Queen Mary, University of LondonMA Community Organising

For information about fees and an application form please go to: www.geog.qmul.ac.uk/admissions/postgraduate

Please contact: Professor Jane Wills Department of Geography Queen Mary, University of LondonLondon E1 4NS Tel: +44 (0)20 7882 8200 email: j.wills@qmul.ac.uk

photos copyright Chris Jepson

This publication has been produced Marketing and Communications – Pub9961

The information given in this publication is correct at the time of going to press. The College reserves

the right to modify or cancel any statement in it andaccepts no responsibility for the consequences of any

such changes. Any section of this publication isavailable upon request in accessible formats (large

print, audio, etc.). For further information andassistance, please contact: Diversity Specialist,

hr-equality@qmul.ac.uk, 020 7882 5585

Geography at Queen Mary,University of LondonThe Department of Geography at QueenMary, University of London is recognised as an international centre for excellence inteaching and research. We are also known forour friendly, collegial and welcoming ethos.We are very proud of our achievements, withrecent highlights including:

• Ranked joint first in the 2008 ResearchAssessment Exercise, with three quarters of our research rated as world-leading/internationally excellent

• Receiving a grade of ‘excellent’ for ourteaching programmes in the most recentteaching quality assessment exercise

• Achieving a position of joint fourth in the UKfor overall student satisfaction on several ofour undergraduate degree programmes inthe 2009 National Student Survey

The Department’s postgraduate schoolcontinues to grow. We currently have over 30PhD students working on a range of researchtopics, and around 20 MA/MSc students. Weoffer an attractive range of Mastersprogrammes that reflect the Department’sdistinctive research strengths. Our MA/MScprogrammes offer a good foundation for thosewho wish to continue on to doctoral research.

Queen Mary, University of LondonMA Community Organising

The seminars will provide a deeperunderstanding of the context in whichcommunity organisers work, exploring thenature of contemporary citizenship, popular(dis)engagement with democracy, the structuresof local politics and urban governance in theUK. Students will also learn about the processesof leadership development, relationship-building, the evaluation and running ofcampaigns. More detailed explication of thelinks between community organising and thelabour movement, Judaism, Christianity andIslam will comprise the final part of the module.

3 Research methodologiesYou will attend weekly seminars coveringresearch approaches, methods, ethics, projectdesign, implementation and dissemination inpreparation for completing your dissertation.These seminars include qualitative researchmethods including questionnaire design,interviewing, action research, participation and ethnography.

4 DissertationYou will complete a 15,000 word dissertation on a topic related to community organising. This can be either (1) a humanities-style thesisthat scrutinises key ideas in relation to theirdeployment by broad-based communityorganisations; or (2) a social sciences-stylethesis that sets out to answer a number ofresearch questions pertinent to the work ofbroad-based community organisations throughthe acquisition of original research data; or (3) an action research project that is based on acollective project with members of a communityorganisation. You will write up the actionresearch work that was undertaken and reflecton the experience as well as the results.

Student teaching and supportThe programme convenor, Professor Jane Wills (Department of Geography, Queen Mary,University of London), will teach modules oneand two with Lord Maurice Glasman (LondonMetropolitan University).

You will be assigned an academic supervisorfrom the Geography Department at Queen Mary,University of London who will provide guidanceand advice on your dissertation research.

You will be part of the growing body of graduatestudents in the Department of Geography aswell as members of the Graduate School atQueen Mary, University of London. As such, you will be invited to attend weekly researchseminars held in the Department of Geographyand occasional research frameworks sessionsheld to discuss research with top-levelacademic researchers. You will also be entitledto attend the training, support and developmentopportunities provided by the Graduate School.

Community organising is aboutbringing people together andempowering them to achievechange through political action. By using this approachcommunities come together tocompel public authorities andbusinesses to respond to the needs of ordinary people.

