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baskent.edu.tr

Ph.D. in Political Science

PSIR603

POLITICAL THEORY

Course Code
PSIR603
Semester
First Term (Fall)
Theory+Practice
3 + 0
ECTS
10
Course TypeCompulsory Course
Course LevelDoctorate Of Science
Year of Study1
SemesterFirst Term (Fall)
ECTS10
Name of Lecturer(s)
Learning Outcomes

At the end of this course, the students;

  1. Have a competent command of the various approaches that constitute political theory
  2. Gain the ability to approach the texts and concepts covered in the lectures critically or interrogatively
  3. They gain a perspective that recognizes that the concept of politics permeates every aspect of social life and are equipped to construct their thesis writing processes in accordance with this perspective
  4. Know the theoretical approaches of important thinkers and comprehend how these approaches paved the way for the emergence of new methodological-fictional approaches to political theory in the historical process; and
  5. Knowing the most comprehensive approaches that emerged in the historical adventure of 20th century political theory, they will be equipped to construct their own research
Mode of DeliveryFace to face
PrerequisitesNo
Recommended Optional Programme ComponentsNo
Course DescriptionThe aim of the Political Theory course designed for the PhD program in Political Science is to examine the debates and emerging approaches in the field of political theory roughly from the 1950s to the 1980s in a conceptual, in-depth, inclusive and systematic manner. In the first part of the course, the construct of empirical political theory, which has become a fundamental paradigm since the 1950s with the dominance of the understanding that social sciences should be done like natural sciences, will be explained. In this context, the works of Robert Merton, George Homans, Ernest Nagel and David Easton, who are considered as the pioneers and important thinkers of this approach, will be analyzed. In the following sections of the course, alternative perspectives and new approaches that question this paradigmatic approach will be discussed. The second part of the course will examine the (post-)analytic linguistic approach - also known as hermeneuticism - which argues that political and social theory has a 'unique' character and should be constructed separately from the disciplines and techniques of the positive sciences. This approach will be analyzed through the fictions of Peter Winch and A. R. Louch. The main areas of debate such as objectivity and ideology in the social sciences, which have become more controversial in the process of the popularization of interpretivism, will also be discussed in this section. In the third part, the phenomenological approach, which also has the characteristic of building a bridge between the positive sciences/natural sciences and social and political theory, will be discussed.
Course Contents
WEEK TOPICS
1st Week Introduction to the Course and Syllabus - Explanation of the Course Content. The Restructuring of Social and Political Theory, Introduction.
2nd Week Part 1: Empirical Political Theory. The Restructuring of Social and Political Theory, 3-24. Merton, Robert K. Social Theory and Social Structure. Glencoe, Ill: The Free Press, 1968. 2. Bölüm. Homans, George, C. Bringing Men Back In. American Sociological Review 29,6 (1964): 809-818.
3rd Week The Restructuring of Social and Political Theory, 24-45. Nagel, Ernest. The Structure of Science: Problems in the Logic of Scientific Explanation. Indianapolis ve Cambridge: Hackett Publishing Company, 1979. 13. Bölüm.
4th Week The Restructuring of Social and Political Theory, 45-54. Easton, David. The Political System: An Inquiry into the State of Political Science. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1966. 1. Bölüm, 52-78, 96-100, 9. Bölüm ve 12. Bölüm.
5th Week Part 2: Linguistics and Analytic Philosophy. The Restructuring of Social and Political Theory, 57-63. Laslett, Peter.Introduction. İçinde Philosophy, Politics and Society. First Series, der. Peter Laslett, vii-xv. Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1975. Berlin, Isiah. Does Political Theory Still Exist. İçinde Philosophy, Politics and Society. Second Series, der. Peter Laslett ve W. G. Runciman, 1-33, Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1964.
