| Dozent/in |
Chiara Valsangiacomo |
| Veranstaltungsart |
Masterseminar |
| Code |
HS241505 |
| Semester |
Herbstsemester 2024 |
| Durchführender Fachbereich |
Politikwissenschaft |
| Studienstufe |
Bachelor
Master |
| Termin/e |
Mi, 18.09.2024, 12:15 - 14:00 Uhr, HS 7 (Einführungsveranstaltung)
Do, 17.10.2024, 09:15 - 17:00 Uhr, HS 14 (Terminierung 1)
Fr, 18.10.2024, 09:15 - 17:00 Uhr, HS 14 (Terminierung 1)
Do, 28.11.2024, 09:15 - 17:00 Uhr, HS 14 (Terminierung 4)
Fr, 29.11.2024, 09:15 - 17:00 Uhr, 4.A05 (Termine) |
| Weitere Daten |
Termine:
Thursday, October 17, 2024
Friday, October 18, 2024
Thursday, November 28, 2024
Friday, November 29, 2024
|
| Umfang |
2 Semesterwochenstunden |
| Turnus |
Blockseminar |
| Inhalt |
During a recent public lecture at the University
College Dublin, historian Michael Ignatieff said that “democracy is an argument
about what democracy is.” To quote Walter Bryce Gallie’s 1956 article,
democracy can be seen an “essentially contested concept.” This disagreement has
not prevented scholars from engaging with this complex concept. Quite on the
contrary, it has been the engine of a fertile, ongoing discussion about
democracy, its meaning, and value. In this course, you will join this fascinating
scholarly conversation. We will deal with and try to answer some of the most
fundamental questions related to democracy from a normative and political point
of view, including: what is this concept about, what makes it relevant to
political science and political philosophy, and why is democracy seen as
especially legitimate? To approach these questions, we will read excerpts from
a selection of the most influential books on (normative) democratic theory that
have been published in the last hundred years. The text selection will cover a
variety of topics and perspectives in the literature. The seminar’s sessions
will follow the chronological order of publication of the works. |
| Lernziele |
The primary goal of the seminar is to provide the students with a solid foundation and toolbox to navigate contemporary scholarly debates on democracy.
More concretely, by the end of the course, the participants should be able to:
• Understand complex, academic texts and summarize the key arguments.
• Critically evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of these arguments.
• Compare works and arguments by different authors.
• Engage in academic dialogue with their peers.
• Develop and elaborate on their own thoughts about the readings and themes of the seminar (in written as well as oral form).
• Exploit the acquired knowledge to analyze today’s literature on democratic theory.
|
| Voraussetzungen |
There are no strict requirements for registration. However, participants should be aware that this is a reading heavy class and that the in-class activities will largely center on group discussions of the mandatory readings. This seminar has been primarily designed for Master students in political philosophy and political science. Advanced Bachelor students and students from neighboring disciplines are welcome to attend the seminar. |
| Sprache |
Englisch |
| Prüfung |
The course is worth 4 ECTS and will be evaluated based on:
• Active in-class participation
• One-page summary AND in-class short presentation (ca. 7 min) of at least one mandatory reading
It is possible to write a term paper for additional 6 ECTS. |
| Abschlussform / Credits |
Aktive Teilnahme (Essay) / 4 Credits
|
| Hörer-/innen |
Nein |
| Kontakt |
chiara.valsangiacomo@ucd.ie |
| Literatur |
See
Syllabus |