Why study CommunityOrganising at Queen Mary? The only MA of its kind in the UKThe popularity of community organising as a direction for future political movements isgrowing in the UK. This programme providesyou with an advanced understanding of thetheory, history and practice of communityorganising in the wider context of contemporarysocial, political and economic change.

Guaranteed hands-on work experience as a Community OrganiserThis programme guarantees students theopportunity study and gain practical experiencewith a 5 month placement as an organiser with Citizens UK www.citizensuk.org/

Excellent career prospectsThrough the long-standing relationship withCitizens UK, students on this programme aregiven a solid foundation to develop a successfulcareer in community organising or a relatedfield. This includes teaching, local development,local government, religious organisations, thevoluntary sector, social movements and political

campaigning. The growing international networkof community organising alliances whichincludes Australia, the USA and Germany, as well as the UK, also provides a significantnumber of career opportunities.

We warmly invite students from all over theworld and hope that this MA will stimulate new organising initiatives in new locations.

Programme structure You will complete three compulsory modulesassessed via coursework and a 15,000 worddissertation as outlined below.

1 The theory and history of community organisingThis module introduces the philosophical and theoretical assumptions of communityorganising, covering the most importantachievements in the United States and Britain over the past 80 years.

You will cover topics such as Aristotelian notionsof the common good, the importance ofleadership, theories of power, Catholic SocialTeaching, urban sociology and the limits of themarket. In the second part of the module thelessons of history are explored through studyingthe work of community organisers in Chicago,London, New York, Rochester and San Antonio.

2 Community organising in practiceThis module is taught through a combination of seminars over six months and a placementwith Citizens UK that will last five months anddemand up to 10 hours a week (200 hours intotal) working as a community organiser.

Pub9961 Community Organisation Leaflet v4_Layout 1 06/11/2012 16:54 Page 1

Queen Mary, University of LondonMA Community Organising

For information about fees and an application form please go to: www.geog.qmul.ac.uk/admissions/postgraduate

Please contact: Professor Jane Wills Department of Geography Queen Mary, University of LondonLondon E1 4NS Tel: +44 (0)20 7882 8200 email: j.wills@qmul.ac.uk

photos copyright Chris Jepson

This publication has been produced Marketing and Communications – Pub9961

The information given in this publication is correct at the time of going to press. The College reserves

the right to modify or cancel any statement in it andaccepts no responsibility for the consequences of any

such changes. Any section of this publication isavailable upon request in accessible formats (large

print, audio, etc.). For further information andassistance, please contact: Diversity Specialist,

hr-equality@qmul.ac.uk, 020 7882 5585

Geography at Queen Mary,University of LondonThe Department of Geography at QueenMary, University of London is recognised as an international centre for excellence inteaching and research. We are also known forour friendly, collegial and welcoming ethos.We are very proud of our achievements, withrecent highlights including:

• Queen Mary joined the Russell Group ofleading UK universities in 2012. The Group,which includes other top universities suchas Oxford, Cambridge and UCL, attracts thebrightest students from all over the worldand almost two thirds of research funding in the UK.

• Ranked joint first in the 2008 ResearchAssessment Exercise, with three quarters of our research rated as world-leading/internationally excellent

• Receiving a grade of ‘excellent’ for ourteaching programmes in the most recentteaching quality assessment exercise

• Achieving a position of joint fourth in the UKfor overall student satisfaction on several ofour undergraduate degree programmes inthe 2009 National Student Survey

The Department’s postgraduate schoolcontinues to grow. We currently have over 30 PhD students working on a range ofresearch topics, and around 20 MA/MScstudents. We offer an attractive range ofMasters programmes that reflect theDepartment’s distinctive research strengths.Our MA/MSc programmes offer a goodfoundation for those who wish to continue on to doctoral research.

Queen Mary, University of LondonMA Community Organising

The seminars will provide a deeperunderstanding of the context in whichcommunity organisers work, exploring thenature of contemporary citizenship, popular(dis)engagement with democracy, the structuresof local politics and urban governance in theUK. Students will also learn about the processesof leadership development, relationship-building, the evaluation and running ofcampaigns. More detailed explication of thelinks between community organising and thelabour movement, Judaism, Christianity andIslam will comprise the final part of the module.

