New politics degree will help students understand the world today

A leading North-East politician is to share his expertise with students on a new course launched by Teesside University.

Dr Christopher Massey is one of a number of prominent academics who will be teaching on the BA (Hons) Politics starting at the University in September.

Dr Massey has been at the forefront of North-East politics for almost a decade and until this year served as deputy leader of Redcar and Cleveland Council.

He has worked closely with many senior Labour politicians including the trade unionist and former Chancellor of Teesside, Lord Tom Sawyer of Darlington, about whom he has written a book.

His next publication about the modernisation of the Labour Party between 1979 and 1997 is based on research and interviews with several of the party’s leading figures including Tony Blair, Neil Kinnock, Peter Mandelson and John Prescott.

Also teaching alongside Dr Massey on the Politics degree will be Professor Nigel Copsey, widely considered one of the foremost UK experts on fascist and anti-fascist politics.

They will be joined by Dr Ultan Gillen and Dr Charlie McGuire who will be covering modules on subjects including revolution, political ideology and anti-politics.

The degree offers students the opportunity to study a wide range of areas, ranging from ancient political philosophy to contemporary phenomena such as the alt-right and events such as reactions to Corbynism.

Dr Massey said: 'From Brexit to Trump, politics is front page news right now.

'More than ever, it is something that people are talking about and we wanted to design a course that reflected the issues of the day.

'Instead of a straightforward Politics degree, this qualification will allow students to mix the theory of politics with the study of current events.

'We will be looking at different ideologies and political philosophies and how they relate to events that are happening in the world.'

Professor Paul Crawshaw, Dean of the School of Social Sciences, Humanities & Law, said: “We are delighted to offer this BA (Hons) Politics to our portfolio.

'Students will benefit from being taught by academics with a fantastic array of expertise underpinned by research.

'Upon graduation they will have a firm understanding of the different issues driving events around the world, which will equip them with vital transferable skills to help them achieve success in a wide range of different careers.'

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