Information Package
baskent.edu.tr

Program of Political Science and International Relations (English)

POLI327

POLITICAL SOCIOLOGY

Course Code
POLI327
Semester
-
Theory+Practice
3 + 0
ECTS
5
Course TypeElective Course
Course LevelBachelor's Degree
Year of Study-
Semester-
ECTS5
Name of Lecturer(s)
Learning Outcomes

At the end of this course, the students;

  1. develop an overview of the major areas of study in political sociology.
  2. explain the relations of politics, political institutions and society from different perspectives.
  3. inquire the relations between state and society created by the transformation of the globalization process.
  4. inquire the relations of social movements and politics.
Mode of DeliveryFace to face
PrerequisitesNo
Recommended Optional Programme ComponentsNo recommended optional programme components.
Course DescriptionPolitical Sociology examines the intersection of politics and society, focusing on how different intellectual traditions (i.e. Marxism and neo-Marxism, elite theory, pluralism) shape the central concepts and notions of Political Sociology, i.e. power, politics, society, the state, civil society. Classical theories of political sociology will first be examined, focusing on how key concepts were developed to understand the relationship between politics and society and how these ideas have influenced later scholarship. Within the consideration of the historical dynamics of globalization and neoliberal policies, the course explores key concepts such as political culture; political participation and democracy; citizenship; religion and politics; ideology, hegemony, and resistance as well as social movements. Through critically analyzing contemporary and historical case studies, students will gain insights into the dynamics of power, inequality, and political change in different societal contexts.
Course Contents
WEEK TOPICS
1st Week Introduction to Course
2nd Week Introduction to Political Sociology
3rd Week Founders of Modern Sociology: Marx, Weber, Durkheim
4th Week Power, Ideology, Hegemony - Discussion Paper
5th Week Marxism, Neomarxist Tradition
6th Week Elitism - Discussion Paper
7th Week Mid-Term Exam
8th Week General Discussion and Evaluation of Mainstream Theories in Political Sociology
9th Week Pluralism
10th Week Environmental Politics, Technology (AI), Migration and Populism
11th Week Civil Society And Public Sphere - Discussion Paper
12th Week Citizenship
13th Week Political Culture
14th Week Social Movements - Discussion Paper
Recommended or Required ReadingDrake, Michael (2010) Political Sociology and Social Transformation. In Political Sociology for a
Globalized World, pp. 3-24.
Taylor, G. (2010) Political Sociology in the Age of Complexity. In The New Political Sociology: Power, Ideology and Identity in the Age of Complexity (London: Palgrave-Macmillan), pp. 13-33.
Nelson, Brian. (2007) The Sociology of the State. In The Making of the Modern State: A Theoretical Evolution (pp. 107-124). New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Marx, Karl. The Relation of State and Law to Property. German Ideology. http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1845/german-ideology/ch01c.htm
Lenin, V.I. The State as the Irreconcilability of Class Antagonisms, and The State as an Instrument for the Oppressed Class. http://www.marxists.org/archive/lenin/works/1917/staterev/ch01.htm
Weber, Max. Politics as Vocation. http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/polisci/ethos/Weber-vocation.pdf (selected pages)
Durkheim, E. The Definition of the State. In Kenneth Thompson (ed). Readings from Durkheim. pp. 106-111. (Optional)
Nash, K. (2010). Changing Definitions of Politics and Power. In Contemporary Political Sociology: Globalization, Politics and Power (pp. 1-50) Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell.
Althusser, L. (1971). Ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses. In L. Althusser (Ed.), Lenin and Philosophy and other Essays. New York: Monthly Review Press.
Carnoy, M. (1984). Gramsci and the State. In The State and Political Theory (pp. 65-88). Princeton University Press. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt7zvcd1.7
Carnoy, Martin. (1984). Structuralism and the State: Althusser and Poulantzas. In The State and Political Theory (pp. 97-108). NJ: Princeton University Press.
Barrow, Cylde W. (2002) Miliband-Poulantzas Debate: An Intellectual History In Paradigm Lost: State Theory Reconsidered, Publisher: University of Minnesota Press, Editors: Stanley Aronowitz and Peter Bratsis, pp.3-52.
Higley, John (2010). Elite Theory and Elites,? K.T. Leicht, J.C. Jenkins (Eds.), Handbook of Politics: State and Society in Global Perspective (Part I), Springer Science+Business Media, New York pp. 161?176.\
Mills, C. W. Power Elite. http://homepage.smc.edu/delpiccolo_guido/Soc1/soc1readings/The%20Power%20Elite_final.pdf
Smith, Martin Pluralism in The State: Theories and Issues, eds. C. Hay, M. Lister and D. Marsh, pp. 21-37.
Bellamy, Richard (1999) ?Introduction: the challenge of pluralism? in Liberalism and Pluralism: Towards a Politics of Compromise, pp. 1-14.
Larry, Ray. (2004). State and Civil Society: Civil Society and the Public Sphere. In Kate Nash and Alan Scott (eds) The Blackwell Companion to Political Sociology (pp. 219-230). Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell.
Habermas, Jurgen. The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere, (pp.1-56) http://pages.uoregon.edu/koopman/courses_readings/phil123-net/publicness/habermas_structural_trans_pub_sphere.pdf
Nash, Kate. (2010). Citizenship. In Kate Nash (ed) Readings in Contemporary Political Sociology (pp.131-148) Blackwell Publications.
Marshall, T.H. Citizenship and Social Class
Kenneth Newton and Jan W. Van Deth (2010), Chapter 9, In Foundations of Comparative Politics. Democracies of the Modern World, pp. 171-197.
Almond, G. A. and Verba, S. (1989). Chapter 1. In The Civic Culture Revisited, California: Sage Publications.
Nash Kate. (2019). Social Movements. In Kate Nash Contemporary Political Sociology Globalization, Politics, and Power (pp.87-130) Blackwell Publications.
Planned Learning Activities and Teaching Methods
  • Lecture
  • Discussion
  • Questions/Answers
Assessment Methods and Criteria
Quantity Percentage (%)
Mid-term 1 30
Assignment 3 15
Attendance 1 5
Other 1 10
Total(%) 60
Contribution of In-term Studies to Overall Grade(%) 60
Contribution of Final Examination to Overall Grade(%) 40
Total(%) 100
ECTS Allocated Based on Student Workload
Activities Quantity Duration (Hour) Total Workload (Hour)
Midterm exam 1 1 1
Preparation for Quiz
Individual or group work 14 4 56
Preparation for Final exam 1 30 30
Course hours 14 3 42
Preparation for Midterm exam 1 20 20
Laboratory (including preparation)
Final exam 1 1 1
Homework
Total Work Load150
Total Work Load / 30 (h)5
ECTS Credit of the Course5
Language of InstructionEnglish
Work Placement(s)No

Programme Qualifications / Learning Outcomes

LO1 LO2 LO3 LO4
K1 X
K2
K3 X X X
K4
K5 X X X
K6 X X
K7 X
K8 X
K9
K10
K11
K12 X
K13