School of Arts and Media

Politics and Contemporary History Subject Group

Theories of Power and Domination

Level 5 Module
20 Credits

Module Handbook 2017-18

Convenor:
Dr Cristina Chiva
E-mail: c.chiva@salford.ac.uk
Tel.: 0161 295 3734
Office hours:
Tuesdays 10.00am-12.00pm, Crescent House 210 (teaching weeks only)

Lectures:
Mondays 11.00-12.00 in Maxwell 813.

Seminars:
Tuesdays 12.00-2.00pm in Peel 111 (seminar group 1)
Thursdays 2.00-4.00pm in Maxwell 714b (seminar group 2)
POLITICS & CONTEMPORARY HISTORY: GENERIC AIMS & OBJECTIVES

The aims, defined as the reasons for the provision of the educational experience provided
by the English, Politics and Contemporary History Subject Group, are as follows:
 To encourage students to develop an independent, critical and rational frame of mind;
 To enable students from a variety of academic backgrounds to engage successfully with
intellectually rigorous programmes of study;
 To prepare students for a wide range of future careers or further study by promoting skills
with both practical and academic applicability.
 The objectives, defined as the capacities students will have accumulated by the completion
of their studies, are as follows:
 A firm grasp of the political importance of the idea of power;
 An independent and critical ability to analyse relevant primary and secondary evidence or
data so as to present coherent and clearly reasoned arguments which address specific
problems;
 A particularly developed understanding of the key debates over the definition and
application of the models of power;
 The acquisition of the ‘key skills’ of: communication (both oral and written); information
technology; managing their own learning; working with others; and problem solving to a
level relevant to their own needs.
 All of the above to be achieved within a friendly and supportive environment.

1. Aims of the Module: What is the Purpose of this Course?

1. To analyse and appraise theories of power

2. To apply concepts of power to contemporary social institutions and processes
3. To explore the workings of social, economic and political power

2. Learning Outcomes: What Will You Learn?

Knowledge and Understanding

By the end of the module, you will be able to
1. Provide multiple definitions of what power is.
2. Use key concepts to explain various social phenomena.
3. Identify the analytical utility of competing concepts of power.
4. Understand the interconnections between political power and social power.

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Skills
By the end of this module, you will have had an opportunity to
1. Develop the capacity to critically assess theoretical argument and political evidence.
2. Consolidate and demonstrate independence in the search and access of sources of
information.
3. Manage search results and confirm knowledge of referencing in the writing ofyour essays.
4. Train your ability to present written arguments in a coherent, structured and persuasive
way.
5. Increase your confidence in making oral arguments before an audience and to build their
teamwork skills through seminar discussions.

3. The Module Convenor

The module convenor is Dr Cristina Chiva. Please do not hesitate to get in touch with her if you have any
questions about the module. Her contact details are:

Dr. Cristina Chiva

Room 210, Crescent House
Telephone: 0161 295 3734
E-mail: c.chiva@salford.ac.uk

Office Hours: Tuesdays 10.00am-12.00am, Crescent House 210 (teaching weeks only)

If you are unable to go and see Cristina during her office hours, please e-mail her and she will do what she
can to arrange an appointment at a different time. This also applies outside the teaching weeks.

4. Teaching and Learning Methods: How Will the Module Be Taught?

The module will be taught through a combination of weekly lectures and seminars.

The LECTURES (1 hour a week) will provide both an introduction and a structure to the course topics.
They will raise areas of debate and interest. They are designed to guide you in your independent reading
and research rather than offering you the “ultimate truth” about the subject. Apart from attending the
lectures, in order to pass the course you are therefore expected to do your weekly reading (“Required
Reading for the Seminar”).

The Powerpoint slides of each lecture will be uploaded on Blackboard weekly. The possibility of
downloading the slides saves you to write down all you see on the board during class. Remember,
however, that they are NOTES: they will make sense if you have actually attended the lectures. They are
not designed to replace the lectures. If you missed a class because you were ill or because of any other
important reason I recommend you download the notes, but also arrange to see your seminar tutor to
make sure you are not left behind.

You will have the opportunity to reflect on the topics of the module and train your presentation skills
during the discussion-based SEMINARS (2 hours a week). There you will be able to debate about the

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issues covered during the lectures and to ask questions about aspects you have doubts about. All tutorials
are intended to develop your communication skills, your ability to work within a group, and your study
skills. They will also help you with essay and exam preparation.