3 Research methodologiesYou will attend weekly seminars coveringresearch approaches, methods, ethics, projectdesign, implementation and dissemination inpreparation for completing your dissertation.These seminars include qualitative researchmethods including questionnaire design,interviewing, action research, participation and ethnography.

4 DissertationYou will complete a 15,000-word dissertation on a topic related to community organising. This can be either (1) a humanities-style thesisthat scrutinises key ideas in relation to theirdeployment by broad-based communityorganisations; or (2) a social sciences-stylethesis that sets out to answer a number ofresearch questions pertinent to the work ofbroad-based community organisations throughthe acquisition of original research data; or (3) an action research project that is based on acollective project with members of a communityorganisation. You will write up the actionresearch work that was undertaken and reflecton the experience as well as the results.

Student teaching and supportThe programme convenor, Professor Jane Wills (Department of Geography, Queen Mary,University of London), will teach modules oneand two with Lord Maurice Glasman (LondonMetropolitan University).

You will be assigned an academic supervisorfrom the Geography Department at Queen Mary,University of London who will provide guidanceand advice on your dissertation research.

You will be part of the growing body of graduatestudents in the Department of Geography aswell as members of the Graduate School atQueen Mary, University of London. As such, you will be invited to attend weekly researchseminars held in the Department of Geographyand occasional research frameworks sessionsheld to discuss research with top-levelacademic researchers. You will also be entitledto attend the training, support and developmentopportunities provided by the Graduate School.

Community organising is aboutbringing people together andempowering them to achievechange through political action. By using this approachcommunities come together tocompel public authorities andbusinesses to respond to the needs of ordinary people.

Why study CommunityOrganising at Queen Mary? The only MA of its kind in the UKThe popularity of community organising as a direction for future political movements isgrowing in the UK. This programme providesyou with an advanced understanding of thetheory, history and practice of communityorganising in the wider context of contemporarysocial, political and economic change.

Guaranteed hands-on work experience as a Community OrganiserThis programme guarantees students theopportunity to study and gain practicalexperience with a five-month placement as anorganiser with Citizens UK www.citizensuk.org/

Excellent career prospectsThrough the long-standing relationship withCitizens UK, students on this programme aregiven a solid foundation to develop a successfulcareer in community organising or a relatedfield. This includes teaching, local development,local government, religious organisations, thevoluntary sector, social movements and political

campaigning. The growing international networkof community organising alliances whichincludes Australia, the USA and Germany, as well as the UK, also provides a significantnumber of career opportunities.

We warmly invite students from all over theworld and hope that this MA will stimulate new organising initiatives in new locations.

Programme structure You will complete three compulsory modulesassessed via coursework and a 15,000-worddissertation as outlined below.

1 The theory and history of community organisingThis module introduces the philosophical and theoretical assumptions of communityorganising, covering the most importantachievements in the United States and Britain over the past 80 years.

You will cover topics such as Aristotelian notionsof the common good, the importance ofleadership, theories of power, Catholic SocialTeaching, urban sociology and the limits of themarket. In the second part of the module thelessons of history are explored through studyingthe work of community organisers in Chicago,London, New York, Rochester and San Antonio.

2 Community organising in practiceThis module is taught through a combination of seminars over six months and a placementwith Citizens UK that will last five months anddemand up to ten hours a week (200 hours intotal) working as a community organiser.

