or 116. In
Politics, the core subjects are any two of 201, 202, 203, 214, and 220. In Eco-
nomics there are no core subjects.
Philosophy
M
8
T
103 Ethics: Normative Ethics HT
TT
M
T
103 Ethics: Metaethics HT 8 8
TT
M
8
T
103 Ethics: Applied Ethics HT
TT
Plus, one of: 101, 102, 115 or 116
M Students
8
101 Early Modern Philosophy: T must answer
Descartes HT in the exam-
TT ination on at
M least one of
4 Descartes,
101 Early Modern Philosophy: T
Spinoza and
Spinoza HT
Leibniz, and
TT on at least
M 8 one of Berke-
101 Early Modern Philosophy: Leib- T ley, Locke
niz HT 8 and Hume.
TT Tutorials will
M cover two or
T more au-
101 Early Modern Philosophy: Hume thors, and
HT 8
students
TT should attend
101 Early Modern Philosophy: Berke- M 8 lectures ac-

Page 14 of 68
 Faculty College Comments

Classes

Classes
Tutori-
Paper

Term

tures
Lec-

als
T
ley HT
TT
M
cording to
T
101 Early Modern Philosophy: Locke those they
HT 8 are covering.
TT
M
102 Knowledge and Reality: Meta- T
physics HT 8
TT
8
M
8
102 Knowledge and Reality: Epistem- T
ology HT
TT
M
8
T
115 Plato: Republic HT 8 8
TT
M
8
T
116 Aristotle: Nicomachean Ethics HT 8 8
TT
Politics: TWO OF
M 7 tutorials,
8
T which can
201 Comparative Government HT 8 7 take place in
any term.
TT
M 8 tutorials,
8
T which can
HT 8 take place in
202 British Politics and Government
8 any term.
since 1900
Colleges to
TT arrange revi-
sion classes.
M 8 tutorials,
8
T which can
HT 8 take place in
203 Theory of Politics (also Philo-
8 any term.
sophy option 114)
Colleges to
TT arrange revi-
sion classes.
214 International Relations M 8 7 7 tutorials,
T which can

Page 15 of 68
 Faculty College Comments

Classes

Classes
Tutori-
Paper

Term

tures
Lec-

als
HT 8 take place in
TT any term.
M 7 tutorials,
8
T which can
220 Political Sociology HT 8 7
take place in
TT any term.
M Any student
1 7
T taking at
HT least ONE of
papers 201,
214 and 220
should attend
Q-Step 2nd Year component.
one QS2 lec-
TT ture in MT of
2nd year,
plus a series
of 7 1-hour
Q-Step labs.
Economics
There are no core subjects, but most subjects must be taken in combination
with one or more of 300, 301 and 302.
M 6 Quantitat-
T ive Econom-
HT ics Tutorials
(arranged by
300 Quantitative Economics 6 College tu-
tors). NB:
TT 23 teaching
given in 2nd
year.
M 8 Macroeco-
T nomics Tu-
HT 21 torials (ar-
ranged by
301 Macroeconomics 8 College tu-
tors). NB:
TT teaching
given in 2nd
year.
302 Microeconomics M 8 8 Microeco-
20
T nomics Tu-
HT torials (ar-
TT ranged by
College tu-
tors). NB:
teaching
given in 2nd

Page 16 of 68
 Faculty College Comments

Classes

Classes
Tutori-
Paper

Term

tures
Lec-

als
year.
M
4
T
(302: Maths and Probability lectures) HT
TT

Optional Papers

Philosophy:
 Philosophy options papers are normally taught through a course of 8-16
lectures (provided by the Faculty) and 8 tutorials (provided by Colleges).
 In some cases, College teaching may be delivered through classes rather
than tutorials, at the discretion of the Colleges.
 Tutorials for a paper may not always be given in the same term as the lec-
tures for that paper.
 The recommended teaching for students offering the optional thesis is 8
tutorials (provided by College).
 Students taking Philosophy and Politics at FHS may take 1-3 optional
Philosophy papers.
 Students taking Philosophy and Economics at FHS may take 1-3 optional
Philosophy papers.
 Students taking Philosophy, Politics and Economics at FHS may take 0, 1
or 2 optional Philosophy papers.

Politics:
 Politics options papers usually consist 8-16 lectures (provided by the De-
partment) delivered over one or two terms, and 8 tutorials (provided by
Colleges) given in a single term.
 Course providers for the papers 208 (Politics of Sub-Saharan Africa), 210
(Politics in South Asia), 225 (Comparative Demographic Systems), and
227 (Politics in China) may offer supplementary classes. For papers in-
cluding (but not limited to) 211 (Politics of the Middle East), tutorials may
be replaced by College classes.
 Eight documents classes for 204 (Modern British Government and Polit-
ics) take place in HT of third year; these run instead of lectures.
 Tutorials for 227 (Politics of China) are ordinarily solely available in Mi-
chaelmas Term.
 Tutorials for a paper may not always be given in the same term as its lec-
tures.
 The recommended teaching for students taking the optional thesis or su-
pervised dissertation paper is 8 tutorials (provided by College). Additional
support and guidance lectures and workshops are organised by the De-
partment.
 The final list of Politics optional papers will be announced during a stu-
dent's second year. In the event that recommended teaching patterns of

Page 17 of 68
 new options fall outside these norms, this information will be updated
and students will be informed.
 Students taking Philosophy and Politics at FHS may take 1-3 optional
Politics papers.
 Students taking Politics and Economics at FHS may take 1-3 optional
Politics papers.
 Students taking Philosophy, Politics and Economics at FHS may take 0, 1
or 2 optional Politics papers.

Economics:
 The recommended teaching pattern is 16 lectures (provided by the De-
partment) and 8 tutorials (provided by Colleges).
 For courses covering technical material, teaching may be given through
classes rather than tutorials.
 The recommended teaching for students taking the optional thesis or su-
pervised dissertation paper is 8 tutorials (provided by College).
 The final list of Economics papers will be announced at the Economics
options fair at the beginning of the fourth week of the first Hilary Full
Term of candidates' work for the Honour School. In the event that recom-
mended teaching patterns of new options fall outside these norms, this
information will be updated and students will be informed.
 There may be restrictions on numbers permitted to offer some Economics
subjects in any particular year.

When choosing optional papers, it is essential that you consult both the Examin-
ation Regulations and your College tutors. Certain combinations of papers are
not permissible, and some optional papers may not be taught every year.

3.2 Theses
One of your eight Finals subjects may be a thesis: see 199, 299, and 399 in the
Examination Regulations. Begin planning no later than your penultimate Easter
Vacation, and have a talk with a tutor no later than the beginning of Trinity
Term. If your tutor thinks that your proposal is manageable, get initial sugges-
tions for reading and follow them up, so that work can be done during the Long
Vacation. Remember that tutors can only advise: the decision to offer a thesis is
your own, and so is the choice of topic. So, of course, is the work; what makes a
thesis worthwhile is that it is your own independent production.

Good undergraduate thesis topics can vary in character a great deal, but all
have two things in common: they are focused, so as to answer a question, or set
of questions, or advance an argument; and they are manageable, so that the
time available is enough for your research and reflection on it, and 15,000
words is enough for an interesting treatment.

If you decide to go ahead, submit your title and outline for approval in accord-
ance with the regulations for theses in the Examination Regulations. Do not
worry if your outline is not in the end very closely adhered to; the point of it is
to make clear the general subject of the thesis and to show that you have some
idea of how to go about tackling it.

The regulations state that you may discuss with your tutor ‘the field of study,
the sources available, and the method of presentation’. Before you start work,
go over the plan of the whole thesis very carefully with your tutor. The plan

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must be yours, but the tutor can help you make sure it is clear, coherent and
feasible. Get more advice on reading. But bear in mind that much of your read-
ing will be discovered by yourself; so, arrange to be in Oxford, or near a large
library, for some weeks of the Long Vacation.

Avoid letting your topic expand, and focus your reading on the issue you intend
to write about; 15,000 words is the length of two articles, not a book. Your tutor
‘may also read and comment on a first draft’ (in the case of Philosophy, ‘on
drafts’), and the amount of assistance the tutor may give is equivalent to the
teaching of a normal paper; so tutorial sessions can be used for trying out first
drafts of parts of the thesis. However, you have to write the finished version on
your own; make sure you allow plenty of time – almost certainly more will be
needed than you first anticipated. You must not exceed the limit of 15,000
words, excluding bibliography. That will probably, to your surprise, become a
problem; but the exercise of pruning is a valuable one, encouraging clarity and
precision which you should be aiming for in any case.

Some general advice:

i. the examiners cannot read your mind; explain in your introduction just
what you are going to do, and in what follows present the argument, step
by step, in as sharp a focus as you can achieve;
ii. examiners will notice if you try to fudge issues or sweep difficulties aside;
it is much better to be candid about them, and to show that you appreci-
ate the force of counter-arguments;
iii. take grammar and spelling seriously, and always aim at a simple English
style, avoiding convoluted sentences and preferring short words to long
(there is sound advice which may be relevant in George Orwell, ‘Politics
and the English Language’, in his Collected Essays, Journalism and Let-
ters, (1946), volume 4).

Your bibliography should list all works to which you refer, plus any others you
have used that bear on the final version. The style for references can be mod-
elled on any book or periodical in your field. The rules for format and submis-
sion, and for change of title, are in the Examination Regulations.

The Department of Politics issues notes of guidance on Politics theses, which

you can find on Politics Canvas. If you intend to undertake fieldwork as part of
your thesis, please note the fieldwork safety guidance in the next section.

3.2.1 Fieldwork safety and training

Fieldwork

Many students will, as part of their course, be required to undertake fieldwork

providing it is safe and practical to do so. Fieldwork is considered as any re-
search activity contributing to your academic studies which is carried out away
from university premises, and must be approved by your Department. This can
be overseas or within the UK. The safety and welfare of its students is of para-
mount importance to the University. This includes fieldwork and there are a
number of procedures that you must follow when preparing for and carrying out
fieldwork.

Preparation

Page 19 of 68
Safe fieldwork is successful fieldwork. Thorough preparation can pre-empt
many potential problems. When discussing your research with your supervisor
please think about the safety implications of where you are going and what you
are doing. Following this discussion and before your travel will be approved,
you will be required to complete a travel risk assessment form. This requires
you to set out the significant safety risks associated with your research, the ar-
rangements in place to mitigate those risks and the contingency plans for if
something goes wrong. There is an expectation that you will take out suitable
travel insurance. Your Department also needs accurate information on where
you are, and when and how to contact you while you are away. The travel as-
sessment process should help to plan your fieldwork by thinking through ar-
rangements and practicalities. The following website contains some fieldwork
experiences which might be useful to refer to
https://socsci.web.ox.ac.uk/fieldworker-experiences.

Training

Training is highly recommended as part of your preparation. Even if you are fa-
miliar with where you are going there may be risks associated with what you
are doing.

Safety Office courses https://safety.admin.ox.ac.uk/training (termly)

 Emergency First Aid for Fieldworkers

 Fieldwork Safety Overseas: a full day course geared to expedition-based
fieldwork
 Fieldwork and overseas travel risk assessment for fieldworkers and trav-
ellers: A pre-recorded online training presentation

Useful Links

More information on fieldwork and a number of useful links can be found on the
Social Sciences Division website: https://socsci.web.ox.ac.uk/research-
fieldwork.

3.3 Supervised dissertations

If it is available in the appropriate year, one of your eight subjects may be a su-
pervised dissertation in Politics, which is similar to a thesis except that there is
a group of students, studying a common theme, all writing separate disserta-
tions on it. The dissertation may not be combined with a thesis in any branch, or
with fewer than three other politics subjects if you are a bipartite candidate.

The Examination Regulations state that ‘with the approval of the Undergradu-
ate Studies Committee, members of staff willing to supervise a research topic
shall through the Undergraduate Studies Coordinator or Courses Team of the
Department of Politics and International Relations circulate by email not later
than Friday of Fourth Week of Hilary Term a short description of an area of
Politics (including International Relations and Sociology) in which they have a
special interest, a list of possible dissertation topics lying within that area, an
introductory reading list, and a time and place at which they will meet those in-
terested in writing a dissertation under their supervision for assessment in the
following year’s [Final] examination…’

Page 20 of 68
This means Hilary Term of your penultimate year. So, if the idea appeals to you,
it is best discussed with your tutor no later than the beginning of that term; if
your interest arises too late for the Hilary Term meetings, you will need your
tutor’s advice about the practicalities too. You do not need to seek formal ap-
proval for a dissertation topic, unlike a thesis.

The rules on length, format and submission, late submission, and change of
title, are the same as for Politics theses and are set out in the Examination Reg-
ulations. The Department issues advice on supervised dissertations in the notes
of guidance on Politics theses, which you can find on Politics Canvas.

3.4 Expectations of study and student workload

UK degree courses are among the shortest in the world. They hold their own in
international competition only because they are full-time courses, covering va-
cation as well as term. This is perhaps particularly true of Oxford, where the
eight-week terms (technically called Full Terms) occupy less than half the year.

Vacations have to include holiday time; and everyone recognises that for very
many students they also have to include money-earning time. The University’s
guidance on paid work is at www.ox.ac.uk/students/life/experience. Neverthe-
less, vacation study is vital, and students are responsible for their own academic
progress.

You are said to ‘read’ for an Oxford degree, and PPE is certainly a reading
course: its ‘study’ is mainly the study of material obtained from books and other
documents. In term you will mostly rush from one article or chapter to another,
pick their bones, and write out your reactions. There are typically six to eight
lectures, and two tutorials (or one tutorial and one class) a week.

Vacations are the time for less hectic attention to complete books. Tutorials
break a subject up; vacations allow consolidation. They give depth and time for
serious thought. They are also particularly important for reading set or core
texts.

4. Assessment

4.1 Assessment Structure

There are two University examinations for PPE: The Preliminary Examination
(‘Prelims’), normally taken at the end of your first year; and The Final Honour
School (‘Finals’), normally taken at the end of your third year. Prelims consist of
three subjects, Finals of eight. The structure, types and weighting of assess-
ments are set out in the Examination Regulations and the Examination Conven-
tions.

4.2 Feedback on learning and assessment

The mechanisms for providing you with feedback on your learning and assess-
ment exist mostly at the College level. Each PPE undergraduate has at least two
and sometimes more meetings each week with a College tutor. At least one of
these meetings will be a tutorial focused on the discussion of the student’s read-
ing and of an essay completed by the student before the tutorial. Feedback is
given both in written comments on the essay and verbally in the tutorial. In ad-

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dition, students normally sit practice examinations (known as ‘collections’) in
each paper at the start of the term following the tutorials which are marked and
returned with comments.

Feedback on your progress is also given termly through individual reports

provided through the College reporting system, TMS. The reports are discussed
in a termly meeting with your College tutors and/or academic officers of your
College. Problems that arise at other times are dealt with by College tutors and
other College officers. Most Colleges have special procedures to deal with aca-
demic under-performance or issues concerning fitness to study.

Feedback on your Prelims and Finals is given via marks and generic feedback
on cohort performance through examiners’ reports.

4.3 Examination Conventions

Examination Conventions are the formal record of the specific assessment
standards for the course or courses to which they apply. They set out how your
examined work will be marked and how the resulting marks will be used to ar-
rive at a final result and classification of your award. They include information
on: marking scales, marking and classification criteria, scaling of marks, pro-
gression, resits, use of viva voce examinations, penalties for late submission,
and penalties for over-length work.

Examination Conventions are published at least one term before the examina-
tion takes place, on the exams page of PPE Canvas. You will be notified by email
when they are available. The Examination Conventions from previous years are
also on the exams page of PPE Canvas.

