POLITICAL THEORY

POLI404

Course Code: POLI404
Semester: Eighth Term (Spring)
Theory+Practice: 3 + 0
ECTS: 5

Course Type

Compulsory Course

Course Level

Bachelor's Degree

Year of Study

Semester

Eighth Term (Spring)

ECTS

Name of Lecturer(s)

Associate Professor Hakan Yavuzyılmaz

Learning Outcomes

At the end of this course, the students;

Develop the ability to critically evaluate political theories with their epistemological origins and historical contexts.
Develop a general perspective on issues and approaches within the scope of political theory.
Develop an understanding of concepts and arguments of the prominent contemporary political theorists.
Discuss how theory is related to practice.
Analyse global social and political transformations through the perspective of political theory.

Mode of Delivery

Face to face

Prerequisites

Recommended Optional Programme Components

No recommended optional programme components.

Course Description

This course will guide you to develop your understanding of fundamental concepts in political theory. Moreover, this course aims to help students to grasp the debates on important political concepts such as justice, freedom, democracy, and equality. At the end of the course students will also acquire the necessary knowledge and skills to better evaluate the contemporary political debates and events from a critical perspective and able to understand how political theory as a subfield of political science contributes to the overall development of political science as a discipline.

Course Contents

WEEK	TOPICS
1^st Week	Introduction to the course
2^nd Week	Nature of the political, What is political theory?, Types of political theory
3^rd Week	Nature of the political, What is political theory?, Types of political theory
4^th Week	The Problem of Human Nature: Individual versus Community
5^th Week	Power, authority, legitimacy
6^th Week	State and sovereignty
7^th Week	Mıdterm Exam
8^th Week	Freedom and equality
9^th Week	Justice
10^th Week	Democracy
11^th Week	Alternatives to Liberal Political Theory
12^th Week	Populism, Nationalism, Fascism
13^th Week	Feminist Political Theory
14^th Week	Green Political Theory

