POLI20532 Course Outline 1112 - School of Social Sciences
POLI20532 Course Outline 1112 - School of Social Sciences
POLI20532 Course Outline 1112 - School of Social Sciences
Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
<strong>POLI20532</strong>: <strong>Course</strong> Guide 2011-12<br />
SAMPLE TWO HOUR EXAM PAPER<br />
_____________________________________________________________________<br />
The use <strong>of</strong> electronic calculators and dictionaries is not permitted.<br />
_____________________________________________________________________<br />
Answer TWO questions, one from each section.<br />
Section One: the fraying <strong>of</strong> consensus<br />
1. Modernisation was the challenge; failure to meet it meant electoral defeat. Is this a fair assessment<br />
<strong>of</strong> either (i) the Wilson governments 1964-70 or (ii) the Heath government 1970-4?<br />
2. Why did commentators like Eric Hobsbawm feel so pessimistic about Labour’s prospects even<br />
before 1979?<br />
3. Did the trade unions threaten the achievements <strong>of</strong> the post-war settlement, or did they provide the<br />
best guarantee that these achievements would be maintained?<br />
4. To what extent can we speak <strong>of</strong> 'racialisation' <strong>of</strong> British politics between 1958 and 1978 and do you<br />
agree with Richard Crossman that this represented an 'appalling violation <strong>of</strong> [the] deepest<br />
principles' <strong>of</strong> the main political parties?<br />
Section Two: consensus dismantled – and renewed?<br />
5. What distinguished New Labour in power from the record <strong>of</strong> previous Labour governments?<br />
6. Was Thatcherism a “two-nations project”?<br />
7. Do you agree that the age <strong>of</strong> single-party government has now ended in Britain?<br />
43
Change language