4.4 Good academic practice and avoiding plagiarism

Below is guidance on good academic practice and avoiding plagiarism. You will
also find guidance on this, including expectations regarding good academic
practice for online open-book exams, in the PPE Prelims and PPE Finals Exam-
ination Conventions.

Plagiarism is presenting someone else’s work or ideas as your own, with or

without their consent, by incorporating it into your work without full acknow-
ledgement. All published and unpublished material, whether in manuscript,
printed or electronic form, is covered under this definition.

Plagiarism may be intentional or reckless, or unintentional. Under the regula-

tions for examinations, intentional or reckless plagiarism is a disciplinary of-
fence. The University website provides guidance on plagiarism at
www.ox.ac.uk/students/academic/guidance/skills/plagiarism and on how to de-
velop academic good practice at
www.ox.ac.uk/students/academic/guidance/skills. What follows is subject-spe-
cific advice and a range of examples of plagiarism.

To avoid plagiarism, it is important for all students within individual subject

areas to be aware of, and to follow, good practice in the use of sources and mak-
ing appropriate reference. You will need to exercise judgement in determining
when reference is required, and when material may be taken to be so much a
part of the ‘general knowledge’ of your particular subject that formal citation

Page 22 of 68
would not be expected. The basis on which such judgements are made is likely
to vary slightly between subject areas, as may also the style and format of mak-
ing references, and your tutor or course organiser, where appropriate, will be in
the best position to advise you on such matters; in addition, these may be
covered, along with other aspects of academic writing, in your induction. By fol-
lowing good practice in your subject area, you should develop a rigorous ap-
proach to academic referencing, and avoid inadvertent plagiarism.

Cases of apparently deliberate plagiarism are taken extremely seriously, and

where examiners suspect that this has occurred, they bring the matter to the
attention of the Proctors. The University employs a series of sophisticated soft-
ware applications to detect plagiarism in submitted examination work, both in
terms of copying and collusion. It regularly monitors online essay banks, essay-
writing services, and other potential sources of material. It reserves the right to
check samples of submitted essays for plagiarism. Although the University
strongly encourages the use of electronic resources by students in their aca-
demic work, any attempt to draw on third-party material without proper attribu-
tion may well attract severe disciplinary sanctions.

Cases of plagiarism range from the culpably fraudulent to the carelessly inad-
vertent. Honesty is all you need to avoid the first, the cultivation of academic
good practice will ensure that you do not fall foul of the second.

You must avoid:

 The submission of other people’s work as your own. You should not
use professional essay writing agencies nor submit any work which has
been written in full or in part by any other person. It is also forbidden to
submit work which you have already submitted (partially or in full) for an-
other degree course or examination.
 The verbatim quotation of other people’s work without clear indic-
ation and due acknowledgement (i.e. quotation marks or indentation,
together with a full citation). Inadvertency in this may be avoided by scru-
pulous note-taking. Whenever taking notes always write down the full de-
tails of the source (author, title, page numbers, lecturer’s name and date
of lecture, URL). Where exact words are copied or taken down quotation
marks should be used; your notes should make it completely clear, in
case your memory does not, which of its words and ideas are your own
and which other people’s. The risk of plagiarism is increased where ma-
terial is ‘cut and pasted’ from electronic resources. If you copy material
in this way make sure it is fully referenced and does not become confused
with your own work. You should be aware that there exist sophisticated
systems to detect such copying.
 Close paraphrase. Linking together phrases from a source with just a
few words changed here and there is not enough to avoid the charge of
plagiarism
 The reporting of ideas without acknowledging them as your own.
When you write, there should be no room for doubt which are your ideas
and which are other people’s. Note that where an idea is unattributed it
will naturally be taken as the author’s own. How often you provide refer-
ences must to some extent be a matter of style and judgment; to begin
each sentence of a paragraph of exposition with “Davidson says that…”
would be redundant, but where you are substantially indebted to a partic-

Page 23 of 68
 ular author it may well not be enough to cite his or her work once in a
footnote at the start or the end of the essay.

The surest way to avoid suspicion of plagiarism is by careful referencing. Tutors

may be more concerned to check that you understand than that your essays dis-
play scholarly references, and no examiner expects full references in a three-
hour exam, but it is good practice to give proper references. There are many
ways to do this (footnotes, author and date, bibliography, etc.). In general, there
is no one preferred system. Tutors and style guides are a source of advice. Note
that some electronic sources explicitly tell you how to make references to their
articles. You should not reference anything that you have not actually consulted.
Where your knowledge of a primary source is via a secondary one this should be
made clear (e.g. R. Descartes, The Principles of Philosophy, quoted in J. Cotting-
ham, Descartes (Blackwell, 1986) p.92). Some ideas may be taken as part of the
‘general knowledge’ of a particular subject and, as such, do not call for a formal
reference. You will need to exercise judgment in determining when this is the
case. If in doubt, seek advice or err on the side of caution.

4.4.1 Examples of plagiarism

Source Text

“Even more important, however, and certainly more generally applic-

able, is the argument from queerness. This has two parts, one meta-
physical, the other epistemological. If there were objective values,
then they would be entities or qualities or relations of a very strange
sort, utterly different from anything else in the universe. Correspond-
ingly, if we were aware of them, it would have to be by some special
faculty of moral intuition, utterly different from our ordinary ways of
knowing everything else.”

(J.L.Mackie, Ethics, Inventing Right and Wrong (Penguin, 1977)

p.38)

Example 1

“An important argument is that from queerness. It has two parts, one metaphys-
ical and one epistemological. Metaphysically, if objective values existed, then
they would be very strange entities, unlike anything else in the universe. Epi-
stemologically, if we were aware of them, it would have to be by some strange
faculty of moral intuition, quite different from our ordinary awareness.”

Without reference of any kind to any source, this would be taken as the author’s
own words and ideas; when in fact it simply copies phrases verbatim from the
source with just a few words changed here and there.

Example 2

“It has been argued against objective values on the grounds of queerness. The
case can be made in either metaphysical or epistemological terms. If objective
values existed, they would be strange things, utterly different from anything

Page 24 of 68
else in the universe, and they would have to be known in an equally strange
way, utterly different from our ordinary ways of knowing everything else.”

This is a mixture of verbatim copying and close paraphrase. Two phrases have
been copied from the source, but no quotation marks or reference provided. The
phrase ‘It has been argued’ is insufficient for this purpose.

Example 3

“‘The argument from queerness’ (Mackie, 1977, p.38) has been stated as fol-
lows. ‘If there were objective values, then they would be entities or qualities or
relations of a very strange sort, utterly different from anything else in the uni-
verse.’ Correspondingly, if we were aware of them, it would have to be by some
special faculty of moral intuition, utterly different from our ordinary ways of
knowing everything else.”

By selective use of quotation marks and referencing this suggests that the
second point here is the writer’s own, when it is in fact just as heavily indebted
to the source as the material explicitly acknowledged. All quoted material must
be enclosed in quotation marks and adequately referenced.

Remember
 Always make clear the extent of your borrowing. A text reference, such as
(Mackie, 1977, p.38), can leave it unclear whether the debt you wish to
acknowledge is with regard to a clause, a sentence, a few sentences or an
entire paragraph that you have written.
 Try always to express the ideas and arguments you encounter in your
own words; this is part of what it means to really understand them.

4.5 Entering for University examinations

You are entered for Prelims automatically, but must enter yourself for Finals
during Michaelmas Term of your third year. This page
www.ox.ac.uk/students/academic/exams/examination-entry explains what you
need to do and when.

If you need exam adjustments (for example, rest time or rest time), you must
apply for exam adjustments after matriculation and no later than Friday of
Week 4 of the term before the exam is due to take place. It is your responsibility
to request exam adjustments and provide any supporting evidence required. Re-
quests may, for urgent reasons, be considered nearer to the date of your exam.
Further information is at www.ox.ac.uk/students/academic/exams/examination-
adjustments.

Further information on the examinations and assessments process at the Uni-

versity, from entering for examinations through to accessing your results, is at
www.ox.ac.uk/students/academic/exams.

4.6 Examination dates

Your exam timetable will be published as early as possible and no later than five
weeks before the start of the examination at
www.ox.ac.uk/students/academic/exams/timetables. Prelims are normally in
Week 9 and Finals are normally from Week 5 to Week 7 in Trinity Term.

Page 25 of 68
4.7 Sitting your in-person examination
The majority of papers in PPE are assessed by an in-person examination. Prac-
tical information and support for sitting in-person exams is provided on the Ox-
ford students website (www.ox.ac.uk/students/academic/exams/guidance).

When planning your examination strategy, it is sensible to keep in mind the

nature of the examination method which the University uses (the conventional
method in UK higher education over the past two centuries). If the examiners
allowed you to set the questions, you could prepare good answers in a few
months; by setting the questions themselves, they ensure that a candidate can-
not be adequately prepared without study over a broad area. They will therefore
not be interested in answers which are in any way off the point, and they will
severely penalise ‘short weight’ – too few properly written out answers. The ex-
aminers are looking for you to make arguments (i.e. supply reasons in support
of answers to the questions asked), not merely to provide reports of other
people’s arguments, although such reports may form part of the larger argu-
ment that you make, as when it is important to explain to your reader what one
author thinks in order to critique it. When you have selected a question, work
out what it means and decide what you think is the answer to it. Then, putting
pen to paper, state the answer and defend it; or, if you think there is no answer,
explain why not. Abstain from presenting background material. Do not write too
much: most of those who run out of time have themselves to blame for being
distracted into irrelevance. Good examinees emerge from the exam with most of
their knowledge un-displayed. Examiners’ reports can be helpful in identifying
the characteristics of good and bad answers in the various papers.

4.8 Sitting your online examination

Some papers in PPE may be assessed by an online examination. Online exams
are taken in Inspera. You must familiarise yourself with the system prior to tak-
ing an online exam. There are a wide range of resources to help you on the Ox-
ford Students website (www.ox.ac.uk/students/academic/exams/online-exams).

Online exams require you to adhere to the University’s Honour Code

(www.ox.ac.uk/students/academic/exams/open-book/honour-code) and you
should read this in advance of any online exams.

4.9 Submitted work

Some papers in PPE are assessed partly or wholly by coursework submission.
For theses, the submission deadlines are in the PPE or Philosophy Examination
Regulations. For papers which are assessed partly or wholly by submission, you
should follow the guidance sent to you by the relevant Department.

These assessments are normally submitted online via Inspera. Ensure you are
familiar with the online submission process in advance of any deadline. Full in-
formation is provided on the Oxford students website
(www.ox.ac.uk/students/academic/exams/submission).

4.10 Problems completing assessment

There are a number of University processes in place to help you if you find that
illness or other personal circumstances are affecting your assessments or if you
experience technical difficulties with an online exam or submission. Full inform-
ation is available on the Oxford students website

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(www.ox.ac.uk/students/academic/exams/problems-completing-your-
assessment).

4.11 External examiner and examiners’ reports

Internal and external examiners’ reports for Prelims and Finals can be found on
the exams page of PPE Canvas. The name, position and institution of the ex-
ternal examiners for PPE can be found in the Examination Conventions, also on
PPE Canvas. Students are strictly prohibited from contacting external exam-
iners directly. If you are unhappy with an aspect of your assessment you may
make a complaint or appeal (see the complaints and appeals section of this
Handbook).

4.12 Prizes
After your first year you will be eligible for a scholarship or exhibition from your
College, on academic criteria which the College decides and applies. Other
prizes for which you may be eligible include the various PPE examination prizes
which are listed on PPE Canvas. A central list of all prizes is at
www.ox.ac.uk/students/fees-funding/prizes-and-awards.

5. Skills and learning development

5.1 Academic progress

Your academic progress will be monitored mostly at College level. Feedback
will be given via TMS, via termly meetings with your College tutors and/or aca-
demic officers of your College, via collections, and in tutorials. Refer to your
College Handbook for further information.

5.2 Learning development and skills

The skills you are expected to develop through the course are summarised in
section 2.3.

5.3 Opportunities for skills training and development

A wide range of information and training materials are available to help you de-
velop your academic skills – including time management, research and library
skills, referencing, revision skills and academic writing – through the Oxford
Students website www.ox.ac.uk/students/academic/guidance/skills.

5.4 Employability and careers information and advice

The academic and College environment at Oxford University is rich with oppor-
tunities for you to develop many transferable skills that are eagerly sought by
employers. Undertaking an intellectually demanding academic course (often in-
corporating professional body requirements) will equip you for the demands of
many jobs. Your course will enable you to research, summarise, present and de-
fend an argument with some of the best scholars in their subject. Under the dir-
ection of an experienced researcher, you will extend your skills and experiences
through practical or project work, placements or fieldwork, writing extended
essays or dissertations. In College and University sports teams, clubs and soci-
eties you will have the chance to take the lead and play an active part within
and outside the University.

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Surveys of employers report that they find Oxford students better or much bet-
ter than the average UK student at key employability skills such as problem
solving, leadership, and communication. Hundreds of recruiters visit the Univer-
sity each year, demonstrating their demand for Oxford undergraduate and post-
graduate students.

Comprehensive careers advice and guidance is available from the Oxford Uni-
versity Careers Service, and not just while you are here: our careers support is
for life. We offer tailored individual advice, job fairs and workshops to inform
your job search and application process, whether your next steps are within
academia or beyond. You will also have access to thousands of UK-based and
international internships, work experience and job vacancies available on the
Careers Service website at www.careers.ox.ac.uk. Further information can be
found at www.ox.ac.uk/students/life/experience.

6. Student representation, evaluation and feedback

Consultation of students takes a number of forms. It is important that you give
us your views and feel free to do so, in order that we may deal with problems
that arise both relating to you personally and to the course. Confidentiality is
preserved when we seek feedback and will be maintained if you wish it when
you discuss issues of concern to you. Both the College and the Departments will
seek and welcome your feedback in various ways.

6.1 Department representation

Each Department has an Undergraduate Joint Consultative Committee (UJCC).
Typical agenda items for UJCC meetings include course developments, lecture
arrangements, library provision, and IT. The Department will look to UJCC stu-
dent members for comments and suggestions which may bring beneficial
changes. The UJCC is also the forum in which you should raise any matters of
concern to you relating to the organisation, content, and delivery of the course.

The Politics UJCC comprises the Director of Undergraduate Studies, the Under-
graduate Studies Coordinator or Academic Administrator, and an undergradu-
ate representative from each college. Politics Canvas has a page with the com-
mittee membership, meeting times and further information.

The Economics UJCC has several Department members, including the Director
of Undergraduate Studies, and a student member from each College. The stu-
dent representatives must be reading for one of the Honour Schools involving
Economics. The UJCC meets once per term. It elects one of its student repres-
entatives as chair. Economics Canvas has a page with the meeting times and
further information.

The Philosophy UJCC is currently being reinstated. You will be contacted once it
is operational to invite your participation. Until then you can contact the Dir-
ector of Undergraduate Studies or the Undergraduate Studies Administrator to
raise any issues of concern.

If you need further information about one of the UJCCs please approach the un-
dergraduate administrator for the Department.

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6.2 Division and University representation
Student representatives sitting on the Divisional Board are selected through a
process organised by the Oxford University Student Union (Oxford SU). Details
can be found on the SU website www.oxfordsu.org along with information about
student representation at the University level.

6.3 Opportunities to provide evaluation and feedback

The feedback which you provide to lecturers and tutors is valued and is taken
seriously. It has an important contribution toward maintaining the quality of the
education you receive at Oxford.