The seminars are not “another lecture”. They are really centred around YOU and YOUR IDEAS. The
seminar tutors are only there as facilitators, to guide the discussion and bring it back on track when it goes
off topic. It is therefore ESSENTIAL that you come prepared by having done the REQUIRED
READING. This is clearly marked in your reading list.

Please note: currently there are 2 seminars groups scheduled for the module. If the attendance
drops below 50% on the seminars, I will have to merge the two groups in order to maximise the
pedagogical impact of the seminar (i.e. what you get out of the seminar depends on sufficient
numbers of students attending).

5. Lecture and Seminar Schedule and Topics

Week no. Lecture dates Seminar dates Lecture topic

1 29 Jan. 30 Jan./1 Feb. Introduction to the Module

Part A – your essay questions are on one of the topics below (see section 7 on assessment)

2 5 Feb. 6/8 Feb. What is Power? Definitions and Dimensions

3 12 Feb. 13/15 Feb. Power as a Tool of Elites
4 19 Feb. 20/22 Feb. Liberalism Strikes Back: Pluralists and Power
5 26 Feb. 27 Feb/1 Mar. From One Dimension to two: Bachrach and Baratz
6 5 Mar. 6 /8 Mar. Into a Third Dimension: Stephen Lukes
Part B – your exam questions will be on one of the topics below (see section 7 on assessment)

7 12 Mar. 13/15 Mar. Power and the People: Marx and Lenin
8 9 April 10/12 April Power and Hegemony: Gramsci
9 16 April 17/19 April Power, Society and Control: Michel Foucault
10 23 April 24/26 Apr. Power and Gender: Feminist Theories
11 30 April 1/3 May Power and Race: Post-Colonialism

12 7 May 8/10 May Exam revision session

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 6. Expectations of Student Conduct

As with all Politics and Contemporary History (PCH) modules, your attendance at ALL lectures and
seminars is expected. You attendance will be recorded and if you are absent from two or more
consecutive seminars, you can expect to receive an absence letter that will also be placed in your student
file. Disciplinary action may be taken.

If you are experiencing any problems, either academic or personal, that are affecting your
attendance, please communicate with me or your personal tutor. We will do our best to help you
to resolve the issue.

Seminar Attendance. Studying at University means that you have the main responsibility for your work
and progress. You are, however, required to attend seminars. Students should adhere to the following
carefully.

 Attendance at seminars is compulsory. All students MUST ensure that they sign a register sheet at
the start of each seminar meeting. The student’s signature will be taken as evidence by the School
that they have attended a particular seminar meeting. It is the responsibility of each student to
ensure that they have attended a particular meeting. It is the responsibility of each student to
ensure that they sign the sheet at each seminar meeting. Students are NOT permitted to sign
anyone into the seminar meeting other than themselves and MUST NOT change seminar groups
without the prior permission of the Seminar Tutors concerned.
 Students who miss seminars will be required to provide either medical evidence or a satisfactory
explanation to their Module Convenor. If you miss a seminar because of illness, you must submit
a written explanation providing details of the reasons for your absence, (and, for sickness lasting
more than seven days, by a medical certificate).
 Only candidates registered for the module are permitted to attend the seminars. In certain cases, a
convenor may permit a non-registered student to sit in, but this is at their discretion. Persistent
absence may result in disciplinary action being taken.

Satisfactory reasons for not attending seminars could include:

 a certified medical absence, doctor’s or hospital appointment etc.

 severe personal/family problems (e.g. family bereavement)
 childcare or similar family responsibilities which arise suddenly

Oversleeping, forgetfulness, poor time-management, etc. are not satisfactory reasons. Please note -
Students are reminded that they are not permitted to go on holiday during term time.

You are required to prepare adequately for every seminar by doing the weekly “required reading”
in order to participate fully in all the seminar discussions and make those both interesting and
productive.