Queen Mary, University of LondonMA Community Organising

For information about fees and an application form please go to: www.geog.qmul.ac.uk/admissions/postgraduate

Please contact: Professor Jane Wills Department of Geography Queen Mary, University of LondonLondon E1 4NS Tel: +44 (0)20 7882 8200 email: j.wills@qmul.ac.uk

photos copyright Chris Jepson

This publication has been produced Marketing and Communications – Pub9961

The information given in this publication is correct at the time of going to press. The College reserves

the right to modify or cancel any statement in it andaccepts no responsibility for the consequences of any

such changes. Any section of this publication isavailable upon request in accessible formats (large

print, audio, etc.). For further information andassistance, please contact: Diversity Specialist,

hr-equality@qmul.ac.uk, 020 7882 5585

Geography at Queen Mary,University of LondonThe Department of Geography at QueenMary, University of London is recognised as an international centre for excellence inteaching and research. We are also known forour friendly, collegial and welcoming ethos.We are very proud of our achievements, withrecent highlights including:

• Queen Mary joined the Russell Group ofleading UK universities in 2012. The Group,which includes other top universities suchas Oxford, Cambridge and UCL, attracts thebrightest students from all over the worldand almost two thirds of research funding in the UK.

• Ranked joint first in the 2008 ResearchAssessment Exercise, with three quarters of our research rated as world-leading/internationally excellent

• Receiving a grade of ‘excellent’ for ourteaching programmes in the most recentteaching quality assessment exercise

• Achieving a position of joint fourth in the UKfor overall student satisfaction on several ofour undergraduate degree programmes inthe 2009 National Student Survey

The Department’s postgraduate schoolcontinues to grow. We currently have over 30 PhD students working on a range ofresearch topics, and around 20 MA/MScstudents. We offer an attractive range ofMasters programmes that reflect theDepartment’s distinctive research strengths.Our MA/MSc programmes offer a goodfoundation for those who wish to continue on to doctoral research.

Queen Mary, University of LondonMA Community Organising

The seminars will provide a deeperunderstanding of the context in whichcommunity organisers work, exploring thenature of contemporary citizenship, popular(dis)engagement with democracy, the structuresof local politics and urban governance in theUK. Students will also learn about the processesof leadership development, relationship-building, the evaluation and running ofcampaigns. More detailed explication of thelinks between community organising and thelabour movement, Judaism, Christianity andIslam will comprise the final part of the module.

3 Research methodologiesYou will attend weekly seminars coveringresearch approaches, methods, ethics, projectdesign, implementation and dissemination inpreparation for completing your dissertation.These seminars include qualitative researchmethods including questionnaire design,interviewing, action research, participation and ethnography.

4 DissertationYou will complete a 15,000-word dissertation on a topic related to community organising. This can be either (1) a humanities-style thesisthat scrutinises key ideas in relation to theirdeployment by broad-based communityorganisations; or (2) a social sciences-stylethesis that sets out to answer a number ofresearch questions pertinent to the work ofbroad-based community organisations throughthe acquisition of original research data; or (3) an action research project that is based on acollective project with members of a communityorganisation. You will write up the actionresearch work that was undertaken and reflecton the experience as well as the results.

Student teaching and supportThe programme convenor, Professor Jane Wills (Department of Geography, Queen Mary,University of London), will teach modules oneand two with Lord Maurice Glasman (LondonMetropolitan University).

You will be assigned an academic supervisorfrom the Geography Department at Queen Mary,University of London who will provide guidanceand advice on your dissertation research.

You will be part of the growing body of graduatestudents in the Department of Geography aswell as members of the Graduate School atQueen Mary, University of London. As such, you will be invited to attend weekly researchseminars held in the Department of Geographyand occasional research frameworks sessionsheld to discuss research with top-levelacademic researchers. You will also be entitledto attend the training, support and developmentopportunities provided by the Graduate School.

Community organising is aboutbringing people together andempowering them to achievechange through political action. By using this approachcommunities come together tocompel public authorities andbusinesses to respond to the needs of ordinary people.

Why study CommunityOrganising at Queen Mary? The only MA of its kind in the UKThe popularity of community organising as a direction for future political movements isgrowing in the UK. This programme providesyou with an advanced understanding of thetheory, history and practice of communityorganising in the wider context of contemporarysocial, political and economic change.