You will be asked to comment on each set of lectures via questionnaires, which
will be distributed either electronically or as paper copies. Paper copies will be
handed out by the lecturer towards the middle or end of his or her set of lec-
tures, and further copies will be available from the Department. Completed
forms may either be given to the lecturer at the end of the lecture or sent to the
Department office. The results of the questionnaire are seen by the lecturer and
also by the Director of Undergraduate Studies or Teaching/Lectures Committee
or panel. The DUS and/or committee or panel are responsible for ensuring that
any problems reported through the questionnaires are addressed. These are re-
ported on to the UJCC and the Department.

You will also be asked to provide feedback on tutorial teaching to your College,
and although Colleges may differ in the exact ways in which they provide for
this, in general they will ask your views on the amount and quality of teaching,
reading materials, timeliness of comments on essays and tutorial performance,
and feedback on your progress on the course. Colleges also arrange for you to
hear or read reports written by your tutor and to make comments on them, and
also for you to submit your own self-assessment of your progress to date and
your academic goals.

Students on full-time and part-time matriculated courses are surveyed once per
year on all aspects of their course (learning, living, pastoral support, College)
through the Student Barometer. Previous results can be viewed by students,
staff and the general public at www.ox.ac.uk/students/life/feedback. Final year
undergraduate students are surveyed through the National Student Survey.
Results from previous NSS can be found at www.unistats.com. Results from the
NSS and the Student Barometer are monitored by the PPE Committee and the
Undergraduate Studies Committees in the three Departments.

7. Student life and support

7.1 Whom to contact for help

If illness, or other personal issues such as bereavement, seriously affect your
academic work, make sure that your tutors know this. Help may involve: excus-
ing you from tutorials for a while; sending you home; asking the University to
grant you dispensation from that term’s residence; or permitting you to go out
of residence for a number of terms, with consequent negotiations with your
funding body as appropriate. If illness or other issues have interfered with pre-
paration for a University examination, or have affected you during the exam it-
self, you can apply for alternative examination arrangements
(www.ox.ac.uk/students/academic/exams/arrangements) or make the examiners

Page 29 of 68
aware of the factors that have impacted your performance
(www.ox.ac.uk/students/academic/exams/guidance).

The University has a range of support and advice to help you manage your fin-
ances during your studies. Please see
www.ox.ac.uk/students/fees-funding/assistance for further information, includ-
ing on hardship funding for students who experience financial difficulties.

Every College has their own systems of academic and pastoral support for stu-
dents. Please refer to your College Handbook or website for more information
on who to contact and what support is available through your College.

Details of the wide range of sources of support available more widely in the Uni-
versity are available from the Oxford Students website
(www.ox.ac.uk/students/welfare), including in relation to mental and physical
health and disability.

7.2 Complaints and appeals

The University, the Divisions and the three Departments all hope that provision
made for students at all stages of their course of study will make the need for
complaints (about that provision) or appeals (against the outcomes of any form
of assessment) infrequent.

Where such a need arises, an informal discussion with the person immediately
responsible for the issue that you wish to complain about (and who may not be
one of the individuals identified below) is often the simplest way to achieve a
satisfactory resolution.

Many sources of advice are available from Colleges, Faculties/Departments and

bodies like the Counselling Service or the Oxford SU Student Advice Service,
which have extensive experience in advising students. You may wish to take ad-
vice from one of these sources before pursuing your complaint.

General areas of concern about provision affecting students as a whole should

be raised through Joint Consultative Committees or via student representation
on the Faculty/Department’s committees.

Complaints

If your concern or complaint relates to teaching or other provision made by the

Faculty/Department, then you should raise it with Director of Undergraduate
Studies or with the Director of Graduate Studies as appropriate. If your concern
relates to the course as a whole, rather than to teaching or provision made by
one of the Departments/Faculties, you should raise it with the Chair of the PPE
Committee. Complaints about departmental facilities should be made to the De-
partmental Administrator. If you feel unable to approach one of those individu-
als, you may contact the Head of Department/Faculty. The officer concerned
will attempt to resolve your concern/complaint informally. The names and con-
tact details of these officers can be found on Department websites, or by con-
tacting the relevant undergraduate administrator.

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If you are dissatisfied with the outcome, you may take your concern further by
making a formal complaint to the Proctors under the University Student Com-
plaints Procedure (https://www.ox.ac.uk/students/academic/complaints).

If your concern or complaint relates to teaching or other provision made by

your College, you should raise it either with your tutor or with one of the Col-
lege officers, Senior Tutor, Tutor for Graduates (as appropriate). Your College
will also be able to explain how to take your complaint further if you are dissat-
isfied with the outcome of its consideration.

Academic appeals

An academic appeal is an appeal against the decision of an academic body (e.g.

boards of examiners, transfer and confirmation decisions etc.), on grounds such
as procedural error or evidence of bias. There is no right of appeal against aca-
demic judgement.

If you have any concerns about your assessment process or outcome it is advis-
able to discuss these first with your subject or College tutor, Senior Tutor,
course director, director of studies, supervisor or College or departmental ad-
ministrator as appropriate. They will be able to explain the assessment process
that was undertaken and may be able to address your concerns. Queries must
not be raised directly with the examiners.

If you still have concerns you can make a formal appeal to the Proctors who will
consider appeals under the University Academic Appeals Procedure
(https://www.ox.ac.uk/students/academic/complaints).

7.3 Policies and regulations

The University has a wide range of policies and regulations that apply to stu-
dents. These are easily accessible through the A-Z of University regulations,
codes of conduct and policies available on the Oxford Students website
www.ox.ac.uk/students/academic/regulations/a-z.

7.4 Equality and diversity

“The University of Oxford is committed to fostering an inclusive culture which
promotes equality, values diversity and maintains a working, learning and social
environment in which the rights and dignity of all its staff and students are re-
spected. We recognise that the broad range of experiences that a diverse staff
and student body brings strengthens our research and enhances our teaching,
and that in order for Oxford to remain a world-leading institution we must con-
tinue to provide a diverse, inclusive, fair and open environment that allows
everyone to grow and flourish.”
– University of Oxford Equality Policy (https://edu.web.ox.ac.uk/equality-policy)

As a member of the University you contribute towards making it an inclusive en-

vironment and we ask that you treat other members of the University com-
munity with respect, courtesy and consideration.

The Equality and Diversity Unit works with all parts of the collegiate University
to develop and promote an understanding of equality and diversity and ensure
that this is reflected in all its processes. The Unit also supports the University in

Page 31 of 68
meeting the legal requirements of the Equality Act 2010, including eliminating
unlawful discrimination, promoting equality of opportunity and fostering good
relations between people with and without the ‘protected characteristics’ of
age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy
and maternity, race, religion and/or belief, sex and sexual orientation. Visit our
website for further details or contact us directly for advice:
www.edu.web.ox.ac.uk or equality@admin.ox.ac.uk.

The Equality and Diversity Unit also supports a broad network of harassment
advisors in Departments/Faculties and Colleges and a central Harassment Ad-
visory Service. For more information on the University’s Harassment and Bully-
ing policy and the support available for students visit edu.web.ox.ac.uk/harass-
ment-advice.

There are a range of faith societies, belief groups, and religious centres within
Oxford University that are open to students. For more information visit edu.ad-
min.ox.ac.uk/religion-and-belief-0.

Student Welfare and Support Services

The Disability Advisory Service (DAS) can provide information, advice and guid-
ance on the way in which a particular disability may impact on your student ex-
perience at the University and assist with organising disability-related study
support. For more information visit www.ox.ac.uk/students/shw/das.

The Counselling Service is here to help you address personal or emotional prob-
lems that get in the way of having a good experience at Oxford and realising
your full academic and personal potential. They offer a free and confidential ser-
vice. For more information visit www.ox.ac.uk/students/shw/counselling.

A range of services led by students are available to help provide support to

other students, including the peer supporter network, the Oxford SU’s Student
Advice Service and Nightline. For more information visit
www.ox.ac.uk/students/shw/peer.

Oxford SU also runs a series of campaigns to raise awareness and promote

causes that matter to students. For full details, visit
www.oxfordsu.org/communities/campaigns/.

There is a wide range of student clubs and societies to get involved in. For more
details visit: www.ox.ac.uk/students/life/clubs.

The Department of Economics is committed to improving diversity in the De-

partment of Economics and the Economics profession. For more information on
the Department's work in this area please visit this site:
https://www.economics.ox.ac.uk/embracing-diversity#/ .

7.5 Freedom of speech

Free speech is the lifeblood of a university. It enables the pursuit of knowledge.
It helps us approach truth. It allows students, teachers and researchers to be-
come better acquainted with the variety of beliefs, theories and opinions in the
world. Recognising the vital importance of free expression for the life of the
mind, a university may make rules concerning the conduct of debate but should
never prevent speech that is lawful.

Page 32 of 68
Inevitably, this will mean that members of the University are confronted with
views that some find unsettling, extreme or offensive. The University must
therefore foster freedom of expression within a framework of robust civility. Not
all theories deserve equal respect. A university values expertise and intellectual
achievement as well as openness. But, within the bounds set by law, all voices
or views which any member of our community considers relevant should be
given the chance of a hearing. Wherever possible, they should also be exposed
to evidence, questioning and argument. As an integral part of this commitment
to freedom of expression, we will take steps to ensure that all such exchanges
happen peacefully. With appropriate regulation of the time, place and manner
of events, neither speakers nor listeners should have any reasonable grounds to
feel intimidated or censored.

It is this understanding of the central importance and specific roles of free

speech in a university that underlies the detailed procedures of the University
of Oxford.

https://compliance.admin.ox.ac.uk/prevent/freedom-of-speech

8. Facilities

8.1 Libraries and museums

A list of museums that you may wish to visit while you are here is at
www.ox.ac.uk/visitors/visiting-oxford/visiting-museums-libraries-places. A com-
prehensive list of all libraries associated with the University of Oxford, their loc-
ations, subject areas, and opening hours is at www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/subjects-
and-libraries/libraries. Your blue University Card provides you with access to
the libraries. If your card is lost, stolen, or damaged, inform your College. They
will advise you on how to replace it.

8.2 IT
A wide range of IT facilities and training is available to Oxford students. For fur-
ther information see www.ox.ac.uk/students/life/it.

9. The Future

9.1 Taking your Degree

University of Oxford degrees are conferred at degree ceremonies, held in the
Sheldonian Theatre. You may graduate in person or in absence, either straight
after you've finished your degree, or many years later. If you choose to graduate
in person, you will be presented by your College, hall or society. Once your de-
gree has been conferred at a degree ceremony either in person or in absentia,
you will automatically receive a degree certificate. This will be either presented
to you by your College on the day of the graduation ceremony, or posted to you
after the event. You will automatically receive one paper copy of your final tran-
script (an official summary of your academic performance, including final
marks) upon completing your degree. This will be sent to the 'home address' lis-
ted in Student Self Service. Further information on your degree ceremony, cer-
tificate, transcript, and preparing to leave the University is at
www.ox.ac.uk/students/graduation.

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9.2 Proceeding to Further Study
If you are considering graduate study, the beginning of your final year is the
latest time by which you should research the various degrees on offer and
choose the ones that appeal to you. At that time, you might also discuss the op-
tions with your tutors. Most applications for graduate study, particularly to in-
stitutions in the northern hemisphere, must be submitted by December or Janu-
ary. Deadlines are often strictly enforced and the competition for a place on a
particular degree may be intensive. Your initiatives are likely to fail if they are
not completed in good time. Further advice on proceeding from undergraduate
to postgraduate study is at www.ox.ac.uk/students/graduation/continuing.

Every year a number of PPE finalists apply to continue their studies at Oxford.
You will be able to find a comprehensive list of courses and application dead-
lines at www.ox.ac.uk/graduate. Graduate students must secure their own fund-
ing to cover fees and maintenance, both of which can be costly. The closing
dates for some fellowships and scholarships, especially those overseas, may fall
in advance of the application deadline for your chosen degree programme, and
the competition for funding can also be fierce, so it is important to research the
deadlines for these opportunities and to plan your applications in a timely man-
ner. Further information and advice is at www.ox.ac.uk/graduate/fees-and-
funding.

Page 34 of 68
Appendix A: Outline of Papers
For your second and third years you may continue with all three disciplines or
pursue only two of them. This is a matter you should discuss with your College
tutors. There are various requirements to take particular papers and restric-
tions on the option papers you can take. These are listed in detail in the Examin-
ation Regulations. Course outlines, teaching arrangements, and reading lists
are on the Canvas sites for each Department, which you can access via the PPE
Canvas site at https://canvas.ox.ac.uk/courses/71230.

What follows here is an outline of what the papers in each of the three branches
involve. You may well find it helpful to look at recent examination papers on
OXAM to build up a picture of these papers. If you find the examination ques-
tions interesting you are more likely to find working on the paper engaging.

This outline information is subject to change: Economics options will be final-

ised at the options fair in Hilary Term of your second year; Politics and Philo-
sophy special subjects and Politics supervised dissertations will be finalised and
confirmed by email during your second year. You can only take one special sub-
ject within Philosophy, but you can take more than one special subject in differ-
ent disciplines (for example, you can take one Philosophy special subject and
one Politics special subject). You can take more than one special subject within
both Politics and Economics. Contact the relevant undergraduate administrator
if you have any questions about the papers on offer.