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 7. Assessment

7a. Assessment Requirements. This module involves 2 pieces of assessment:

1. A 2,250-word essay (50% of the mark) on one of the essay questions below.
The essay is due by 4.00pm on Friday 27 April 2018 (week 10).
The purpose of the essay is to enable you to research and reflect upon certain key issues identified in the
module independently. Your essay should be 2,250 words in length and word-processed, double-spaced
using a large enough font (at least 11). Footnotes/endnotes are not counted as part of this total so long as
they only contain reference to the source of information used. The bibliography should not be counted
either. A penalty may be imposed on an essay that is 10% over or below this limit.

2. A Two-Hour Exam (50% of the mark) on the topics studied in weeks 7-11.
The exam will be held during the period 14-25 May 2018.

You will be sent the exam questions a few weeks in advance, and you will
have an opportunity to choose and prepare your questions thoroughly before
sitting the exam. The questions will be on the topics studied in weeks 7-11.
The exam format is the usual one: you will need to answer two questions in
two hours.

7b. Submission Deadlines

The essay is due by 4.00pm on Friday 27 April 2018. The exam will be held during
the period 14-25 May 2018.

7c. Submission mechanisms

You must submit electronically, using "TurnItIn," which will give you an electronic receipt for that
copy. The deadline for electronic submission is 4.00pm on the due date.

Please note that it can sometimes take up to 20 minutes for an essay to register on the system and thus
there is a danger that submissions may be delayed beyond 4.00pm, leading to a late penalty! It is also
worth noting that there is no technical support available for those submitting outside IT working hours.

For both of these reasons, I would urge you to leave plenty of time to submit your work.

If, however, you are unable to submit your work due to a technical fault with the system, you should send
it immediately to the module convenor (Cristina Chiva, c.chiva@salford.ac.uk) so that she can log the
time of submission. You will still be required to re-submit your essay to Turnitin when the system is up
and running, but at least the correct submission time will be logged by your module convenor so that you
aren't penalised for late submission.

7d. Late Submission

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When coursework is submitted late the following penalties for late work shall be applied to the mark or
grade for that work:

(a) if the work is no more than four working days late then five marks shall be deduced for each
working day (or part thereof), but if the work would otherwise pass then the mark for the work shall
be reduced to no lower than the pass mark for the component;

(b) if the work is no more than four working days late and the mark is lower than the pass mark, then
no penalty shall be applied;

(c) if the work is no more than four working days late and graded either Pass or Fail then no penalty
shall be applied;

(d) if the work is more than four working days late then it cannot be submitted and shall be recorded
as a non-submission (NS).

In all cases of late submission, the work will be marked and the mark recorded; late penalties will then be
applied and the mark recorded.

7e. Receiving Feedback

You will receive feedback in several forms: formative feedback during the seminar discussions; feedback
on your essay plans before submission; and feedback on your submitted work.

Please make sure that you attend all your lectures and seminars and participate in them as much as you
can: they are a valuable opportunity to get feedback on your understanding of the individual topics.

If you would like feedback about your essay before submission, please let your tutors have your draft at
least two weeks in advance of the deadline.

The purpose of feedback on your submitted assignments is to explain you how your mark was arrived at
and what you need to do to improve. You will receive feedback on your assignments electronically (on
Blackboard) within three weeks of submission or earlier, if possible.

7f. Reassessment
We obviously hope that you will:
(a) engage fully with this module,
(b) successfully complete all the components of assessment,
(c) achieve an overall pass mark at your first attempt, and
(d) (having been similarly successful with your other modules) be allowed either to proceed to the
next level/stage of study or else to graduate.

However, should you fail one or more of the components of assessment at your first attempt, and
consequently fail the module overall, you may be given up to two more opportunities to pass it.

The second attempt, often called a ‘resit,’ is a chance to undertake further independent study and undergo
reassessment in order to improve your marks in any failed component. Reassessment normally takes

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place at the end of August/beginning of September following your first attempt at the module. If you
manage to improve your component marks, your module mark is recalculated and, if you pass all your
modules, you will be allowed either to proceed to the next level/stage of study or to graduate. Please note
that the maximum module mark achievable at reassessment is the pass mark.

If you still have not managed to pass the module following a ‘resit,’ you may be offered a third and final
attempt, called a ‘retake.’ Retaking a module means starting the module again from scratch – attending all
the module’s classes during the following academic session and completing all the module’s components
of assessments again, regardless of whether or not you passed them at the first or second attempt. Your
module mark is calculated on the basis of your new component marks (subject to being capped at the
pass mark) and, if you pass all your modules, you will be allowed either to proceed to the next level/stage
of study or else to graduate. If you wish to retake a module, you will be required to pay a fee.