6th Week The Restructuring of Social and Political Theory, 63-74. Winch, Peter. The Idea of a Social Science and Its Relation to Philosophy. Londra: Routledge & Keagan Paul, 1958. 24-33, 40-51, 86-91, 111-128,
7th Week The Restructuring of Social and Political Theory, 74-84. Louch, A. R. Explanation and Human Action. Oxford, Basil Blackwell, 1966. Preface, Ch. 1, Ch.4, 70-78, 201-208, Ch. 10. Louch, A. R. The Very Idea of a Social Science. Inquiry 6, 1-4 (1963): 273-286. Winch, Peter. Mr. Louch's Idea of a Social Science. Inquiry 7, 1-4 (1964): 202-208. Louch, A. R. On Misunderstanding Mr. Winch. Inquiry 8, 1-4 (1965): 212-216.
8th Week Mid-Term Exam
9th Week The Restructuring of Social and Political Theory, 84-106. Truman, David B. Disillusion and Regeneration: The Quest for a Discipline. American Political Science Review 59, 4 (1965): 865-873. Almond, Gabriel A. Political Theory and Political Science. American Political Science Review 60, 4 (1966): 869-879. Wolin, Sheldon S. Paradigms and Political Theories. İçinde Politics and Experience: Essays Presented to Professor Michael Oakeshott on the Occasion of His Retirement, der. Preston King ve B. C. Parekh, 125-152. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1968.
10th Week The Restructuring of Social and Political Theory, 106-114. Taylor, Charles. Neutrality in Political Science. Ryan, Alan. Normal Science or Political Ideology. Lichtheim, George. The Concept of Ideology.
11th Week Part 3: Phenomenological Approach. The Restructuring of Social and Political Theory, 117-135. Sellars, Wilfrid. Science, Perception and Reality. Ch. 1. Moran, Dermont. Husserl's Crisis of the European Sciences and Transcendental Phenomenology: An Introduction. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2012. Ch. 3.
12th Week The Restructuring of Social and Political Theory, 135-169. Schutz, Alfred. The Phenomenology of the Social World. Preface, 31-38, 53-63, 83-96. Schutz, Alfred. Collected Papers I. 10-15, 43-47, 48-66, 245-259. Schutz, Alfred. Collected Papers II. 3-19, 37-56. 1964 Schutz, Alfred. Collected Papers III. 1-14, 51-84.
13th Week Part 4: Frankfurt School and Critical Theory. The Restructuring of Social and Political Theory, 173-185. Horkheimer, Max. Traditional and Critical Theory. İçinde Critical Theory: Selected Essays.
14th Week The Restructuring of Social and Political Theory, 185-200. Habermas, Jürgen. Knowledge and Human Interests. Preface, 3-5, 301-317. Habermas, Jürgen. Theory and Practice. 41-81, 195-252.
15th Week The Restructuring of Social and Political Theory, 200-236. Habermas, Jürgen. Knowledge and Human Interests. Ch. 10. Habermas, Jürgen. 16-40.
Recommended or Required ReadingThis course does not have a single textbook. The weekly reading list is presented below. However, there is a book that will be covered from the beginning to the end of the course:

Bernstein, Richard J. The Restructuring of Social and Political Theory. Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press.

From time to time, the course instructor may post additional readings on the course page at oys2.baskent.edu.tr. It is not compulsory to do the additional readings, but it is highly recommended for participants to familiarize themselves with social and political research methods.
Planned Learning Activities and Teaching Methods
  • Lecture
  • Discussion
  • Questions/Answers
Assessment Methods and Criteria
Quantity Percentage (%)
Mid-term 1 20
Assignment 4 40
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 3 3
Preparation for Quiz
Individual or group work 14 4 56
Preparation for Final exam 1 51 51
Course hours 14 3 42
Preparation for Midterm exam 1 45 45
Laboratory (including preparation)
Final exam 1 3 3
Homework 4 25 100
Total Work Load300
Total Work Load / 30 (h)10
ECTS Credit of the Course10
Language of InstructionTurkish
Work Placement(s)No

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