A.1 Philosophy.............................................................................................. 38
Formal requirements................................................................................ 38
Normal Prerequisites (indicated by NP)...................................................38
101. Early Modern Philosophy..............................................................39
102. Knowledge and Reality..................................................................39
103. Ethics............................................................................................. 40
104. Philosophy of Mind (NP 101 or 102).............................................40
106. Philosophy of Science and Social Science (NP 101 or 102)..........41
107. Philosophy of Religion (NP 101 or 102)........................................42
108. The Philosophy of Logic and Language (NP Prelims/Mods Logic) 42
109. Aesthetics (NP 101 or 102 or 103 or 104 or 115).........................43
110. Medieval Philosophy: Aquinas.......................................................43
111. Medieval Philosophy: Duns Scotus and Ockham (NP 101 or 108) 44
112. The Philosophy of Kant (NP 101)..................................................45
113. Post-Kantian Philosophy (NP 101 or 102 or 103 or 112)..............45
114. Theory of Politics (NP 103)...........................................................46
115. Plato: Republic.............................................................................. 46
116. Aristotle: Nicomachean Ethics......................................................47
120. Intermediate Philosophy of Physics...............................................47
122. Philosophy of Mathematics (NP 101 or 102 or 108 or 117 or 119 or
120)....................................................................................................... 47
124. Philosophy of Science (NP 101 or 102).........................................48
125. Philosophy of Cognitive Science (NP 102 or 104).........................48
127. Philosophical Logic........................................................................49
128. Practical Ethics............................................................................. 50
129. The Philosophy of Wittgenstein.....................................................51

Page 35 of 68
 137. Plato on Knowledge, Language, and Reality in the Theaetetus and
Sophist................................................................................................... 51
138. Aristotle on Nature, Life and Mind...............................................51
139. Knowledge and Scepticism in Hellenistic Philosophy (Sextus Em-
piricus).................................................................................................. 52
150. Jurisprudence................................................................................ 53
198. Special subjects.............................................................................53
199. Thesis............................................................................................ 53
A.2 Politics.................................................................................................... 54
A. Core subjects........................................................................................ 54
201. Comparative Government.............................................................54
202. British Politics and Government Since 1900.................................55
203. Theory of Politics...........................................................................55
214. International Relations..................................................................56
220. Political Sociology.........................................................................56
B. Further Subjects................................................................................... 57
204. Modern British Government and Politics......................................57
205. Government and Politics of the United States..............................57
206. Politics in Europe..........................................................................58
207. Politics in Russia and the Former Soviet Union............................58
208. Politics in Sub-Saharan Africa.......................................................58
209. Politics in Latin America...............................................................59
210. Politics in South Asia.....................................................................59
211. Politics in the Middle East.............................................................60
212. International Relations in the Era of the Two World Wars...........60
213. International Relations in the Era of the Cold War.......................60
215. Political Thought: Plato to Rousseau.............................................61
216. Political Thought: Bentham to Weber...........................................61
217. Marx and Marxism........................................................................62
218. Sociological Theory.......................................................................62
222. Labour Economics and Inequality.................................................63
224. Social Policy.................................................................................. 63
225. Comparative Demographic Systems.............................................63
227. Politics in China.............................................................................64
228. The Politics of the European Union...............................................64
229. Advanced Paper in Theories of Justice..........................................64
230. Comparative Political Economy.....................................................65
297. Special Subject in Politics.............................................................66
297. International Security and Conflict (Special Subject in Politics). .67
298. Supervised dissertation in Politics................................................67
299. Thesis in Politics............................................................................67
A.3 Economics............................................................................................... 67
300. Quantitative Economics (FHS1)....................................................68
301. Macroeconomics (FHS1)...............................................................68
302. Microeconomics (FHS1)................................................................68
304. Money and Banking (FHS2)..........................................................69
310. Economics of Developing Countries (FHS2).................................69
311. Development of the World Economy since 1800 (FHS1)..............69
314. Econometrics (FHS2)....................................................................69
319. Game Theory (FHS2).....................................................................70
398. Special Subjects in Economics (FHS2).........................................70
399. Thesis (FHS2)................................................................................ 70

Page 36 of 68
A.1 Philosophy

Formal requirements
Students must take two core subjects: 103 (Ethics), and one of papers 101
(Early Modern Philosophy), 102 (Knowledge and Reality), 115 (Plato: Republic),
or 116 (Aristotle: Nicomachean Ethics). In your choice of further subjects, you
should be guided by the Normal Prerequisites (see below). You may only take
199 (Philosophy Thesis) if you are taking at least three other Philosophy sub-
jects. You may take only one from 106 (Philosophy of Science and of Social Sci-
ence) and 124 (Philosophy of Science). You may not take both of 110 (Aquinas)
and 111 (Duns Scotus and Ockham). You may not take both of 150 (Jurispru-
dence) and 114/203 (Theory of Politics).

Bi-partite Politics and Economics students may take any one Philosophy subject
(except 199, Thesis in Philosophy), but should be guided by the Normal Pre-
requisites.

The official syllabuses for subjects may be found in the Examination Regula-
tions, and it is these which form the framework within which exam questions on
a paper must be set. But to help your choices, see below brief, informal descrip-
tions of the subjects, followed in some cases by a suggested introductory read-
ing. You should always consult your tutor about your choice of options, noting
also the advice in the next paragraph.

Normal Prerequisites (indicated by NP)

In what follows, you will find that some subjects are named as ‘normal prerequi-
sites’ for the study of others. For instance: 112 The Philosophy of Kant (NP 101)
means that those studying 112, Kant, would either normally be expected to have
studied 101 (Early Modern Philosophy), or to have undertaken relevant back-
ground reading in the History of Philosophy, as suggested by their tutor. In
some cases, alternatives are given as the prerequisite, e.g. 107 Philosophy of
Religion (NP 101 or 102) means that those studying 107, Philosophy of Religion,
would normally be expected either to have studied 101 (History of Philosophy)
or 102 (Knowledge and Reality), or to have undertaken relevant preparatory
work in one or other of those areas, as suggested by their tutor. In cases of
doubt students are encouraged to consult their tutors and establish with them,
in their individual circumstances, what the best options are.

101. Early Modern Philosophy

The purpose of this subject is to enable you to gain a critical understanding of
some of the metaphysical and epistemological ideas of some of the most import-
ant philosophers of the early modern period, between the 1630s and the 1780s.

This period saw a great flowering of philosophy in Europe. Descartes, Spinoza

and Leibniz, often collectively referred to as ‘the rationalists’, placed the new
‘corpuscularian’ science within grand metaphysical systems which certified our
God-given capacity to reason our way to the laws of nature (as well as to many
other, often astonishing conclusions about the world). Locke wrote in a differ-
ent, empiricist tradition. He argued that, since our concepts all ultimately de-
rive from experience, our knowledge is necessarily limited.

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Berkeley and Hume developed this empiricism in the direction of a kind of ideal-
ism, according to which the world studied by science is in some sense mind-de-
pendent and mind-constructed. (Kant subsequently sought to arbitrate between
the rationalists and the empiricists, by rooting out some assumptions common
to them and trying thereby to salvage and to reconcile some of their apparently
irreconcilable insights.) Reading the primary texts is of great importance.

The examination paper is divided into two sections and students are required to
answer at least one question from Section A (Descartes, Spinoza, Leibniz) and
at least one from Section B (Locke, Berkeley, Hume). NB: previously this paper
was known as ‘History of Philosophy from Descartes to Kant’ and further al-
lowed study of Kant (who remains available within paper 112).

Reading
 R.S. Woolhouse, The Empiricists
 J. Cottingham, The Rationalists (both O.U.P. Opus series)

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102. Knowledge and Reality

The purpose of this subject is to enable you to examine some central questions
about the nature of the world and the extent to which we can have knowledge of
it.

In considering knowledge you will examine whether it is possible to attain

knowledge of what the world is really like. Is our knowledge of the world neces-
sarily limited to what we can observe to be the case? Indeed, are even our ob-
servational beliefs about the world around us justified? Can we have knowledge
of what will happen based on what has happened? Is our understanding of the
world necessarily limited to what we can prove to be the case? Or can we un-
derstand claims about the remote past or distant future which we cannot in
principle prove to be true?

In considering reality you will focus on questions such as the following. Does
the world really contain the three-dimensional objects and their properties –
such as red buses or black horses – which we appear to encounter in everyday
life? Or is it made up rather of the somewhat different entities studied by sci-
ence, such as colourless atoms or four-dimensional space-time worms? What is
the relation between the common-sense picture of the world and that provided
by contemporary science? Is it correct to think of the objects and their proper-
ties that make up the world as being what they are independently of our pre-
ferred ways of dividing up reality? These issues are discussed with reference to
a variety of specific questions such as 'What is time?', 'What is the nature of
causation?', and 'What are substances?' There is an opportunity in this subject
to study such topics as reference, truth and definition, but candidates taking
102 and 108 should avoid repetition of material across examinations. However,
if your answers are well-crafted and relevant to the specific question set, this is
unlikely to be a problem.

Reading
 Jonathan Dancy, Introduction to Contemporary Epistemology (Oxford),
chs. 1-3

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  Michael J. Loux, Metaphysics (Routledge)

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103. Ethics
The purpose of this subject is to enable you to come to grips with some ques-
tions which exercise many people, philosophers and non-philosophers alike.
How should we decide what is best to do, and how best to lead our lives? Are
our value judgments on these and other matters objective or do they merely re-
flect our subjective preferences and viewpoints? Are we in fact free to make
these choices, or have our decisions already been determined by antecedent
features of our environment and genetic endowment? In considering these is-
sues you will examine a variety of ethical concepts, such as those of justice,
rights, equality, virtue, and happiness, which are widely used in moral and polit-
ical argument. There is also opportunity to discuss some applied ethical issues.
Knowledge of major historical thinkers, e.g. Aristotle and Hume and Kant, will
be encouraged, but not required in the examination.

Reading
 John Mackie, Ethics (Penguin), chs. 1-2

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104. Philosophy of Mind (NP 101 or 102)

The purpose of this subject is to enable you to examine a variety of questions
about the nature of persons and their psychological states, including such gen-
eral questions as: what is the relation between persons and their minds? Could
robots or automata be persons? What is the relation between our minds and our
brains? If we understood everything about the brain, would we understand
everything about consciousness and rational thought? If not, why not? Several
of these issues focus on the relation between our common sense understanding
of ourselves and others, and the view of the mind developed in scientific psycho-
logy and neuroscience. Are the two accounts compatible? Should one be re-
garded as better than the other? Should our common sense understanding of
the mind be jettisoned in favour of the scientific picture? Or does the latter
leave out something essential to a proper understanding of ourselves and oth-
ers? Other more specific questions concern memory, thought, belief, emotion,
perception, and action.

Reading
 Paul Churchland, Matter and Consciousness (Cambridge) chs. 1-3

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106. Philosophy of Science and Social Science (NP 101 or 102)

The purpose of this subject is to enable you to study topics in the philosophy of
science in general, and topics in the philosophy of social science in particular.

In the broadest sense the philosophy of science is concerned with the theory of
knowledge and with associated questions in metaphysics. What is distinctive
about the field is its focus on ‘scientific’ knowledge, and the metaphysical ques-
tions – concerning space, time, causation, probability, possibility, necessity,
realism and idealism – prompted by such a focus. This branch of philosophy is

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therefore concerned with distinctive traits of science: testability, objectivity, sci-
entific explanation, and the nature of scientific theories. Whether economics,
sociology, and political science are ‘really’ sciences is a question that lay people
as well as philosophers have often asked. The technology spawned by the phys-
ical sciences is more impressive than that based on the social sciences: bridges
do not collapse and aeroplanes do not fall from the sky, but no government can
reliably control crime, divorce, or unemployment, or make its citizens happy at
will. Human behaviour often seems less predictable, and less explicable than
that of inanimate nature and non-human animals, even though most of us be-
lieve that we know what we are doing and why. So, philosophers of social sci-
ence have asked whether human action is to be explained causally or non-caus-
ally, whether predictions are self-refuting, whether we can only explain beha-
viour that is in some sense rational – and if so, what that sense is. Other central
issues include social relativism, the role of ideology, value-neutrality, and the
relationship between the particular social sciences, in particular whether eco-
nomics provides a model for other social science. Finally, some critics have
asked whether a technological view of 'social control' does not threaten demo-
cratic politics as usually understood.

Please note: The Faculty of Philosophy permits PPE students taking this paper
to specialise in the Philosophy of Social Science. That is, students must answer
at least one question on Philosophy of Social Science in the exam, but can an-
swer up to three. This is to allow you to play to your strengths and experience
as a student not just of Philosophy but also of Politics and Economics. This pa-
per cannot be combined with paper 124 (Philosophy of Science).

Reading
 Martin Hollis, The Philosophy of Social Science (Cambridge); Alexander
Rosenberg, Philosophy of Social Science (Westview).

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107. Philosophy of Religion (NP 101 or 102)

The purpose of this subject is to enable you to examine claims about the exist-
ence of God and God's relationship to the world. What, if anything, is meant by
them? Could they be true? What justification, if any, can or needs to be provided
for them? The paper is concerned primarily with the claims of Western religions
(Christianity, Judaism and Islam), and with the central claim of those religions,
that there is a God. God is said to be omnipresent, omnipotent, omniscient, per-
fectly good, a source of moral obligation and so on. But what does it mean to
say that God has these properties, and are they consistent with each other?
Could God change the past, or choose to do evil? Does it make sense to say that
God is outside time? You will have the opportunity to study arguments for the
existence of God – for example, the teleological argument from the fact that the
Universe is governed by scientific laws, and the argument from people's reli-
gious experiences. Other issues are whether the fact of pain and suffering
counts strongly, or even conclusively, against the existence of God, whether
there could be evidence for miracles, whether it could be shown that prayer
‘works’, whether there could be life after death, and what philosophical prob-
lems are raised by the existence of different religions. There may also be an op-
tional question in the exam paper about some specifically Christian doctrine –
does it make sense to say that the life and death of Jesus atoned for the sins of
the world, and could one know this? There is abundant scope for deploying all

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the knowledge and techniques which you have acquired in other areas of philo-
sophy. Among the major philosophers whose contributions to the philosophy of
religion you will need to study are Aquinas, Hume and Kant.

Reading
 M. Peterson and other authors, Reason and Religious Belief, An Introduc-
tion to the Philosophy of Religion (Oxford University Press)

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108. The Philosophy of Logic and Language (NP Prelims/Mods Logic)

The purpose of this subject is to enable you to examine some fundamental ques-
tions relating to reasoning and language. The philosophy of logic is not itself a
symbolic or mathematical subject, but examines concepts of interest to the logi-
cian. If you want to know the answer to the question 'What is truth?’ this is a
subject for you. Central also are questions about the status of basic logical laws
and the nature of logical necessity. What, if anything, makes it true that nothing
can be at the same time both green and not green all over? Is that necessity the
result of our conventions or stipulations, or the reflection of how things have to
be independently of us? Philosophy of language is closely related. It covers the
very general question how language can describe reality at all: what makes our
sentences meaningful and, on occasion, true? How do parts of our language
refer to objects in the world? What is involved in understanding speech (or the
written word)? You may also investigate more specific issues concerning the
correct analysis of particular linguistic expressions such as names, descriptions,
pronouns, or adverbs, and aspects of linguistics and grammatical theory. Can-
didates taking 102 (Knowledge and Reality) as well as 108 should avoid repeti-
tion of material across examinations. However, if your answers are well-crafted
and relevant to the specific question set, this is unlikely to be a problem.

Reading
 Mark Sainsbury, 'Philosophical Logic', in Philosophy, a Guide through the
Subject, edited by A. C. Grayling (Oxford).

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109. Aesthetics (NP 101 or 102 or 103 or 104 or 115)

The purpose of this subject is to enable you to study a number of questions
about the nature and value of beauty and of the arts. For example, do we enjoy
sights and sounds because they are beautiful, or are they beautiful because we
enjoy them? Does the enjoyment of beauty involve a particular sort of experi-
ence, and if so, how should we define it and what psychological capacities does
it presuppose? Is a work of art a physical object, an abstract object, or what?
Does the value of a work of art depend only upon its long- or short-term effects
on our minds or characters? If not, what sorts of reasons can we give for admir-
ing a work of art? Do reasons for admiring paintings, pieces of music and poems
have enough in common with one another, and little enough in common with
reasons for admiring other kinds of things, to support the idea that there is a
distinctive sort of value which good art of every sort, and only art, possesses?
As well as general questions such as these ones, the subject also addresses
questions raised by particular art forms. For example, what is the difference
between a picture and a description in words? Can fiction embody truths about
its subject-matter? How does music express emotions? All of these questions,

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and others, are addressed directly, and also by examining classic texts, includ-
ing Plato's Republic, Aristotle's Poetics, Hume's essay ‘Of the Standard of Taste’
and Kant's Critique of Aesthetic Judgement.

Reading
 Malcolm Budd, Values of Art (Penguin)

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110. Medieval Philosophy: Aquinas

The purpose of this subject is to introduce you to many of Aquinas’s central
ideas and arguments on a wide variety of theological and philosophical topics.
These are studied in translation rather than in the Latin original, though a
glance at Aquinas's remarkably readable Latin can often be useful. Candidates
are encouraged to carefully read and analyse Aquinas’s texts and to focus on
the philosophical questions they raise.

The subject will be studied in one of two sets of texts (the fathers of the English
Dominican Province edition, 1911, rev. 1920):
 Aquinas, Summa Theologica, Ia, 2-11, 75-89, which will cover the follow-
ing topics: arguments for the existence of God; God’s essence and exist-
ence; God and goodness; God and time; the soul in relation to the body;
individual intellects; perception and knowledge; free will; the soul and
knowledge.
 Aquinas, Summa Theologica, Ia IIae 1-10, 90-97, which will cover the fol-
lowing topics: natural and supernatural happiness; voluntary action; the
will; natural and universal law; human law.