Recommended or Required Reading

Andrew Heywood (2004) "Introduction: Concepts and Theories in Politics", Political Theory, p.1-14.
Michael Freeden (2004) "Ideology, Political Theory and Political Philosophy", G. F. Gaus and C. Kukathas (Eds.) Handbook of Political Theory, p.3-17.
Terence Ball (2004) "History and the Interpretation of Texts", G. F. Gaus and C. Kukathas (Eds.) Handbook of Political Theory, p.18-30.
Marsh, D., A. Ercan, S., & Furlong, P. (2010). "A skin not a sweater: Ontology and Epistemology in Political Science" In V. Lowndes, D. Marsh, & G. Stroker (Eds.), Theory and Methods in Political Science, p.184-211.
Quentin Skinner (1969) `Meaning and understanding in the history of ideas", History and Theory, 8 (1969), pp. 3-53.
Ellen Meiksins Wood (2008) "The Social History of Political Theory", Citizens to Lords: A Social History of Western Political Thought from Antiquity to the Late Middle Ages, pp.1-27
Jan Rehmann (2013) Theories of Ideology: The Powers of Alienation and Subjection, p.1-20.
Jorge Larrain (1983) Marxism and Ideology, Chapters 1,2,3 p.6-121.
Geoff Boucher (2021) ?Ernesto Laclau and Chantal Mouffe?, Routledge Handbook of Marxism and Post-Marxism, p.368-375.
Jan Rehmann (2013) Theories of Ideology: The Powers of Alienation and Subjection, p.21-60, 117-178.
David Howarth (2013) Poststructuralism and After: Structure, Subjectivity and Power, p.24-55.
Madan Sarup (1993) An Introductory Guide to Post-Structuralism and Postmodernism, p.32-89, 129-177.
Tom Bottomore (2013) The Frankfurt School and its Critics, p.15-54
Douglas Kellner (2013) "Cultural Marxism and Cultural Studies", Critical Quest, 1-18.
Alex Callinicos et al (Eds.) "Walter Benjamin", "Theodor Adorno", "Herbert Marcuse", "Stuart Hall", Routledge Handbook of Marxism and Post-Marxism, p.135-162, 427-434.
Raymond Williams (1990) Marxism and Literature, p.75-144.
Douglas Kellner (1988) "Postmodernism as Social Theory: Some Challenges and Problems", Theory, Culture & Society, Vol 5, Issue 2-3, 1988, p.239-269.
David Gartman (1998) "Postmodernism; Or, the Cultural Logic of Post-Fordism?", The Sociological Quarterly, 39:1, 119-137
Thomas Lemke (2012) Biopolitics: An Advanced Introduction, p.33-76.
Claire Blencowe (2010) "Foucault's and Arendt's 'insider view' of biopolitics: A critique of Agambe"?, History of the Human Sciences, 23(5) 113?130.
Martin Carnoy (1984) The State and Political Theory, p.10-127.
Colin Hay (2006) The State: Theories and Issues, pp.21-38
Steven Lukes (2005) Power: A Radical View, p.14-69
Clyde W. Barrow (2002) "The Miliband-Poulantzas Debate: An Intellectual History" in S. Aronowitz and P.Bratsis (Eds.), Paradigm Lost: State Theory Reconsidered, pp.3-52.
Alex Callinicos et al (Eds.) "Antonio Gramsci", "Louis Althusser", "Nicos Poulantzas", Routledge Handbook of Marxism and Post-Marxism, p.111-118, 261-268, 285-292.
Dana Villa (Ed.), Cambridge Companion to Hannah Arendt, p.1-22, 25-43.
Tracy B. Strong (2011) "Carl Schmitt: political theology and the concept of the political" in Catherine Zuckert (Ed.) Political philosophy in the twentieth century: authors and arguments, p.32-43.
Nick Vaughan-Williams (2009) "Giorgio Agamben" in J. Edkins, and N. Vaughan-Williams (Eds.) Critical Theorists and International Relations, p.19-30.
Mark Neocleous (2008) Critique of Security, p.39-75.
Roger Griffin (2012) "Studying Fascism in a Postfascist Age. From New Consensus to New Wave", Fascism, 1: 1:17.
Cas Mudde (2017) "Populism: An Ideational Approach", C.Kaltwasser et al (Eds.) Oxford Handbook of Populism, Oxford University Press.
Roger Eatwell (2017) "Populism and Fascism", C.Kaltwasser et al (Eds.) Oxford Handbook of Populism, Oxford University Press.

Planned Learning Activities and Teaching Methods

Lecture

Assessment Methods and Criteria

	Quantity	Percentage (%)
Mid-term	1	45
Assignment	1	10
Total(%)		55
Contribution of In-term Studies to Overall Grade(%)		55
Contribution of Final Examination to Overall Grade(%)		45
Total(%)		100

ECTS Allocated Based on Student Workload

Activities	Quantity	Duration (Hour)	Total Workload (Hour)
Midterm exam	1	1.5	1.5
Preparation for Quiz
Individual or group work	14	2	28
Preparation for Final exam	1	30	30
Course hours	14	3	42
Preparation for Midterm exam	1	25	25
Laboratory (including preparation)
Final exam	1	1.5	1.5
Homework	1	25	25
Total Work Load			153
Total Work Load / 30 (h)			5.1
ECTS Credit of the Course			5

Language of Instruction

English

Work Placement(s)

Programme Qualifications / Learning Outcomes

	LO1	LO2	LO3	LO4	LO5
K1
K2
K3
K4
K5		X	X		X
K6				X
K7	X
K8
K9		X	X	X
K10				X	X
K11	X	X	X		X
K12
K13			X

	LO1	LO2	LO3	LO4	LO5
K1
K2
K3
K4
K5		X	X		X
K6				X
K7	X
K8
K9		X	X	X
K10				X	X
K11	X	X	X		X
K12
K13			X

	LO1	LO2	LO3	LO4	LO5
K1
K2
K3
K4
K5		X	X		X
K6				X
K7	X
K8
K9		X	X	X
K10				X	X
K11	X	X	X		X
K12
K13			X

	LO1	LO2	LO3	LO4	LO5
K1
K2
K3
K4
K5		X	X		X
K6				X
K7	X
K8
K9		X	X	X
K10				X	X
K11	X	X	X		X
K12
K13			X