Guaranteed hands-on work experience as a Community OrganiserThis programme guarantees students theopportunity to study and gain practicalexperience with a five-month placement as anorganiser with Citizens UK www.citizensuk.org/

Excellent career prospectsThrough the long-standing relationship withCitizens UK, students on this programme aregiven a solid foundation to develop a successfulcareer in community organising or a relatedfield. This includes teaching, local development,local government, religious organisations, thevoluntary sector, social movements and political

campaigning. The growing international networkof community organising alliances whichincludes Australia, the USA and Germany, as well as the UK, also provides a significantnumber of career opportunities.

We warmly invite students from all over theworld and hope that this MA will stimulate new organising initiatives in new locations.

Programme structure You will complete three compulsory modulesassessed via coursework and a 15,000-worddissertation as outlined below.

1 The theory and history of community organisingThis module introduces the philosophical and theoretical assumptions of communityorganising, covering the most importantachievements in the United States and Britain over the past 80 years.

You will cover topics such as Aristotelian notionsof the common good, the importance ofleadership, theories of power, Catholic SocialTeaching, urban sociology and the limits of themarket. In the second part of the module thelessons of history are explored through studyingthe work of community organisers in Chicago,London, New York, Rochester and San Antonio.

2 Community organising in practiceThis module is taught through a combination of seminars over six months and a placementwith Citizens UK that will last five months anddemand up to ten hours a week (200 hours intotal) working as a community organiser.

Queen Mary, University of LondonMA Community Organising

For information about fees and an application form please go to: www.geog.qmul.ac.uk/admissions/postgraduate

Please contact: Professor Jane Wills Department of Geography Queen Mary, University of LondonLondon E1 4NS Tel: +44 (0)20 7882 8200 email: j.wills@qmul.ac.uk

photos copyright Chris Jepson

This publication has been produced Marketing and Communications – Pub9961

The information given in this publication is correct at the time of going to press. The College reserves

the right to modify or cancel any statement in it andaccepts no responsibility for the consequences of any

such changes. Any section of this publication isavailable upon request in accessible formats (large

print, audio, etc.). For further information andassistance, please contact: Diversity Specialist,

hr-equality@qmul.ac.uk, 020 7882 5585

Geography at Queen Mary,University of LondonThe Department of Geography at QueenMary, University of London is recognised as an international centre for excellence inteaching and research. We are also known forour friendly, collegial and welcoming ethos.We are very proud of our achievements, withrecent highlights including:

• Queen Mary joined the Russell Group ofleading UK universities in 2012. The Group,which includes other top universities suchas Oxford, Cambridge and UCL, attracts thebrightest students from all over the worldand almost two thirds of research funding in the UK.

• Ranked joint first in the 2008 ResearchAssessment Exercise, with three quarters of our research rated as world-leading/internationally excellent

• Receiving a grade of ‘excellent’ for ourteaching programmes in the most recentteaching quality assessment exercise

• Achieving a position of joint fourth in the UKfor overall student satisfaction on several ofour undergraduate degree programmes inthe 2009 National Student Survey

The Department’s postgraduate schoolcontinues to grow. We currently have over 30 PhD students working on a range ofresearch topics, and around 20 MA/MScstudents. We offer an attractive range ofMasters programmes that reflect theDepartment’s distinctive research strengths.Our MA/MSc programmes offer a goodfoundation for those who wish to continue on to doctoral research.

Queen Mary, University of LondonMA Community Organising

The seminars will provide a deeperunderstanding of the context in whichcommunity organisers work, exploring thenature of contemporary citizenship, popular(dis)engagement with democracy, the structuresof local politics and urban governance in theUK. Students will also learn about the processesof leadership development, relationship-building, the evaluation and running ofcampaigns. More detailed explication of thelinks between community organising and thelabour movement, Judaism, Christianity andIslam will comprise the final part of the module.