Reading
 Anthony Kenny, Aquinas
 F.C. Copleston, Aquinas
 B. Davies, The Thought of Thomas Aquinas (O.U.P.)

This paper will include an optional question containing passages for comment.
This paper may not be combined with paper 111 (Duns Scotus and Ockham). Pa-
per 116 (Aristotle: Nicomachean Ethics) is a good background for this paper.

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111. Medieval Philosophy: Duns Scotus and Ockham (NP 101 or 108)
Duns Scotus and Ockham are, together with Aquinas, the most significant and
influential thinkers of the Middle Ages. The purpose of this subject is to make
you familiar with some fundamental aspects of their theological and philosoph-
ical thought. As to Scotus, these include the proof of the existence and of the
unicity of God (the most sophisticated one in the Middle Ages) and the issues
about causality that it raises, the theory of the existence of concepts common to
God and creatures (the univocity theory of religious language), the discussion
about the immateriality and the immortality of the human soul, and the reply to
scepticism. As to Ockham, they include nominalism about universals and the re-
futation of realism (including the realism of Duns Scotus), some issues in logic
and especially the theory of ‘supposition’ and its application in the debate about
universals, the theory of intellectual knowledge of singulars and the question of
whether we can have evidence about contingent properties of singulars, the

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nature of efficient causality and the problem of whether we can prove the exist-
ence of a first efficient cause. These are studied in translation rather than in the
Latin original, though a glance at the Latin can often be useful. Candidates are
encouraged to carefully read and analyse Scotus’s and Ockham’s texts and to
focus on the philosophical questions they raise.

Texts
 Scotus: Philosophical Writings, tr. Wolter (Hackett), chapters II-IV, pp.
13-95 (man’s natural knowledge of God; the existence of God; the unicity
of God); Five texts on the Mediaeval Problem of Universals, tr. Spade
(Hackett), pp. 57-113 (universals, individuation).
 Ockham: Philosophical Writings, tr. Boehner (Hackett), pp. 18-27 (intuit-
ive and abstractive cognition); pp. 97-126 (the possibility of natural theo-
logy, the existence of God); Five texts on the Mediaeval Problem of Uni-
versals, tr. Spade (Hackett), pp. 114-231 (universals).
 R. Cross, Duns Scotus; M. McCord Adams, William Ockham, vol. 1.

This paper may not be combined with paper 110 (Aquinas).

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112. The Philosophy of Kant (NP 101)

The purpose of this paper is to enable you to make a critical study of some of
the ideas of one of the greatest of all philosophers.

Immanuel Kant lived from 1724 to 1804. He published the Critique of Pure
Reason in 1781, and the Groundwork of the Metaphysic of Morals in 1785. The
'Critique' is his greatest work and, without question, the most influential work
of modern philosophy. It is a difficult but enormously rewarding work. This is
largely because Kant, perhaps uniquely, combines in the highest measure the
cautious qualities of care, rigour and tenacity with the bolder quality of philo-
sophical imagination. Its concern is to give an account of human knowledge that
will steer a path between the dogmatism of traditional metaphysics and the
scepticism that, Kant believes, is the inevitable result of the empiricist criticism
of metaphysics. Kant's approach, he claims in a famous metaphor, amounts to a
‘Copernican revolution’ in philosophy. Instead of looking at human knowledge
by starting from what is known, we should start from ourselves as knowing sub-
jects and ask how the world must be for us to have the kind of knowledge and
experience that we have. Kant thinks that his Copernican revolution also en-
ables him to reconcile traditional Christian morality and modern science, in the
face of their apparently irreconcilable demands (in the one case, that we should
be free agents, and in the other case, that the world should be governed by in-
exorable mechanical laws). In the ‘Groundwork’ Kant develops his very distinct-
ive and highly influential moral philosophy. He argues that morality is grounded
in reason. What we ought to do is what we would do if we acted in a way that
was purely rational. To act in a way that is purely rational is to act in accord-
ance with the famous ‘categorical imperative’, which Kant expresses as follows:
‘Act only on that maxim through which you can at the same time will that it
should become a universal law’.

Reading
 Critique of Pure Reason, P. Guyer and A. Wood (CUP)

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  Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals, trans. M. Gregor (CUP)
 Roger Scruton, Kant

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113. Post-Kantian Philosophy (NP 101 or 102 or 103 or 112)

Many of the questions raised by German and French philosophers of the 19th
and early 20th centuries were thought to arise directly out of Kant's metaphys-
ics, epistemology and ethics. Hence the title of this subject, the purpose of
which is to enable you to explore some of the developments of (and departures
from) Kantian themes in the work of Hegel, Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, Husserl,
Heidegger, Sartre and Merleau-Ponty. Students typically focus their study on
only two chosen authors.

Hegel and Schopenhauer delineate global, metaphysical systems out of which

each develops his own distinctive vision of ethical and (especially in the case of
Hegel) political life. Nietzsche's writings less obviously constitute a ‘system’,
but they too develop certain ethical and existential implications of our epistemo-
logical and metaphysical commitments. Husserl will interest those pupils attrac-
ted to problems in ontology and epistemology such as feature in the Cartesian
tradition; his work also serves to introduce one to phenomenology, the philo-
sophical method later developed and refined by Heidegger, Sartre and Merleau-
Ponty.

In Heidegger and Sartre, that method is brought to bear on such fundamental

aspects of human existence as authenticity, social understanding, bad faith, art
and freedom. Merleau-Ponty (who trained as a psychologist) presents a novel
and important account of the genesis of perception, cognition and feeling, and
relates these to themes in aesthetics and political philosophy. While this is very
much a text-based paper, many of the questions addressed are directly relevant
to contemporary treatments of problems in epistemology and metaphysics, in
aesthetics, political theory and the philosophy of mind.

Reading
 Robert C. Solomon, Continental Philosophy since 1750: The Rise and Fall
of the Self (O.U.P.)

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114. Theory of Politics (NP 103)

Can also be taken as a Politics paper, see Politics entry 203. This paper cannot
be combined with paper 150 (Jurisprudence).

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115. Plato: Republic

Plato’s influence on the history of philosophy is enormous. The purpose of this
subject is to enable you to make a critical study of the Republic, which is per-
haps his most important and most influential work. Written as a dialogue
between Socrates and others including the outspoken immoralist
Thrasymachus, it is primarily concerned with questions of the nature of justice
and of what is the best kind of life to lead.

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These questions prompt discussions of the ideal city – which Karl Popper criti-
cised as totalitarian – of education and art, of the nature of knowledge, the The-
ory of Forms and the immortality of the soul. In studying it you will encounter a
work of philosophy of unusual literary merit, one in which philosophy is presen-
ted through debates, through analogies and images, including the famous simile
of the Cave, as well as rigorous argument, and you will encounter some of
Plato’s important contributions to ethics, political theory, metaphysics, philo-
sophy of mind and aesthetics. You are expected to study the work in detail; the
examination contains a question requiring comments on chosen passages, as
well as a choice of essay questions.

Reading
 Julia Annas, An Introduction to Plato's Republic, Introduction and ch. 1
 Set translation: Plato: Republic, trans. Grube, revised Reeve (Hackett)

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116. Aristotle: Nicomachean Ethics

The purpose of this subject is to give you the opportunity to make a critical
study of one of the most important works in the history of philosophy. Like Plato
in the Republic, Aristotle is concerned with the question, what is the best pos-
sible sort of life? Whereas this leads Plato to pose grand questions in metaphys-
ics and political theory, it leads Aristotle to offer close analyses of the structure
of human action, responsibility, the virtues, the nature of moral knowledge,
weakness of will, pleasure, friendship, and other related issues. Much of what
Aristotle has to say on these is ground-breaking, highly perceptive, and still of
importance in contemporary debate in ethics and moral psychology.

You are expected to study the work in detail; the examination contains a ques-
tion requiring comments on chosen passages, as well as a choice of essay ques-
tions.

Reading
 J. L. Ackrill, Aristotle the Philosopher, ch. 10
 Set translation: Aristotle: Nicomachean Ethics translated and with notes
by T.H. Irwin (Hackett) second edition

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120. Intermediate Philosophy of Physics

The purpose of this subject is to enable you to come to grips with conceptual
problems in special relativity and quantum mechanics. Only those with a sub-
stantial knowledge of physics should offer this subject, which is normally avail-
able only to candidates reading Physics and Philosophy.

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122. Philosophy of Mathematics (NP 101 or 102 or 108 or 117 or 119 or 120)
What is the relation of mathematical knowledge to other kinds of knowledge? Is
it of a special kind, concerning objects of a special kind? If so, what is the
nature of those objects and how do we come to know anything about them? If
not, how do we explain the seeming difference between proving a theorem in
mathematics and establishing something about the physical world? The purpose

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of this subject is to enable you to examine questions such as these. Understand-
ing the nature of mathematics has been important to many philosophers, includ-
ing Plato, Aristotle, and Kant, as a test or as an exemplar of their overall posi-
tion, and has also played a role in the development of mathematics at certain
points. While no specific knowledge of mathematics is required for study of this
subject, it will be helpful to have studied mathematics at A-level, or similar, and
to have done Logic in Prelims/ Mods.

Reading
 Stephen F. Barker, Philosophy of Mathematics (Prentice-Hall).

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124. Philosophy of Science (NP 101 or 102)

Philosophy of science is applied epistemology and applied metaphysics. It is the-
ory of scientific knowledge and scientific method, including elements in philo-
sophy of language, philosophy of mathematics, and metaphysics. It deals with
metaphysical questions – about space, time, causation, ontology, necessity,
truth – as they arise across the board in the special sciences, not just in physics.
Questions of method include questions of the theory-observation distinction,
testability, induction, theory confirmation, and scientific explanation. They also
include theory-change, whether inter-theoretic reduction, unification, or revolu-
tionary change. They are at once questions about scientific rationality, and con-
nect in turn with decision theory and the foundations of probability. They con-
nect also with metaphysics, particularly realism: theory-change, scepticism, fic-
tionalism, naturalism, the under-determination of theory by data, functionalism,
structuralism, are all critiques of realism.

The subject also includes the study of major historical schools in philosophy of
science. The most important of these is logical positivism (later logical empiri-
cism), that dominated the second and third quarters of the last century. In fact,
some of the most important current schools in philosophy of science are broadly
continuous with it, notably constructive empiricism and structural realism. The
syllabus for this subject contains that for Part A of 106 (Philosophy of Science
and Social Science). You cannot take both this paper and paper 106.

Reading
 Don Gillies, Philosophy of Science in the Twentieth Century (Blackwells)
 James Ladyman, Understanding Philosophy of Science (Routledge)

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125. Philosophy of Cognitive Science (NP 102 or 104)

This paper covers some of key questions about the nature of the mind dealt with
by a variety of cognitive scientific disciplines: experimental psychology, cognit-
ive neuroscience, linguistics and computational modelling of the mind. Studying
this paper will provide insight into the ways that contemporary scientific ad-
vances have improved our understanding of aspects of the mind that have long
been the focus of philosophical reflection. It will also introduce you to a range
of theoretical issues generated by current research in the behavioural and brain
sciences.

The core topics are:

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• Levels of description and explanation (e.g. personal vs. subpersonal, func-
tional vs. mechanistic, mind vs. brain)
• Cognitive architecture, modularity, homuncular functionalism
• Conceptual foundations of information processing: rules and algorithms,
tacit knowledge (e.g. of grammar), competence vs. performance
• Nature and format of representations: representationalism vs. behaviour-
ism, the computational theory of mind and language of thought, connec-
tionist alternatives
• The scientific study of consciousness, including the role of subjects’ re-
ports, non-verbal and direct measures; neural and computational correl-
ates of consciousness; and the problem of distinguishing phenomenal and
access consciousness empirically

The lectures will also cover philosophical issues raised by some areas of cutting-
edge research, such as: agency and its phenomenology; attention and neglect;
cognitive neuropsychology; concepts; delusions; dual-process theories; dynam-
ical systems, embodied and embedded cognition; evolutionary psychology and
massive modularity; forward models and predictive coding; imagery; implicit
processing (e.g. blindsight, prosopagnosia); innateness (e.g. concept nativism);
language processing and knowledge of language; perception and action (e.g.
dorsal vs. ventral visual systems); spatial representation; theory of mind /
mindreading; unity of consciousness. Lectures may also cover some historical
background (e.g. the cognitive revolution).

For those studying psychology, neuroscience, linguistics or computation, the pa-

per is a crucial bridge to philosophy. But you do not need to be studying a sci-
entific subject to take this paper, as long as you enjoy reading about scientific
discoveries about the mind and brain. The paper will be of great interest to
philosophers without a scientific background who want to understand the bene-
fits and limitations of bringing scientific data to bear on deep issues in the philo-
sophy of mind.

Recommended Pathways
 Although there are no absolute prerequisites, it would be beneficial to
study FHS 102 Knowledge and Reality and/or FHS 104 Philosophy of
Mind in conjunction with this paper. For those doing so it would be useful
to have begun work on one or both of those papers first.

Background Reading
 Martin Davies, ‘An approach to philosophy of cognitive science’, in F.
Jackson & M. Smith (eds.) The Oxford Handbook of Contemporary Philo-
sophy (Oxford: O.U.P., 2005). An expanded version is available online at
the Philosophy Faculty Canvas site, in the Undergraduate Section, under
‘Reading Lists’.
 Clark, A. (2001), Mindware: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Cognit-
ive Science (Oxford, OUP).

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127. Philosophical Logic

This paper is a second course in logic. It follows on from the first logic course
provided by The Logic Manual in Prelims.

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This course exposes you to logical systems that extend and enrich—or challenge
and deviate from—classical logic, the standard propositional and predicate logic
familiar from Prelims. Why depart from classical logic? Here’s one example:
classical logic has exactly two truth-values, true and false. How, then, are we to
deal with sentences like ‘Hamlet has blood type O’ which appear to defy classi-
fication with either? One systematic answer is provided by three-valued logics
which deviate from classical logic by permitting their sentences to be neither
truth nor false. Another example: classical logic only has truth-functional con-
nectives. How, then, are we to deal with connectives like ‘It must be the case
that…’ whose semantics cannot be captured with a truth-table? One systematic
answer is provided by modal logic, which extends classical logic by allowing its
connectives to be non-truth-functional.

The course has two principal aims. The first is to give you the technical compet-
ence to work with, and prove things about, a number of logical systems which
have come to play a central role across philosophy. These include non-classical
propositional logics, such as three-valued and intuitionistic systems, and exten-
sions of classical logic, such as propositional and predicate modal logic, as well
as systems for counterfactual conditionals and ‘two-dimensional’ logic. The
second principal aim is for you to come to appreciate the diverse philosophical
applications of these systems. The logic studied in this paper has important con-
nections to the metaphysics of time and existence, a priori knowledge, obliga-
tion, vagueness, and conditionals, amongst many other issues, and is often pre-
supposed in the contemporary literature on these topics. Competence with the
logic in this paper unlocks a wide range of fascinating work across philosophy.

The paper is studied in conjunction with a set textbook:

 Theodore Sider, Logic for Philosophy (Oxford University Press).

Like Prelims logic, the paper is mostly examined through problems not essays.
The exam will require you to apply logic and prove things about it, as well as to
critically discuss its philosophical applications. Consequently, the course calls
for some technical ability but is considerably less mathematically demanding
than the Logic and Set Theory paper (B1), studied in mathematics. (B1 is also
available to be studied by philosophy students, and in very exceptional cases it
is a suitable option for them. Note, however, that there is no special teaching
provision for philosophy students taking B1: they are taught in classes alongside
mathematicians and must be prepared for the possibility that knowledge of rel-
atively advanced mathematics will be presupposed. For the very great majority
of PPE students who wish to undertake further work in logic, paper 127 will be
the better option.)

