Please note, this course is exclusively for students who have already participated in Terms 1, 2, 3, & 4 - The Pankhurst Group

Politics – a word which can arouse strong responses!  But whether politics is something you love or you dread, something about which you feel excited, or something which makes you shout at the television…there is no doubt that politics and political ideas shape our lives and our world.  And with all the upheavals and crises of the last few years, there is no doubt that politics is far from dull.

But how well do we really understand the way in which political institutions and structures work?  Why does democracy in the UK function the way it does; and why is it different elsewhere?  How have political ideas, from well-known movements like conservatism and socialism, to the less familiar like anarchism and multi-culturalism, shaped the politics of Europe and beyond?  In this course, we will explore all this and more, as we delve into both the history of political institutions, and their current operation.

We will broadly be following the structure of an A-level politics course, but expanded and adapted for an adult audience.  Classes will include lecture style content, full-group discussion, and small-group work.  We will be studying political systems in the UK and the USA, comparing different democratic models, and also learning about wider political ideas.  And the best bit – no exams, this is designed to be instructive and educational, but also fun and informal!

Modules & Terms

The entirety of the course will be broken up into six terms, each term comprising of ten weekly 90-minute long classes, spread over two years.

We will be studying four modules, across six terms, over the next two years. The modules will be:

• UK politics and political systems – how have political institutions in the UK developed, and how do they operate 
• US politics and political systems – how did US political systems plough their own furrow after American independence, and how do they now function? 
• Comparative politics – how and why do UK and US approaches to democracy differ, and what are the consequences of these differences?
• Political ideas – how have different ideas and ideologies shaped the politics of western democracies, and other societies globally?

Future Term dates will be confirmed with exact dates nearer the time, however they will be broken up into the following Terms over the 2 year duration:

• Term 5: Autumn Term : 26th September - 28th November 2024
• Term 6 : New Year Term : Mid January – Mid March 2025 - Exact dates TBA

Course price

The cost of each term will be £120, for ten 90-minute classes. 

The terms will be available to book one at a time to break up the cost over the two year time period. We will do everything we can to keep days and times the same for your tuition group for the full two years.

Tuition groups

Although all the groups will study the same material, we will inevitably end up moving at a slightly different pace in each, not least as Simon wants to be able to respond to the interests and learning needs of each group.  So once you have signed up to a group, you’ll need to stick with that group right through the course.  We will do everything we can to keep days and times the same for each group for the full two years. To easily differentiate these, we have named our groups after Suffragettes!

This group is the 'Pankhurst Group' and these sessions will take place on Thursday at 3pm – 4:30pm (approx. 90 minutes in duration) Term 5 will take place over 10 weeks; starting on Thursday 26th September 2024 and will conclude on Thursday 28th November 2024.

Exclusive Facebook Groups

In addition to the course experience, if you have not already joined, you will be invited to join an exclusive and private Facebook group which will be created for each tuition group. This group will enable you to connect with your fellow students and to provide a forum for discussion between classes. This will also offer an opportunity for Denman and Simon to keep you up to date with course related items, however anything essential will always be sent out via email.

Please note, there is no obligation for you to join the Facebook group. All essential information for the course will be sent via email.

Course texts

Please note, there is no requirement to purchase text books or to ‘do homework’, however Simon will sometimes recommend optional further reading or study between classes for those who want to delve deeper. 

Meet your tutor – Dr Simon Gregor

Simon Gregor has been passionate about politics since he was a student studying the US and Soviet political systems for his Politics A-level!  He took his undergraduate degree in English Literature at the University of Cambridge, and later completed his PhD in History at the University of Wolverhampton.  He has extensive experience teaching and lecturing both in-person and online, including at Denman College and more recently for Denman at Home.  He is committed to making politics fun, engaging and widely accessible; and to examining both the historical roots of modern political systems, and what this means in contemporary practice.  He also occasionally makes bad jokes, so apologies for those in advance!

Consent to share information

• By signing up to the course, you agree to be recorded as part of each session; but recordings will only be made available to students on the course for a limited time, to catch up if you miss a session, or to re-watch the class should you wish to.
• By signing up to this course, you will consent to your name and email address being shared with Simon so that he can send out any relevant handouts and information to you if and when applicable. Please note that none of your other personal details will be shared.

Zoom

All sessions will take place via Zoom. Each 10-part term will have its own unique Zoom code created for that period. Please keep the Zoom code safe and do not share it to any external sources.

Recordings

Don’t worry if you miss a live session or wish to watch anything back for clarification at a later time. Each session will be recorded to allow you to play back a recording in your own time. Denman will aim to send recording links out via email within 24 hours after each live session. All sessions will be viewable for at least 14 days afterwards.

Information documents including Zoom log in details and links to join your exclusive Facebook Group will be included at the bottom of your confirmation email after you have registered. 

(If you do not receive a confirmation email please check your spam/junk email boxes or sign into  the 'Your Account' section of the Denman website to retrieve all of your booking and course information)