Department to teach new Parliamentary Studies module with the Houses of Parliament
Co-taught by the Department of Politics and officials at Westminster.
Since 2013, the Department of Politics at Birkbeck has been part of a select group of universities teaching an exciting new politics module, Parliamentary Studies'. Co-taught by members of the department and officials at Westminster, the course gives students a unique opportunity to explore and understand how Parliament operates with the help of Parliamentary officials themselves.
'Parliamentary Studies' analyses how Parliament works in theory and practice, comparing Westminster with other institutions and exploring the themes and issues around the functioning of parliaments in the modern world, focusing particularly on its role in Brexit. The course combines the latest theoretical innovations and research with the real life experience of how a legislature works.
So far, highlights of the course in the last few years have included
- a visit and talk at Birkbeck by Speaker John Bercow and an earlier Q and A for students
- careers talks on how to work for an MP
- a whole range of activities including mock select committees in class to writing blogs on what MPs do.