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128. Practical Ethics

The purposes of this course are to help you to appreciate that many practical
moral issues are intellectually demanding, and also to enable you to evaluate
them in a critical and rigorous way. Issues that will be covered include war,
torture, punishment, the killing of animals, markets, organ sales, consent in
medicine and medical research, abortion, euthanasia, causing people to exist,
screening for disability, genetic enhancement, global poverty, racial and gender
equality, and so on. These and other related moral problems raise fundamental
issues of moral theory, such as whether the distinctions between doing and al-

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lowing, means and side effects, partiality and impartiality, and so on are relev-
ant to the permissibility of action. Considerable engagement with normative
ethics will therefore be unavoidable in this course, though practical moral is-
sues will not be addressed solely through the mechanical application of any of
the familiar moral theories, such as consequentialism. Indeed, one of the aims
of the course is to explore and question different methods of thinking about
practical ethics, such as reasoning by reference to moral theories, reasoning on
the basis of intuitions about particular cases, or some combination of the two.

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129. The Philosophy of Wittgenstein

This paper will cover the material included in the old paper 118 (The Later
Philosophy of Wittgenstein), as well as allowing the opportunity to study Wit-
tgenstein’s Tractatus, an important early work. Students interested in the old
paper 117 (Frege, Russell, and Wittgenstein) should consider taking this paper
if you would like to study the Tractatus. If you would like to study the philo-
sophy of language and mathematics, you should consider papers 108 (The Philo-
sophy of Logic and Language), and 122 (Philosophy of Mathematics). For more
information please refer to the Examination Regulations.

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137. Plato on Knowledge, Language, and Reality in the Theaetetus and Sophist
The course covers some of the most fascinating and rewarding arguments in
Plato’s late epistemology, philosophy of language, and metaphysics on the basis
of his dialogues Theaetetus and Sophist. Starting from the Theaetetus, Plato’s
dialogue about the nature of knowledge, it discusses the claim that knowledge
is perception; being and becoming; the self-refutation of relativism; the refuta-
tion of the proposed definition of knowledge as sense perception; knowledge as
true belief; false belief; Socrates’ dream; knowledge as true belief plus an ‘ac-
count’ (logos). On the basis of the Sophist, the dialogue where Plato attempts to
define what a sophist is, the course examines the method of definition by divi-
sion; the view that it is impossible to say or think ‘what is not’; the discussion of
the number and nature of what there is; the view of the so-called ‘Late-
Learners’; the communion of kinds; the analysis of negative predication; the
‘fragmentation’ of the kind difference; negative properties; and the analysis of
falsehood. The examination for those taking the paper in Greek will involve a
compulsory question with passages for translation and critical comment, as well
as essay questions. In the translated version of the examination there will be a
compulsory question with passages for critical comment and essay questions.
You will be expected to have read both dialogues – in Greek or in translation de-
pending on the option.

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138. Aristotle on Nature, Life and Mind

Aristotle wrote extensively about the natural world, living beings and the soul.
His writings on these topics discuss questions that would now be classed as
metaphysics (e.g. the nature of causation, time, place, change, the infinite),
questions that would now be classed as philosophy of science (e.g. what types of
explanation are needed in natural science and whether teleological explanation
is legitimate in biology) and questions that would now be classed as philosophy

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of mind (e.g. the relation between mind and body, the nature of life, perception,
thinking). For Aristotle, these questions are all related: they are all part of the
study of the natural world. This course provides an excellent introduction to Ar-
istotle’s philosophy in general. By working through these difficult Aristotelian
texts, we can shed light on Aristotle’s method, his relation to earlier philosoph-
ers, and on certain central questions that are still discussed by philosophers
today.

For candidates taking the paper in English:

 The examination includes a compulsory question with passages for crit-
ical comment as well as essay questions.
 The passages for critical comment will be in English and will be from the
set texts (Physics II, III and IV, De Anima II, III 1-5, Parts of Animals I).

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139. Knowledge and Scepticism in Hellenistic Philosophy (Sextus Empiricus)

‘Human beings have a natural desire for knowledge’, said Aristotle. However,
both before and after him the philosophical quest for knowledge led some to the
view that it was a hopeless or misguided aspiration. In the Hellenistic age the
debate on the possibility of knowledge took centre stage as Plato’s school, the
Academy, ‘turned sceptical’ with Arcesilaus and Carneades and argued against
the epistemological optimism of the two major rival Hellenistic schools, Sto-
icism and Epicureanism. Cicero’s Academic Books are our main source for these
debates. To complicate things, not long before Zeno of Citium and Epicurus
founded their schools, Pyrrho embraced and embodied the anti-dogmatic ideal
of a human life stripped of knowledge and belief and thereby free from anxiety
as a recipe for human happiness. That ideal was revived and developed more
than two centuries later by Aenesidemus, the founder of the Pyrrhonian school,
a brand of Scepticism different from the Academic one and in competition with
it; the late writings of Sextus Empiricus are our best source.

In this paper we study the central Hellenistic epistemological views and debates
as they developed between (and within) these philosophical schools. We look to
understand:
 some of the main sources for philosophical scepticism from the fourth
century BC to the 3rd century AD, and for the ‘empiricist’ epistemologies
of Stoicism and Epicureanism;
 the variety of different positions encompassed by the term ‘Sceptic’;
 the Sceptics’ attacks on ‘dogmatic’ epistemology and the various strate-
gies adopted by the ‘dogmatists’ to defend the possibility of knowledge;
 the ‘dogmatic’ counter-attacks against the Sceptical positions, and the
Sceptics’ attempts to defend themselves;
 how the issue of epistemology impacted ethics and moral psychology: do
we need knowledge to live a good and happy life? Is it possible and desir-
able to live one’s Scepticism in a consistent way?

For students taking the paper in translation:

The examination includes a compulsory question with passages for critical com-
ment, as well as essay questions. Passages will be from Sextus Empiricus, Ci-
cero and the Long & Sedley selection. At least one commentary must be on a
passage from Sextus Empiricus and at least one commentary must be on a pas-
sage from Cicero.

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Set texts:
 Sextus Empiricus, Outlines of Pyrrhonism Book I 1‐39; 164‐241; Book II
1‐204; Book III 1‐81; 168‐281 (in translation): Annas and Barnes (CUP
2000)
 Cicero, Academic Books (in translation): Brittain (Hackett 2006)
 Selected texts on Epicurean epistemology, Stoic epistemology, Pyrrho-
nian
 Scepticism, Academic scepticism (in translation): Long & Sedley (CUP
1987, vol. 1), sections 1‐3 (Pyrrho); 15‐19 (Epicureans); 39‐42 (Stoics);
68‐70 (Academics); 71‐72 (Aenesidemus)

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150. Jurisprudence
This paper, from the Final Honour School of Jurisprudence, may be taken by
PPE FHS students as a subject in Philosophy.

The subject can be taken either as one of the PPE candidate’s (three to five)
Philosophy papers, or as the one Philosophy subject which Politics/Economics
students can elect to take. Candidates offering the Jurisprudence subject are
prohibited from combining it with Theory of Politics (i.e., with either subject
114 or 203). Jurisprudence teaching comprises two elements: core topics,
taught by means of tutorials in Hilary or Trinity Term of the second year; and
mini-options (particular subjects within the general field of philosophy of law)
taught by classes in Trinity Term of the second year. Tutorial provision will be
subject to the availability of Law tutors and will be organised on the normal Col-
lege basis; tutorials will be given at the same time as they are normally given to
Law students (in either Hilary or Trinity terms); and PPE students will normally
be included in tutorial groups of 2 or 3 with Law students. Jurisprudence is ex-
amined by means of a 3,000-4,000-word assessed essay written during the sum-
mer vacation of the second year; and a two-hour timed examination at the end
of the student’s third year. The essay is written on one of a number of questions
relating to the particular mini-option undertaken by the student. Because of the
timing of the essay, Jurisprudence can only be taken in the second year. The
PPE administrator will send an email to second year students in Michaelmas
Term asking you to sign up if you would like to take Jurisprudence.

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198. Special subjects

As specified in the regulations for Philosophy in All Honour Schools including
Philosophy in the Examination Regulations. Any special subjects on offer to your
cohort will be announced by a separate message.

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199. Thesis
As specified in the regulations for Philosophy in All Honour Schools including
Philosophy in the Examination Regulations. You cannot combine this paper with
298 (Supervised Dissertation in Politics), 299 (Politics Thesis), or 399 (Econom-
ics Thesis).

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Return to list of subjects

A.2 Politics
You should choose your core subjects with care. The choice of two from five
core subjects is deliberately permissive. In the first year, you acquire the basic
tools of political analysis, but the discipline of Politics consists of several dis-
tinct schools of analysis, none of which is self-evidently more fundamental than
the others. The core papers are each designed to enhance your ability to con-
ceptualise, to compare, and to develop analytical skills. In a joint honours de-
gree, to require you to take papers covering all approaches would leave no
space for choice and specialisation. Your choice of core subjects will however
have a bearing on your subsequent work in Politics, and you are strongly ad-
vised to consult your College tutor and option-paper tutors before selecting any
optional subject. For a number of options, it is helpful, though not essential,
already to have taken a related core subject. Thus the study of political systems
in particular areas or countries is based on issues that are raised in 201 (Com-
parative Government) and 220 (Political Sociology); several subjects in the area
of political theory are most readily tackled with the background provided by 203
(Theory of Politics); the two optional subjects in 214 (International Relations)
follow most naturally from the core paper, as to a lesser degree, do those in So-
ciology from the core paper in 220 (Political Sociology).

The Department sets no ‘normal prerequisites’ (papers you should normally

have studied before studying others) similar to those in Philosophy. It prefers to
leave final decisions on the appropriateness of particular choices to the indi-
vidual, in conjunction with College tutors, and to leave open the possibility,
where you might otherwise lack sufficient background, that you attend addi-
tional lectures or follow a course of directed vacation reading covering import-
ant material from the relevant core subject.

A. Core subjects
Three of the five core papers contain a further Political Analysis component.
These are papers 201 (Comparative Government), 214 (International Relations)
and 220 (Political Sociology). Candidates taking these papers are expected to
complete the course of study in Political Analysis and submit a methods essay or
take-home exam (this should be thought of as the equivalent of a tutorial essay).

201. Comparative Government

This course is a comparative study of the main political institutions through
which con-temporary societies are governed. It focuses on the origins and ef-
fects of democratic institutions and attempts to understand the differences
between forms of government and what effects they have within the polity. As
such, topics studied include those such as state-building, colonial legacies, judi-
ciaries, bureaucracies, the origins of parties, interest groups and the nature of
political activism. Through reference to the distinct methodological approach
used by different scholars in studying these phenomena, students acquire an
understanding of the utility and limits of different means of analysis. The course
builds on material covered at Prelims, for instance by developing on conceptual
ideas about regimes to move towards causal theories of democratization and
factors sustaining authoritarian regimes. It provides students with an under-
standing of key concepts and tools of empirical political analysis, and in this

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way also prepares them for the more specialised study of specific regions or
single countries that follow as options later in the PPE syllabus. While the main
instruction is via the usual mixture of lectures and tutorials, students should
note that the range of knowledge covered makes the lectures even more vital
than they might be for some courses. The lecture course is formed of sixteen
lectures, and students are expected to treat it as a commitment running right
through the academic year.

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202. British Politics and Government Since 1900

This course consists of the close study of political developments in Britain since
1900 and the major academic debates surrounding them. It allows students to
study a single political system in depth, over a period long enough both to make
visible long-run processes of social, economic and political change, and to per-
mit comparisons and contrasts to be drawn between the situations of political
actors at different times. It is also a period with an extraordinarily rich and re-
warding academic literature, which encourages students to explore problems of
evidence and interpretation, and to consider a range of explanations, based on
different scholarly traditions, for the same events. These include techniques and
methods as diverse as archivally-based historical analysis, political biography
and political science modelling. Among the topics covered are the decline of
the Liberal Party and the rise of the Labour Party; the political effects of the two
world wars and the widening franchise; the development of the institutions and
procedures of modern government; the changing party system under mass
democracy; the challenges and failures of political extremism; the domestic im-
pact of foreign policies such as appeasement, decolonisation and European in-
tegration; the challenges posed to modern governments by relative economic
decline, and efforts to transform the system such as tariff reform, social demo-
cracy and Thatcherism.

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203. Theory of Politics

The course is designed to acquaint students with the political concepts central
to the theoretical, normative and interpretative analysis of politics. The study of
concepts such as liberty, justice, authority or power provides the foundation for
understanding the nature of political thought. These concepts underpin the
study of politics in general and are therefore crucial to enhancing the aware-
ness of the relation between political thought and action. Students are also dir-
ected towards discursive ideologies displaying complex conceptual arrange-
ments such as liberalism or socialism. The course is devised so as to develop a
manifold range of skills necessary for constructing critical arguments in polit-
ical theory, for working with problems of consistency and justification, for ana-
lysing the complexities of the usage of political language, for understanding the
principal forms through which political thought presents itself, both as theory
and as ideology, and for appreciating the main current and recent debates that
command attention in the field. To those ends philosophical, ideological and his-
torical analyses are all appropriate, and the merits of each type may be as-
sessed and contrasted. Students are therefore encouraged to explore different
ways of approaching these issues, though they are also enabled, if they so wish,
to choose a specific strategy from among these approaches. Students are also
invited, in consultation with their tutors, to balance a broad appreciation of the

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field with a development of their own interests within the wide choice of avail-
able concepts and ideologies. The literature to which they are directed is there-
fore diverse, encompassing classical texts, seminal philosophers and theorists,
significant journal articles, and typical examples of ideological debate. Both sub-
stantive arguments and methodological issues are consequently aired. By ex-
tending the initial understanding of political thought gained by students in the
first-year introduction to politics, or by building on other related introductory
lectures and subjects, the course provides the basis for specialization in political
theory, as well as tools that other specializations may draw upon. It will enable
students to reflect on the principles underlying politics, to make reasoned as-
sessments of political discourse, and to develop their own arguments at a re-
quisite degree of sophistication.

Note: this paper cannot be combined with paper 150 (Jurisprudence) or paper
114 (Theory of Politics taken as a Philosophy subject).

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214. International Relations

The aim of this core subject is to introduce PPE students to the academic study
of International Relations and to develop a broad knowledge and understanding
of the major issues in international relations, concentrating on the period since
1990. The subject seeks to strike a balance between empirical knowledge and
theoretical understanding. Those taking the subject will have the opportunity to
study some of the major questions in contemporary international relations (e.g.
the role of the United Nations and of alliances such as NATO; the impact on in-
ternational relations of globalization and of democratization; the development of
European integration; the international impact of civil wars and humanitarian
disasters; and problems that arise from national self-determination and at-
tempts to promote human rights). But they will also develop a broad knowledge
of the most important analytical and theoretical tools that are needed to make
sense of these questions. This knowledge of the principal theories and concepts
is intended to tie in closely with work for the Further Subjects in International
Relations, 213 (International Relations in the Era of the Cold War) and 212 (In-
ternational Relations in the Era of the Two World Wars), and with work for 297
(Special Subject – International Security and Conflict).