7g. Personal Mitigating Circumstances (PMC)

It is recognised that during your studies you will have to cope with a range of illnesses and experiences
which are part of the normal course of events in life. In many cases these circumstances will have little or
no noticeable effect on your academic performance. However there may be serious circumstances of a
medical or personal nature (i.e. not day-to-day minor illnesses or circumstances you could have easily
avoided through prior planning). If you believe that such circumstances have adversely affected your
ability to undertake or submit coursework or attend an exam, you may wish to bring them to the attention
of the examiners through the PMC procedure.

Detailed guidance about how to complete a PMC form is available in Part B of your Programme
Handbook on Blackboard or online via the Student Life pages.

PMC forms must be submitted within 10 days of either the assessment submission date or the
date of the assessment if it is an exam or similar type of assessment (e.g. oral presentation).

7h. Essay Questions

Choose one of the following questions:

1. Why do people comply with the requests of someone in a position of authority? Discuss in light
of Max Weber’s concepts of power and dominance.
2. Is there such a thing as a ‘power elite’? Discuss by comparing C. Wright-Mills’ and John Scott’s
respective theories of elites and power.
3. ‘Instead of a single centre of power, there must be multiple centres of power, none of which is or
can be wholly sovereign’. Discuss by analysing Dahl’s idea competitive pluralism in a democratic
system.
4. Are Bachrach and Baratz correct in arguing that power consists in the ability of particular persons
or groups to create and reinforce barriers to the public airing of conflicts? Discuss by reference to
the idea of the ‘two faces of power’.
5. To what extent is Lukes correct in arguing that there is a ‘third dimension’ of power, where one
person has the ability to influence, shape or determine another person’s preferences and wants?

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 Deadline: 4.00pm on Friday 27 April 2018.

8. University Statement on Plagiarism

The University takes academic misconduct offences very seriously and all suspected cases will be subject
to investigation.

Plagiarism, which is one of the categories of academic misconduct, is the act of passing off another
person’s work as your own, whether this is intentional or not. The most common types of plagiarism
include (but are not restricted to):

 Copying another individual’s work, with or without their consent/knowledge, and presenting this
as one’s own work.
 Quoting or summarizing the work of another author without acknowledgement and appropriate
referencing.

Other categories of academic misconduct are:

 Buying or commissioning a piece of work from another individual and presenting this as one’s
own work.
 Collusion
 Falsifying experimental or other investigative results
 Taking unauthorised material (including electronic devices) into an examination; copying from or
communicating with another person during an examination

As a student of the University, you should ensure that you know and understand what is meant by
plagiarism and the requirements of your own School for referencing and citation. Your academic tutors
will provide you with detailed advice and training about good academic practice (i.e. how to avoid
plagiarism) at the start of the academic year and during modules. In addition, you can seek further
guidance about what constitutes good academic practice from your module tutors and the following
resources:

 For more information about referencing);

http://www.salford.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/55679/bibcitation.pdf
http://www.salford.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/67390/harvardquickref.pdf
 Further information about plagiarism and how to avoid it:
http://www.library.salford.ac.uk/help/userguides/general/plagiarism/index.htm

You are also recommended to make use of TurnItIn Draft Submission Folder (available on Blackboard)
to check your assignments for any referencing/plagiarism issues prior to submission.

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When submitting each assignment, you will be required to complete a declaration confirming that the
work submitted is your own, with all sources duly acknowledged.

Anyone suspected of plagiarism will have his/her assessed written work run through the plagiarism
detection software TurnItIn.

If you are found guilty of plagiarism, the University will take appropriate disciplinary action, which may
result in expulsion from the University. The Policy on the Conduct of Assessed Work (Academic Good
Conduct) is available on the University policy and procedures website at
http://policies.salford.ac.uk/display.php?id=255.

9. Means of Communication
The primary mode of communication will be the dedicated Blackboard site and you should check this site
regularly for announcements. You should also regularly check your student e-mail account daily.

