SFS20207 Political Science Extension Course: Comparative Politics/Political Theory (Autumn 2017)

The course is connected to the following study programs

Mandatory course within the Political Science Extension Course.
May be taken as part of the bachelor programme i society, language and culture.

Lecture Semester

Political Science Extension Course: 1st Semester (Autumn).
Bachelor programme i society, language and culture: 3rd or 5th Semester (Autumn).

The student's learning outcomes after completing the course

KNOWLEDGE
The candidate is aware of current debates about liberty, justice and consent in political philosophy. In additon there is a focus on normative justification in political thought.
The candidate also knows how social conflicts about democracy, industrialism and market economy have contributed to democracy.

SKILLS
The candidate is able to describe social integration, the moral foundation for the limited state, political identity and the constitutional and political system in different countries.

GENERAL COMPETENCE
The candidate has obtained a general analytical competence. 

Content

The course consists of a block with one part Political Theory and one part Comparative Politics.

Polititcal Theory
Political Theory deals with

• Liberty
• Justice
• Liberalism

Comparative Politics
This part of the course deals with some of the main issues in comparative politics. It has three components:

• Political systems, structures and functions
• Forms of democracy
• Challenges to representative democracy

Forms of teaching and learning

Lectures, seminars and discussions. The lectures are given in blocks. The Political Theory block consists of two weeks with lectures, seminars and discussions. The third week is allocated to the obligatory writing of a paper. The Comparative Politics block follows the same outline.

Teaching is mainly conducted as lectures. Supervision of the two written tasks that are part of the final examination will be provided at seminars. Students are encouraged to form colloquium groups.

Workload

Approximatly 280 hours.

Coursework requirements - conditions for taking the exam

None.

Examination

Individual portfolio
The exam is made up of a portfolio containing two individual papers, one on Political Theory and one on Comparative Politics.  Each papier shall be from four to six pages.

The papers can be written in English or Norwegian. A final mark is given according to a five-point scale, A to F.

Course evaluation

This course is evaluated twice each semester.

Literature

Updated June 7th 2016

F. A. Hayek (Author), Ronald Hamowy (Editor) The Constitution of Liberty The University of Chicago press (The defintive edition 2011).

John Rawls (ed.Erin Kelly) Justice as Fairness: A Restatement Harvard University Press 2001.

Hague, Rod, & Harrop, Martin (2016). Comparative Government and Politics. An Introduction. Houndmills: Palgrave.