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220. Political Sociology

The course builds on some of the concepts, theories and knowledge introduced
in the Politics Prelims syllabus – notably the study of electorates, parties and
interest groups, and the study of the interaction of political ideas such as demo-
cracy with political processes. In this Final Honour School subject students will
study in more detail the major theoretical approaches to social class, race and
ethnicity, gender, religion, nationality, states, interest groups including unions,
parties, movements and single-issue campaigns, and the interrelationships
between culture, economy, social structure, and political processes and institu-
tions. The theoretical approaches will be critically assessed in the light of em-
pirical evidence from a range of countries, and also put in the context of the
philosophically rigorous analysis of power and change. To aid students in attain-
ing a comprehensive grasp of the field of study, they will have the opportunity
to look at ‘approaches’ such as structuralism, rational choice theory, political

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culture theory, and the historical and comparative perspective as such, as well
as studying the application of these to the specific topics mentioned. Thus, by
the end of the course students should have an understanding of recent sociolo-
gical explanations of political processes and events, a grasp of the competing
approaches in the field, an understanding of the main methods of data collec-
tion and analysis, and an appreciation of the role of models and theories in soci-
ological knowledge.

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B. Further Subjects

204. Modern British Government and Politics

The course aims to provide a specialist knowledge of contemporary British gov-
ernment and politics. It provides candidates with both an awareness of the most
significant debates in the academic literature and of different methodological
approaches to the subject and a thorough understanding of the issues and con-
troversies surrounding the operation of British government. This involves the
study of the UK electoral system, political parties and voting behaviour; of the
organisation and political activities of the executive, legislature, judiciary and
civil service; of the powers of Parliament and local government; of the devolu-
tion of power to regions of the UK; and of the political influence of the media
and pressure groups. The interaction of these political institutions with the
European Union is also studied. Current and recent proposals for reforming the
constitution are a particular focus of attention. The course includes the examin-
ation of a wide range of primary documents, including parliamentary papers
and government reports. It aims to provide candidates with the ability to re-
trieve and analyse official information and other primary documents and to
place them in historical and political context. On completion of the course can-
didates will be familiar with the detailed workings of British governmental insti-
tutions, with decision-making processes in government and the evolution of
strategies for managing the public sector, and with the political dynamics of the
system.

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205. Government and Politics of the United States

This subject seeks to provide students with a basic understanding of American
exceptionalism, of the United States’ political institutions, and of selected areas
of public policy, and a good knowledge and understanding of the scholarly liter-
ature in the field. It covers the constitution; federalism and separation of
powers; the presidency; congress; the federal courts; the federal bureaucracy;
parties and the party system; electoral politics; political culture; mass media;
interest groups; state and local politics; processes of policy formation and im-
plementation, especially as related to urban policy, economic policy, race, and
civil rights. It enables students to use data drawn from the large resources
available (inter alia) in the Harmsworth Library (in the Rothermere American
Institute) and the Law Library to form their own interpretations of govern-
mental processes, to refine the skill of thinking rigorously and critically for
themselves, and thus to contribute more fully to tutorials and classes held in
other subjects in Politics.

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206. Politics in Europe
This paper is a comparative study of the national party and institutional systems
of Europe, and of comparative issues in European politics, including democrat-
isation, institutional relations, political economy and party politics. Candidates
are expected to show a broad knowledge of European politics, and may where
appropriate include reference to the UK in answers, but should not answer any
questions mainly or exclusively with reference to the UK.

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207. Politics in Russia and the Former Soviet Union

Candidates will be required to show knowledge of the transformation of the So-
viet system from 1985, and an understanding of the politics of countries of the
former Soviet Union with respect to their formation, post-Soviet transitions, re-
gime types, institutional arrangements, party systems, electoral processes, eth-
nic and clan composition, political economy, corruption, and the influence of ex-
ternal factors.

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208. Politics in Sub-Saharan Africa

This course will enable students to acquire a knowledge and understanding of
the recent history and contemporary politics of particular African countries; to
analyse, compare, and contrast their political processes and institutions, to situ-
ate them in their social and economic context; and to examine the political con-
ditions and consequences of economic policies. Students will be expected to
study the politics of at least three African countries in detail. They will also be
expected to read material on other countries relevant to the study of specific
themes and topics dealt with in tutorials and in class. These include the politics
of democratization and political parties, structural adjustment and economic re-
form, agricultural policy, gender, class and ethnicity, the politics of religion,
civil conflict and the politics of natural resources. The course will allow students
to extend their understanding of comparative politics and international rela-
tions, particularly of issues common to Africa and other regions they may be
studying, as well as political theory and political sociology, by raising relevant
questions in the African context. Students will acquire an informed and critical
understanding of African countries. Students may use this course as a founda-
tion for graduate research as well as for further work in and about Africa in
business, government, journalism, NGOs and advocacy work, etc. It will contrib-
ute to their wider education as informed citizens.

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209. Politics in Latin America

The course aims to introduce students to the main features of Latin American
politics within a comparative perspective. By the end of the course students will
be able to identify the main issues in the contemporary democratic politics of
Latin America and use comparative methods to clarify and analyse them. This
course focuses on the politics of the major states of Latin America and the cur-
rent challenges – economic, social and political – to their democratic govern-
ments. It is organized around key concepts and categories from mainstream
comparative politics, and comparative methods will be used throughout to ana-
lyse the main issues. Yet the course also demonstrates the continuing relevance

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of the historical and cultural contexts of Latin American politics, and the main
issues are placed in context by reference to the politics of particular countries,
including Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Peru and Venezuela. In this
way topical questions can be studied with reference to the enduring character-
istics of the politics of the region.

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210. Politics in South Asia

This course introduces students to the nature of political change in the major
South Asian countries (India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh) in the period
after independence from colonial rule. The subject is intended to educate stu-
dents in the most significant themes and issues in contemporary South Asian
politics, through the study of illustrative cases taken from the various countries
of the region. The subject also seeks to enable students to develop a critical en-
gagement with the analytical literature on South Asia, in particular, and on the
‘Third World’ or ‘developing countries’, more generally. While each of the major
South Asian countries is studied separately, students are, at the same time, en-
couraged to analyse political developments comparatively. The course examines
the nature of the post-colonial state and the evolution of political institutions
and party politics, with a focus on the functioning of democracy and the tenden-
cies towards authoritarianism or martial rule. The interface of democratic polit-
ics with the political economy of the ‘developmental’ state is also addressed.
The course also explores the development of ‘movement’ politics or social move-
ments as an important element of the democratic process. The course gives at-
tention to social organisation, culture and identities as they bear on politics. In
particular, the politics of gender, class, caste, religion and ethnicity are emphas-
ised. The course engages with the evolution of political ideologies, especially
those of nationalism and ‘development’, which have played significant roles in
the political history of post-colonial states. The course is expected to enable
second- and third-year students to develop the ability to construct rigorous ar-
guments on South Asian politics, based on empirical knowledge and informed
by a critical awareness of the scholarly literature on the subject. This course
will prepare students to undertake post graduate studies on South Asia and the
‘Third World’, and for careers in journalism, diplomacy, national and interna-
tional ‘development’ organisations, NGOs and ‘Think Tank’ or consultancy or-
ganisations, which specialise on the ‘Third World’ and the field of ‘develop-
ment’.

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211. Politics in the Middle East

The course aims to give the student a wide-ranging and sophisticated introduc-
tion to the domestic political dynamics of the contemporary Middle East and its
wider social relations. The course is organised thematically, with weekly topics
including the nature of the state, political economy, the military, democratisa-
tion, succession and gender. The thematic emphasis gives the student maximum
flexibility to concentrate on whichever countries most interest him/her. The geo-
graphical scope of the course is inclusive, covering North Africa, Turkey and
Iran, as well as the core countries of region. It is expected that the student will
complete the course knowing six or seven countries in some depth. The course
is designed to relate to the discipline of politics in general, eschewing the no-
tion that the Middle East is somehow unique and mysterious; students are en-

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couraged to bring their knowledge of political concepts to bear in the course.
Inter-regional comparisons are also encouraged, with students who have stud-
ied other parts of the developing world especially welcome. The course has
been designed both for the generalist, who may go on to work in business, gov-
ernment, journalism or the professions, and for the budding specialist who may
then proceed to a Masters in Middle Eastern studies. Please note that demand
sometimes outstrips teaching supply on this paper.

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212. International Relations in the Era of the Two World Wars

This course is the study of central issues in the international history of a period
which had a profound influence on the subject of international relations. Stu-
dents are introduced through the study of historical topics to the major debates
and different theoretical approaches. These include Realist, Liberal, and Marx-
ist views of the international system, levels of analysis, decision making pro-
cesses and the role of individual leaders, the concepts of the balance of power,
collective security, and détente and the concert of powers, isolationism and ap-
peasement. The course also considers the impact of total war on the interna-
tional system, causes of regional instability (nationalism, imperialism), the inter-
action of different regional theatres in an evolving global international system,
the role of financial and economic factors, revolutionary ideologies (Commun-
ism and Fascism), and the ‘learning process’ as it affected policy-making in and
immediately after the Second World War. The course enables students to con-
sider the major theories and concepts of international relations critically in rela-
tion to the historical evidence, on which several of the theories were based, and
to draw on a rich academic literature. It develops the skill of analysing empir-
ical material in a way which is both informed by theory and sensitive to the
complexity of the evidence. The course is closely related to the core subject In-
ternational Relations and to the option International Relations in the Era of the
Cold War.

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213. International Relations in the Era of the Cold War

The course covers the international relations of a period (1945-91) crucial for
the evolution of today’s world. These have always generated much writing of
high quality, which is now further enlivened by the progressive release and as-
similation of archive material; and the period now appears sufficiently self-con-
tained for scholars to be able to step back and gain perspective by viewing it as
a whole. The course links strongly with the Politics ‘core’ ‘International Rela-
tions’ course, providing factual context and tests for many of that subject’s the-
oretical approaches to international relations, and also valuable background for
its treatment of the post-1990 ‘contemporary’ scene. The Cold War subject also
links back to the Further Subject International Relations in the Era of Two
World Wars, especially as many post-war statesmen were avowedly seeking to
avoid the mistakes of that earlier period, and it provides case studies useful for
the Government and Politics of the United States Further Subject.

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215. Political Thought: Plato to Rousseau
The objective of this paper is to introduce students to some of the canonical
texts in political thought and to help them to develop an appreciation of the sig-
nificance of these texts for their own time and for contemporary political theory.
The subject is designed to enhance students’ skills in reading and interpreting
texts and to develop their appreciation of the richness of the traditions of polit-
ical thought in the West and their significance for a broader understanding of
the discipline. The subject allows students to choose from a range of classical
texts in the history of political thought and also offers a number of supplement-
ary topics which encourage students to examine issues raised by these texts in
the context of related discussions in the wider canon of political thought. In
both cases, the subject encourages students to develop skills in reading and
critically reflecting on the arguments of complex works of political philosophy.
It offers students the opportunity to develop an appreciation of the intellectual
context in which the texts were written and/or to discuss the arguments of the
texts in relation to issues in contemporary political theory. The subject permits
students to take either a narrow focus, concentrating on a few thinkers in
depth, or aiming for a wide coverage of many. Either approach, however, relies
on developing the capacity to grasp both the way particular texts work as argu-
ments, and to gain some independent critical purchase on the arguments them-
selves.

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216. Political Thought: Bentham to Weber

This subject is designed to acquaint students with the transition from classical
political philosophy to modern social theory – that is, to introduce them to major
theories developed from the late eighteenth century to the early twenty century,
theories which (a) explored the nature and direction of social and economic
change in Europe and (b) grappled with the moral and political issues raised by
social and economic change. The subject enables students to study in depth a
range of important texts, helping them to develop the skills required to identify
and comment critically on the principal arguments contained in those texts. Stu-
dents are also encouraged to appreciate the intellectual and historical context
in which the texts were written. Students may, in consultation with their tutors,
choose between a number of approaches to this subject. They may concentrate
on a smaller number of named theorists in greater depth or aim for a broader
coverage of many theorists by way of topics. Thus, they may approach the sub-
ject by choosing a number of clusters of thinkers (e.g. Bentham and Mill, Hegel
and Marx, Weber and Durkheim, Saint-Simon and Tocqueville). Or they may fo-
cus on topics such as individualism and community, centralisation, the idea of
progress, science and religion, by reading further primary texts in addition to
those specified in the reading list. These further texts can include both addi-
tional works by the named thinkers and works by other relevant writers, for in-
stance those who pre-date the named thinker and who were particularly influen-
tial for him, contemporary writers whose work was pertinent and, in some
cases, later writers. In any event, students will be expected to demonstrate de-
tailed and critical acquaintance with the major texts, and to analyse some of the
main issues of contention, or agreement, in the period covered by the subject.
This subject will enable students to read complex texts with discrimination and
attune themselves to the variety and depth of modern social and political de-
bates in an historical perspective.

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Return to list of subjects

217. Marx and Marxism

The course, unusual in being devoted to a single intellectual and political tradi-
tion, gives students the opportunity to develop a deep and systematic under-
standing of Marx's own writings and some subsequent Marxist theory. The
course focusses on the political, philosophical, and sociological aspects of this
body of work, but there is some opportunity to look at Marxist economic
thought if students want (in consultation with tutors). All students are required
to cover the central ideas of Marx and Engels; including their theory of history,
view of human nature, understanding of class and politics, and vision of social-
ism. However, there is also an opportunity to strike a balance between concen-
trating on these texts – and their interpretation and evaluation – and consider-
ing the theoretical contributions of later Marxists (including Rosa Luxemburg,
V.I. Lenin, and Leon Trotsky). While most attention is devoted to issues in Marx-
ist theory, students can also approach Marxism as a practical body of political
thought with concrete political consequences. In all cases, the course teaches
students to be able critically to evaluate, not just to show knowledge of, the
Marxist tradition.

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218. Sociological Theory

The course investigates ways of theorizing social phenomena. It builds on in-
sights from the founders of sociology—including Weber and Durkheim—and
shows how these insights have been developed in recent work. The first part of
the course is devoted to understanding various theoretical perspectives. Some
perspectives examine how social structures are built up from individual action,
whether driven by evolutionary psychology, decided by rational choice, or mo-
tivated by meaningful values. Others identify the emergent properties of social
life, ranging from face-to-face interaction to social networks to structures of
thought. The second part of the course examines the basic sociological prob-
lems that theories must explain. These include the main axes of social division—
class, gender, and ethnicity—as well as topics such as social norms and the
problem of collective action.

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222. Labour Economics and Inequality

A special subject in Economics which can also be taken as a Politics subject.
Further information will be provided at the Economics options fair. Students are
not required to have taken the relevant Economics pre-requisite papers, but it is
recommended.

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224. Social Policy

Social policy is concerned with the ways in which different societies understand
and
respond to the social needs of their populations. Students will study the ‘mech-
anisms’ and ‘policy logics’ operating in welfare states, and concepts funda-
mental such as equality, citizenship, and redistribution across socio-economic

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and ethnic groups, generations and genders. A key framework for analysis is the
‘mixed economy of welfare’ – the shifts over time in the relative importance of
the state, the market, the voluntary sector and the family. Students will be re-
quired to show both theoretical and substantial knowledge of how these issues
and themes play out in a number of substantive policy areas. The course focuses
on the UK but seeks to set this experience in comparative perspective, in order
to provide context and to ask further questions about British arrangements.