If you have any questions regarding the module, please contact the module convenor, Dr. Cristina Chiva
(C.Chiva@Salford.ac.uk). If you wish to contact directly any of the lecturers and seminar tutors please use
the following contacts: Dr. Cristina Chiva: C.Chiva@salford.ac.uk and Dr Stephen Ward
(s.j.ward@salford.ac.uk).

10. Study Resources

How to find a book from your reading list

The University library

The Clifford Whitworth Library contains the main collection of book stock (first floor) and journals
(second floor) that relate to the modules that are taught in the School of Humanities, Languages and
Social Sciences. There are libraries at the Allerton and Adelphi Campus which may also hold some of
your books.

The library works with your module tutors to try and obtain the vast majority of books and journal
articles that are noted on your module reading lists.

How to find a book from your reading list:

LaSU (Lists at Salford University) – Reading Lists Online

Module reading lists are available via LaSU- the University’s online reading list system. You can access
LaSU via the student channel and the library webpages and a direct link at: http://lasu.salford.ac.uk/
Further information can be found at the following guide:
http://www.library.salford.ac.uk/help/userguides/general/lasustud.pdf

SOLAR (Search Our Library’s Academic Resources) brings together all of the library’s collections
(books, journals, e-books and databases) and allows them to be searched from a single search screen- like
Google. It is available via the library’s website, on and off campus, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You
sign into SOLAR using your network username and password.

How to find a database

SOLAR also provides access to quality academic electronic information resources that will allow you to
find full text journal articles, book reviews, newspapers, subject dictionaries, electronic books and a

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variety of other sources that will be relevant to this module. You can access SOLAR via the library
website and click on ‘Find Databases’.

Using Other Libraries

Salford University Library is a member of the consortium of the SCONUL scheme and Salford
Undergraduates are entitled to use any of the local libraries, such as the University of Manchester and
Manchester Metropolitan University, as well as many other academic libraries (the scheme currently
covers over 170 other institutions) for reference purposes in order to consult their book stock and journal
collections. For further details and to check their library catalogues go to
http://www.library.salford.ac.uk/using/visiting/

Your subject librarians

Maree Green is the subject librarians for Politics and Contemporary History students and are happy to
help you with finding material, both print and electronic to support your studies. Information can be
found at: http://www.salford.ac.uk/library/help/subjects/jenmaree including contact information and a
web form to arrange an appointment. You can also contact the academic library team at: cass-
library@salford.ac.uk for any help and advice.

10. Useful Texts

This module examines a variety of topics. As a result, there is no core textbook.

You are strongly recommended to refer to each week’s reading list for specialized reading.

11. READING LIST

The following is a list of suggested readings for all your coursework (seminars, presentations, essay, and
exam). You are not limited by what is listed. If you wish to explore a particular subject in greater detail,
you should consult the footnotes and bibliographies of the works cited- particularly for essays and exam
work. You are also welcome to ask your lecturers and seminar tutors if you would like to receive further
suggestions on reading material.

The core reading is available on the Blackboard site for Politics and Democracy under Seminar
Readings. The additional reading is held by the library, either as a physical copy or as an e-book.
Don’t leave your reading until the last minute!

Remember! A good essay and a good exam performance depend on the quality of the research
that you have done – you need to read as widely as possible and then make sure that your work
reflects the range and depth of your understanding of the topic!

Please note that, since this is a theory-oriented module, you will be required to demonstrate, first
and foremost, an understanding of the core theoretical approach that we discuss in a particular
week. Thus, a large proportion of this reading list consists in core texts on power and domination
by Max Weber and other political theorists. I would strongly suggest that you prioritise doing the
readings from the key authors that we discuss in the lectures..

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There are many digitised texts on the Blackboard site for the module – please have a close look!

Week 1: Introduction to the module

Reading:
Andrew Heywood (2004). Political Theory: An Introduction. Basingstoke: (Palgrave Macmillan, 3rd edition). –
chapter 5 on Power, Authority and Legitimacy. This is an e-book and you can find it here: https://www-
dawsonera-com.salford.idm.oclc.org/readonline/9780230000759. You will need your university username
and password to log in.
Additional Reading – you may want to have a look at one or more of the following:
Stephen Lukes, Power: A Radical View, (2005).
Max Weber, Economy and Society: An Outline of Interpretative Sociology, (1978).
Robert Dahl, Who Governs?: Democracy and Power in an American City, (1961).
C. Wright Mills, The Power Elite, (1956).
Ralph Miliband, The State in Capitalist Society, (1973).
Nicos Poulantzas, & Tim O’Hagan, Political Power and Social Class, (1978).
Louis Althusser, Lenin and Philosophy and other essays, (1984).
Michel Foucault, Power/Knowledge: Selected Interviews and other writings, (1980).

