Contemporary Issues in Political Science

Sodobni politološki izzivi

Course credits:

10.00 ECTS / 50 (30 hours of lectures, 0 hours of exercises, 20 hours of seminars, 0 hours other forms of work)

Course holder:

prof. dr. Žiga Vodovnik

Type:

Required

Language:

English

Semester:

First semester

Study degree

2. level

Course execution:

• Postgraduate Programme of Political Science – Political Theory, Global and Strategic Studies

Prerequisits:

Students are allowed to participate in the course provided that they have completed the enrolment procedure.

Objectives and competences

The main goal of the course is to introduce the subject matter in a systematic and comprehensive manner, therefore, to expose students to some of the main contemporary theories of political community as they developed within the Anglo-Saxon, the German and the French tradition. Special focus will be on contemporary theorizations of the challenges that plural democracies face in the era of globalization. One of the main goals of the course is to prepare the students for a critical analysis of contemporary political and legal theories of community, and to prepare them for independent research of the problems that contemporary societies are facing.

Content (Syllabus outline)

The course will familiarise students with contemporary issues in political science, including multiple questions on the development of democracy, new political identities, collapse of traditional interpretations of universality of ethical, political and legal principles underpinning democratic communities, development of new supranational and transnational political communities, contemporary role of the state in multilayered governance, etc. The lectures will: - introduce contemporary theorizations of democracy, - introduce the project of radical plural democracy - address contemporary critiques of the concept of sovereignty and consequences of a transformation of contemporary societies from disciplinary paradigm in a paradigm of control; - problematize rethematization of freedom, equality and justice in the context of globalization; - problematize the status and place of politics within the era of globalization in a relationship to constitution of (political) subject

Intended learning outcomes:

Understanding of concepts, laws, theories, structures, processes, relations, procedures. Competences that the students gain are analytical and strategic view, commutative competences, team work, creativity, innovativeness.

Learning and teaching methods:

Seminars and individual research projects.

Assessment

20 % Oral exam 80 % Seminar paper

Obligatory literature

Additional literature