3 Research methodologiesYou will attend weekly seminars coveringresearch approaches, methods, ethics, projectdesign, implementation and dissemination inpreparation for completing your dissertation.These seminars include qualitative researchmethods including questionnaire design,interviewing, action research, participation and ethnography.

4 DissertationYou will complete a 15,000-word dissertation on a topic related to community organising. This can be either (1) a humanities-style thesisthat scrutinises key ideas in relation to theirdeployment by broad-based communityorganisations; or (2) a social sciences-stylethesis that sets out to answer a number ofresearch questions pertinent to the work ofbroad-based community organisations throughthe acquisition of original research data; or (3) an action research project that is based on acollective project with members of a communityorganisation. You will write up the actionresearch work that was undertaken and reflecton the experience as well as the results.

Student teaching and supportThe programme convenor, Professor Jane Wills (Department of Geography, Queen Mary,University of London), will teach modules oneand two with Lord Maurice Glasman (LondonMetropolitan University).

You will be assigned an academic supervisorfrom the Geography Department at Queen Mary,University of London who will provide guidanceand advice on your dissertation research.

You will be part of the growing body of graduatestudents in the Department of Geography aswell as members of the Graduate School atQueen Mary, University of London. As such, you will be invited to attend weekly researchseminars held in the Department of Geographyand occasional research frameworks sessionsheld to discuss research with top-levelacademic researchers. You will also be entitledto attend the training, support and developmentopportunities provided by the Graduate School.

Community organising is aboutbringing people together andempowering them to achievechange through political action. By using this approachcommunities come together tocompel public authorities andbusinesses to respond to the needs of ordinary people.

Why study CommunityOrganising at Queen Mary? The only MA of its kind in the UKThe popularity of community organising as a direction for future political movements isgrowing in the UK. This programme providesyou with an advanced understanding of thetheory, history and practice of communityorganising in the wider context of contemporarysocial, political and economic change.

Guaranteed hands-on work experience as a Community OrganiserThis programme guarantees students theopportunity to study and gain practicalexperience with a five-month placement as anorganiser with Citizens UK www.citizensuk.org/

Excellent career prospectsThrough the long-standing relationship withCitizens UK, students on this programme aregiven a solid foundation to develop a successfulcareer in community organising or a relatedfield. This includes teaching, local development,local government, religious organisations, thevoluntary sector, social movements and political

campaigning. The growing international networkof community organising alliances whichincludes Australia, the USA and Germany, as well as the UK, also provides a significantnumber of career opportunities.

We warmly invite students from all over theworld and hope that this MA will stimulate new organising initiatives in new locations.

Programme structure You will complete three compulsory modulesassessed via coursework and a 15,000-worddissertation as outlined below.

1 The theory and history of community organisingThis module introduces the philosophical and theoretical assumptions of communityorganising, covering the most importantachievements in the United States and Britain over the past 80 years.

You will cover topics such as Aristotelian notionsof the common good, the importance ofleadership, theories of power, Catholic SocialTeaching, urban sociology and the limits of themarket. In the second part of the module thelessons of history are explored through studyingthe work of community organisers in Chicago,London, New York, Rochester and San Antonio.

2 Community organising in practiceThis module is taught through a combination of seminars over six months and a placementwith Citizens UK that will last five months anddemand up to ten hours a week (200 hours intotal) working as a community organiser.

www.qmul.ac.uk/postgraduate/coursefinderFurther informationDepartment of GeographyQueen Mary, University of LondonMile End RoadLondon E1 4NSTel: +44 (0)20 7882 8200Fax: +44 (0)20 7882 7032email: geog@qmul.ac.uk

MACommunityOrganisingHistory, Theory and Practice• Community Organising is a fast growing political movement in the UK

• The only MA of its kind in the UK

• Five months hands-on community organising with Citizens UK

Enquiries to Professor Jane Wills, j.wills@qmul.ac.uk

Pub9961 Community Organisation Leaflet v4_Layout 1 06/11/2012 16:55 Page 2