Week 2: What is power? Definitions and dimensions

Readings:
Max Weber, Economy and Society: An Outline of Interpretative Sociology, (1978)
Stephen Lukes, Power: A Radical View, (2005)
Hannah Ardent, On Violence, (1970)
Dennis Wrong, Power: its Forms, Bases and Uses, (1995).

Week 3: Power as a Tool of Elites

Readings:
C. Wright Mills, The Power Elite, (1956)
G. William Domhoff, Power Elite and the State: How Policy is made in America, (1990).
Tom Bottomore, Elites and Society, (1993)
Milovan Djilas, The New Class: Analysis of the Communist System, (1983)
Vilfedo Pareto, The Rise and Fall of Elite: An Application of Political Sociology, (1991).

Week 4: Liberalism Strikes Back: Pluralists and Power

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Readings:
Robert Dahl, Who Governs?: Democracy and Power in an American City, (1961)
Robert Dahl, A Preface to Democratic Theory, (2006)
E.E. Schattschneider, The Semi-Sovereign People: A Realist’s view of Democracy in America, (1975).
Nelson W Polsby, Community Power and Political Theory, (1963).

Week 5: From One Dimension to Two: Bachrach and Baratz

Readings:
Peter Bachrach, & Morton Baratz, Power and Poverty: Theory and Practice, (1970)
Stephen Lukes, Power: A Radical View, (2005)
Colin Hay, State of the Art: Divided by a Common Language: Political Theory and the Concept of Power,
Politics 17:1 (1997)
Frederick Frey, Comment: On Issues and Nonissues in the Study of Power, American Political Science
Review, vol 65 (1971)

Week 6: Into a Third Dimension: Stephen Lukes

Readings:
Stephen Lukes, Power: A Radical View, (2005)
Stewart Clegg, Frameworks of Power, (1989) [ONLINE ACCESS]
John Gaventa, Power and the Powerlessness: Quiescence and rebellion in an Appalachian Valley, (1982)
Dennis Wrong, Power: its Forms, Bases and Uses, (1995).

Week 7: Power and the People: Marx and Lenin

Readings:
Karl Marx, The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte, (2005)
Karl Marx , & V. I. Lenin, The Civil War in France: The Paris Commune, (1988)
Ralph Miliband, Marxism and Politics, (1977)
V.I. Lenin, State and Revolution, (2007)

Week 8: Power and Hegemony: Gramsci

Readings:
Antonio Gramsci, Selections from the Prison Notebooks, (1971)
Anne Showstack Sassoon, Gramsci’s Politics, (1987)
Anne Showstack Sassoon, Gramsci and Contemporary Politics, (2000)
Christine Buci-Glucksmann, Gramsci and the State, (1980)
William I. Robinson, Promoting Polyarchy: Globalization, US Intervention, and Hegemony (1996)

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 Week 9: Power, Society and Control: Michel Foucault
Readings:
Michel Foucault, Power/Knowledge: Selected Interviews and other writings, (1980)
Michel Foucault, Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Modern Prison, (1979)
Michel Foucault, The History of Sexuality, (1981)
Stewart Clegg, Frameworks of Power, (1989)

Week 10: Power and Gender: Feminist Theories

Readings:
R. W. Connell, ‘The state, gender and secual politics’. Theory and Society 19(4), 507-544.
Valerie Bryson, y Feminist Political Theory: An introduction.
Carole Pateman and Elizabeth Grosz. Feminist Challenges to Social and Political Theory. (2013).

Week 11: Power and Race: Post-Colonialism

Readings:
Edward Said, Orientalism, (1995)
Harry Braverman, Labor and Monopoly Capitalism: The Degradation of Work in the Twentieth Century,
(1999)
Paul Lafargue, The Right to be Lazy, (1999).

Week 11: Exam revision

Week 12 will be dedicated to exam revision.

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