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225. Comparative Demographic Systems

The course deals with the major subject areas and controversies in contempor-
ary demography. Students will gain an understanding of major contemporary
demographic trends, the theories advanced to account for them and their prac-
tical importance. These include: the status of demographic transition models,
theories of low fertility and of divergent mortality in the industrial world; the
prospects for welfare systems in ageing societies, new forms of family and
household and their future; the realities and prospects of mass migration. Popu-
lation growth, economic development, environmental pressures and new threats
to health in the post war third world will receive attention, and the future of
world population as growth rates slacken and poor societies begin population
ageing. Intended and unintended consequences of government actions on demo-
graphic phenomena, and the historical origins of Europe’s distinctive demo-
graphy will be emphasised. On the technical side of the subject, by the end of
the course students will know the limitations and origins of demographic data,
the advantages of measuring demographic phenomena through different indices
and the use of models in population analysis. They will be able to perform ele-
mentary operations in the analysis of fertility and mortality, including methods
of standardization, the construction and manipulation of the life table and
simple population projection. Only elementary arithmetic ability is needed, but
sympathy for arguments presented as graphs, numbers or simple expressions is
important. No previous demographic knowledge is required. This subject
provides an unusual opportunity to combine numerical analysis of human popu-
lations with an interdisciplinary comparative analysis of population change at
micro and macro level.
The examination paper will comprise two sections. Section 1 will test the can-
didate’s ability to interpret quantitative results and the methods of demographic
analysis. Section 2 will test the candidate’s knowledge of substantive trends and
their explanation. Candidates will be required to answer three questions, one
from Section 1 and two from Section 2.

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227. Politics in China

This course will enable students to acquire a knowledge and understanding of
the recent history and contemporary politics of China. China has been in trans-
ition from the long rule of Mao Zedong since 1978, and its politics and society
have transformed radically during that period. Students will gain an under-
standing of the Chinese Communist party (the most powerful Communist party
left in the world), looking at its historical background before analysing its cur-
rent strategy to remain in control of China in the post-Cold War era. The reform
era under Deng Xiaoping and Jiang Zemin will be analysed through a variety of
themes, including elite politics and the Tian’anmen crisis of 1989, rural reforms,

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urban culture, and gender. China’s new status as a regional power in interna-
tional relations will also be examined, as well as its relations with Taiwan and
Hong Kong, two very different Chinese societies. This course will allow students
to develop a strong knowledge of one of the world’s most important countries,
and could serve as stimulation for further work in and about China in journal-
ism, business, government, NGOs and academic research. Please note that de-
mand sometimes outstrips teaching supply on this paper.

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228. The Politics of the European Union

This paper focuses on the study of the history, institutions, and policy processes
of the European Union. It includes analysis of the history and theories of the
European integration process. Candidates are expected to show knowledge of
politics of the European Union, including the main institutions of the EU, de-
cision making procedures and specific policies, as well as relations between the
EU and the rest of the world. The paper also focuses on democracy in the
European Union and the impact of European integration on the domestic polit-
ics and policies of the member states.

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229. Advanced Paper in Theories of Justice

Theories of justice often focus on adults who lack any disabilities, who live in a
single society with no history of injustice and who are contemporaries. This pa-
per aims to examine the questions that arise when we broaden the focus of
justice beyond these confines. In particular, it examines what principles of
justice should apply with respect to:

i. global politics and justice (What principles of justice, if any, apply at the
global level? In a globalized world, goods and services cross borders.
This raises the question as to what are just terms of trade. What would
constitute 'fair trade'? People also often cross borders. This raises the
question: Is there a human right to free movement? Or may states per-
missibly limit migration, and, if so, on what grounds? In addition to this,
environmental hazards (like climate change, biodiversity loss, ocean acid-
ification) transcend borders. This raises the question of who should bear
the burdens of addressing global environmental degradation, and what
would be a fair share of the world's natural resources.)
ii. historic injustice (How should we respond to past injustice? Are repara-
tions required, and if so, when? Is it fair to make those alive today pay
for the actions of earlier generations? Do current generations have duties
to rectify the situation because they have benefited from injustice? What
implications do these principles have given histories of colonialism, im-
perialism, and racial and other kinds of historic injustice?)
iii. future generations (Do we have duties of justice to those who have not
yet been born? If so, why? Many conventional theories of justice hold
that there are duties not to harm individuals or violate individual rights;
some emphasize duties of justice among those engaged in schemes of co-
operation. What implications, if any, do such ideals have for intergenera-
tional justice? If we do have duties of justice to future generations, what
principles of justice apply? What implications does this have for environ-

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 mental sustainability, economic growth, and the future of the welfare
state?)
iv. disability and justice (Mainstream theories of justice often assume agents
who lack any disability. How should we conceptualize disability? Should
it be understood as a 'mere difference' or in some other way? In addition
to this, are mainstream theories well-equipped to provide a plausible and
attractive account of what those with disabilities are entitled to? What
kinds of policies are demanded by a commitment to treating all fairly, and
what limits, if any, are there to the demands which may be required by
such policies?)
v. children and justice (Conventional theories of justice tend to focus on
adults. What rights, if any, do children have? And, who is obligated to
pay for the welfare and education of children? Should it be parents, be-
cause, and to the extent that, they brought them into existence? Or soci-
ety at large on the grounds that children are a public good?)

The course is centred around these five sets of normative issues. The aim of the
course is to develop students’ knowledge and understanding of the content and
scope of principles of justice, and allow them to assess the normative underpin-
nings of key policy debates (such as those surrounding climate change and en-
vironmental degradation; trade, development, migration; the legacy of colonial-
ism, imperialism and past injustice; disability rights and the demands of justice;
and, the future of the welfare state and state support for families with children).

Students are not required to have taken Theory of Politics (but it is recommen-
ded).

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230. Comparative Political Economy

The study of comparative political economy (CPE) examines the relationships
between politics and economics across nations. The paper introduces students
to the systematic analysis of these interconnections across economically de-
veloped democracies in the West and with additional reference to rapidly devel-
oping economies such as China and India. Its principal aim is to provide stu-
dents with insights into how market economies are institutionally designed and
how they function both politically and economically. An emphasis is placed on
how different ways of institutionally organising societies in turn shapes national
economic performance and societal inequality. This theme, regarding the bal-
ance which nations strike between economic efficiency and socio-economic in-
equality, is explored through centuries of scholarship from the 18th and 19 th
century writings of Adam Smith and Karl Marx to the latest analyses in the field
of the recent economic crisis. There will also be a focus on comparing the way
in which national economies have been governed and what this imparts about
the development and the changing nature of global capitalism. The principal ob-
jective will be to acquaint students with the diversity of perspectives and aca-
demic approaches which scholars have used over the centuries and up to the
present day in order to understand how politics and economics shape the world
in which we live. The paper has been designed with a view to accommodating
both those who are interested in the historical study of CPE and those who are
interested in its quantitative study with assigned texts in the course reading list
drawing upon both academic perspectives. Topics include: Economic Policy and
Economic Performance, The Politics of Redistribution and Inequality, Firms and

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Labour Markets, The Interests of Business and Organised Labour, Financial
Systems and Corporate Governance, Economic Crisis, Classic Theories of Polit-
ical Economy, Public Sector Growth and the Rise of the Welfare State, Institu-
tional Change and Changing Approaches to Capitalism.

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297. Special Subject in Politics

Where offered, Special Subjects are examined like most other papers in Politics:
by three-hour unseen examination, in which three questions must be answered.
What is distinctive about them is that their subject matter is likely to be more
narrowly defined than is the case with other papers, and may be closely linked
to the specialist research areas of the members of staff who teach them. What
they offer therefore is the opportunity, hitherto only available to those writing
theses or supervised dissertations, to study an area of political studies in
greater depth. Special Subjects will only be available to undergraduates in Mi-
chaelmas Term of their third year. The subject(s) below are expected to be
available for examination for your cohort but this will be formally confirmed by
email during your second year.

The teaching provided for a Special Subject will be equivalent to the teaching
provided for a normal Politics paper. Some special rules apply to the Special
Subject and these are set out in full in the Examination Regulations. Depending
on the availability of teaching resources, not all Special Subjects will be avail-
able to all candidates in every year. There might be other further subjects which
it would not be possible to offer alongside it. For example, if there were a Spe-
cial Subject on the U.S. Supreme Court, it might be restricted to candidates not
taking paper 205 (Government and Politics of the USA). Any such restrictions
would be announced at the same time as the Special Subject’s introduction.
There may also be restrictions on the numbers of students permitted to take a
given Special Subject. These restrictions would also be announced in advance,
and a fair means of deciding who could take the Special Subject (e.g. a ballot)
would be used in the event of excessive numbers.

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297. International Security and Conflict (Special Subject in Politics)

International security and conflict is a core concern of the discipline of interna-
tional relations. This paper offers an introduction to this field of scholarship,
providing students with a thorough grounding in major debates regarding the
nature of security, the form and scale of traditional and novel threats to secur-
ity, and the dynamics of violent conflict in the contemporary world. Specifically,
the course will cover twelve key topics: theories and concepts of security; the
causes of interstate war; regional security; civil wars; nuclear, chemical and
biological weapons; terrorism; mass atrocities and genocide; refugees, displace-
ment and forced migration; sexual violence and gender in conflict; organised
crime and piracy; cyber threats and cybersecurity; and conflict prevention and
response. Students are required to have taken the International Relations 214
core paper in order to select this special subject paper.

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298. Supervised dissertation in Politics
See separate entry in this Handbook.

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299. Thesis in Politics

See separate entry in this Handbook.

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A.3 Economics
Students are no longer required to take what used to be called the core Eco-
nomics papers (302 Microeconomics, 301 Macroeconomics, and 300 Quantitat-
ive Economics). Instead, all Economics finals papers are optional, although pa-
pers are split into two groups, FHS1 papers, taught in the second year of the
degree, and FHS2 papers, taught in the third year of the degree. Papers in
FHS2 may only be taken by students who have taken relevant pre-requisite pa-
pers from FHS1.

During Trinity Term all first-year students receive an email with a link to an on-
line survey in which they are asked to submit their Economics paper choices for
the second year (the FHS1 year). Also during Trinity Term, second year stu-
dents receive an email with a link to an online survey in which they are asked to
submit their Economics paper choices for the third year (the FHS2 year).

First year students making their paper choices for the second year should think
ahead to the kinds of courses they would like to study in the third year and en-
sure that they cover the necessary pre-requisites in the second year (detailed
information on the topics covered in each paper, and the pre-requisites, is avail-
able on Economics Canvas).

The list of FHS2 papers will only be confirmed at the time of the Economics op-
tion fair held in Week 4 of Hilary Term of the second year.

The papers that are guaranteed to always be available in the third year
(provided that prior notice of their not being available has not been issued in
the first year) are: 304 (Money and Banking), 310 (Economics of Developing
Countries), 314 (Econometrics), 319 (Game Theory), 399 (Thesis). Descriptions
of these papers are given below.

At the options fair one of the tutors teaching each option will be available to
give an introduction to the content of the course, and answer questions on its
organisation and teaching arrangements.

300. Quantitative Economics (FHS1)

The QE course is designed to give students a good understanding of the ra-
tionale for and intuition about the application of statistical methods to the ana-
lysis of a range of applied economics issues, such as the economics effects of
education or the behaviour of aggregate consumption. Topics covered will in-
clude statistical and causal inference, multivariate regression analysis, testing
and interpretation of regression results and empirical applications and inter-

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pretation of current and recent literature in a number of areas of empirical eco-
nomics.

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301. Macroeconomics (FHS1)

The course will introduce you to the ideas and tools of modern macroeconomic
analysis, and show how these tools can be applied to issues in macroeconomic
policy. The Macroeconomics paper in Finals will contain two sections. Part A
will consist of shorter questions designed to ensure that students demonstrate a
reasonable coverage of the syllabus. Part B will consist of questions requiring
longer answers showing more detailed knowledge of particular topics. You will
be required to answer questions from both sections. The course will cover:
macroeconomic theories and their policy implications; macroeconomic shocks
and fluctuations; unemployment and inflation; exchange rates, interest rates
and current account; intertemporal adjustment, growth theory and monetary
and fiscal policy.

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302. Microeconomics (FHS1)

The Microeconomics paper in Finals will contain two sections. Part A will con-
sist of shorter questions designed to ensure that students demonstrate a reason-
able coverage of the syllabus. Part B will consist of questions requiring longer
answers showing more detailed knowledge of particular topics. You will be re-
quired to answer questions from both sections. The course aims to introduce
you to some of the fundamental ideas and tools of modern microeconomic the-
ory and their applications to policy issues, such as competition and environ-
mental policies. The course will cover: Risk, expected utility theory; welfare eco-
nomics and general equilibrium, public goods and externalities; game theory
and industrial organisation; information economics and applications of microe-
conomics.

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304. Money and Banking (FHS2)

The role of money in general equilibrium models. Aggregate models of price and
output fluctuations. The role of banks and other financial intermediaries. Mod-
els of monetary policy. Inflation targeting and other policy regimes. Money and
public finance. The transmission of monetary policy to asset prices and ex-
change rates.

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310. Economics of Developing Countries (FHS2)

Economic development for the world’s poorer nations is a self-evident chal-
lenge, which demands serious economic analysis. This course introduces you to
key areas of development economics, relating analysis to conditions in develop-
ing countries, and exploring some of the major economic policy issues relating
to developing countries. The topics covered include: theories of growth and de-
velopment; poverty and income distribution; human resources, labour markets
and employment; industrialisation and technology; agriculture and rural devel-

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opment. Familiar topics which have to be adapted to the situation in developing
countries also include monetary and fiscal issues; inflation; foreign trade and
payments; foreign and domestic capital; the role of economic aid. An overarch-
ing theme is the role of government in development and the operation of mar-
kets. While the approach taken in the course is analytical, you will be expected
to have an interest in the problems and policies of particular regions or coun-
tries, and use knowledge of actual situations to inform and illustrate the ana-
lysis.

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311. Development of the World Economy since 1800 (FHS1)

This course aims to provide an overview of the development and integration of
the world economy since the First Industrial Revolution. World economic his-
tory over this period can be divided into four phases: (1) the birth of the modern
world, 1800-1870 (2) globalisation, 1870-1914 (3) globalisation backlash, 1914-
1950 and (4) globalisation since 1950. The inter-relationships between the de-
veloping international economy and growing national economies are examined
through topics that include: the Industrial Revolution in Britain and how grow-
ing prosperity spread to some parts of the world but not to others; the role of
institutions and culture in economic development; the links between demo-
graphic transition and prosperity; the roles of the international monetary and
trading systems; business cycles and economic policy.

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314. Econometrics (FHS2)

Econometrics is concerned with the application of statistical theory to the ana-
lysis of economic data and the estimation of economic relationships. A variety of
econometric topics will be covered, drawn from the following list: maximum
likelihood, endogeneity and instrumental variables, unit roots and cointegration,
limited dependent variable models, duration models and panel data models. Ap-
plication of the introduced econometric methods to economic problems will also
be discussed.

A descriptive list of the topics will be published on the Economics Canvas site
before the beginning of the year in which the course is taught and examined.

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319. Game Theory (FHS2)

Strategic-form games and extensive-form games. Solution concepts. Games with
incomplete information. Applications and topics which may (but not necessarily)
include bargaining, auctions, global games, evolutionary games, cooperative
games, learning, games in political science. The paper will be set in two parts.
Candidates will be required to show knowledge on both parts of the paper.

1. Part A. Questions will be set requiring candidates to solve problems in-

volving the core elements of game theory.
2. Part B. Questions will be set requiring candidates to solve problems in
and show knowledge of specific applications and topics in game theory.

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398. Special Subjects in Economics (FHS2)
Special subjects will be announced at the options fair. Two special subjects cur-
rently available are Finance and Environmental Economics and Climate
Change. See Economics Canvas for further details.

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399. Thesis (FHS2)

See separate entry in this Handbook.

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