Comtemporary Politicial Theory
Political Science and Public Administration
Faculty of Political Sciences
First Cycle (Bachelor's Degree)
| Course Unit Title | Course Unit Code | Type of Course Unit | Level of Course Unit | Year of Study | Semester | ECTS Credits |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Comtemporary Politicial Theory | SBK433 | Elective | Bachelor's degree | 4 | Fall | 4 |
Name of Lecturer(s)
Associate Prof. Dr. Marco BOSCHELE
Learning Outcomes of the Course Unit
1) Provide a general understanding of problems, concepts and methods, which characterize contemporary political thought
2) Analyse the political and moral approaches presented by the salient thinkers of contemporary world
3) Provide an understanding of the complex relation between politics and law
4) Provide an understanding of the complex relations between politics, culture and religion
5) Improve ability to analyse normative aspects of actual political cases in a systematic and coherent fashion
Program Competencies-Learning Outcomes Relation
| Program Competencies | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | ||
| Learning Outcomes | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Middle | High | No relation | No relation | Low | Low | Low | Middle | Low | Low | No relation | Middle | High | Low | Middle | Low | Middle | High | |
| 2 | Middle | High | No relation | No relation | Low | Low | Low | Middle | Low | Low | No relation | Middle | High | Low | Middle | Low | Middle | High | |
| 3 | Middle | High | No relation | No relation | Low | Low | Low | Middle | Low | Low | No relation | Middle | High | Low | Middle | Low | Middle | High | |
| 4 | Middle | High | No relation | No relation | Low | Low | Low | Middle | Low | Low | No relation | Middle | High | Low | Middle | Low | Middle | High | |
| 5 | Middle | High | No relation | No relation | Low | Low | Low | Middle | Low | Low | No relation | Middle | High | Low | Middle | Low | Middle | High | |
Mode of Delivery
Face to Face
Prerequisites and Co-Requisites
None
Recommended Optional Programme Components
History of Political Thought I, History of Political Thought II
Course Contents
The main currents of contemporary political theory, i.e Liberalism, Republicanism, Libertarianism, Communitarianism, and Radical School, will be analysed. Their different conceptions concerning justice, legitimacy, rights and obligations will be comparatively discussed. In a further step, the course will focus on two approaches which have been very influential in the recent period of political theory, i.e. John Rawls's Egalitarian Liberalism and Jurgen Habermas's Deliberative Democracy. The works of these two thinkers will be analysed in detail in the light of such significant themes come to the forefront in the contemporary era as secularism, the rule of law, pluralism, democracy and constitutionalism.
Weekly Schedule
1) What is (contemporary) political theory?2) Antonio Gramsci: liberation begins with critical thinking
3) Carl Schmitt: political theology and the concept of the political
4) Hannah Arendt: from philosophy to politics
5) Rawls and Justice as Fairness I
6) Rawls and Justice as Fairness II
7) Nozick and the Entitlement Theory of Justice
8) Midterm exam
9) Deliberative Democracy I
10) Deliberative Democracy II
11) Strauss’s Critique of Modern Political Philosophy
12) Communitarianism
13) Multiculturalism
14) Post-secular Society
15) The politics of populism
16) Final Examination
Recommended or Required Reading
- Hoffman, John and Graham, Paul (2015) Introduction to Political Theory.
Planned Learning Activities and Teaching Methods
1) Lecture
2) Question-Answer
3) Question-Answer
4) Discussion
5) Discussion
Assessment Methods and Criteria
Contribution of Midterm Examination to Course Grade |
40% |
|---|---|
Contribution of Final Examination to Course Grade |
60% |
Total |
100% |
Language of Instruction
English
Work Placement(s)
Not Required