POLITICAL THEORY

PSIR527

Course Code: PSIR527
Semester: Second Term (Spring)
Theory+Practice: 3 + 0
ECTS: 10

Course Type

Compulsory Course

Course Level

Master's Degree With Thesis

Year of Study

Semester

Second Term (Spring)

ECTS

Name of Lecturer(s)

Assistant Professor Erdem Damar

Learning Outcomes

At the end of this course, the students;

Define the fundamental concepts, approaches, and historical development of political theory.
Distinguish and compare normative, critical, and analytical theoretical approaches.
Theoretically discuss key political issues such as justice, freedom, and equality.
Analyze classical and contemporary texts to grasp the plurality of political thought.
Develop theoretical reasoning skills to attain depth in political analysis.

Mode of Delivery

Face to face

Prerequisites

Recommended Optional Programme Components

No recommended optional programme components.

Course Description

This course aims to introduce students to the core concepts, debates, and approaches of political theory. It explores the relationship between political theory and political science while engaging students with the analytical, normative, and critical dimensions of theory. Following a thematic structure, the course analyzes major political issues such as justice, freedom, equality, the state, the individual, community, and regime types through both historical and contemporary texts. By the end of the course, students will have practiced theoretical analysis and will be equipped to engage in theoretical discussions on political issues.

Course Contents

WEEK	TOPICS
1^st Week	What is Theory? Distinctions Between Scientific, Normative, and Critical The-ory
2^nd Week	What is Political Theory? Relationship Between Political Theory and Political Science
3^rd Week	Approaches to Political Theory: Classical, Modern, Contemporary, and Critical Perspectives
4^th Week	Justice: Normative Foundations and Theoretical Approaches (Plato, Rawls, Sandel)
5^th Week	Freedom: Negative and Positive Liberty (Berlin, Foucault)
6^th Week	Equality: Types of Equality, Its Relationship with Justice, and Critiques (Dahl, Young)
7^th Week	The State: Legitimacy, Sovereignty, and Violence (Weber, Schmitt, Tilly)
8^th Week	Individual and Community: Liberalism, Communitarianism, Republicanism (Mill, Taylor, Arendt)
9^th Week	Regimes and Forms of Power: Democracy, Authoritarianism, Totalitarianism (Aristotle, Schmitt, Mouffe)
10^th Week	Morality and Politics: Public Autonomy, Conscience, Civil Disobedience (Kant, Arendt)
11^th Week	Structure and Agency: Who is the Political Subject? (Giddens, Bourdieu, Hay)
12^th Week	Ideology and Hegemony: Where Theory Meets Politics (Marx, Gramsci, Laclau)
13^th Week	Contemporary Directions in Political Theory: Feminism, Postcolonialism, Queer Theory
14^th Week	Applied Theoretical Analysis I: Conceptual Analysis of a Contemporary Article

Recommended or Required Reading

Ball, Terence, and Richard Dagger. 2019. Political Ideologies and the Democratic Ideal. 11th ed. New York: Routledge.
Freeden, Michael. 2003. Ideology: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Berlin, Isaiah. 2002. ?Two Concepts of Liberty.? In Liberty, edited by Henry Hardy, 166?217. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Rawls, John. 2001. Justice as Fairness: A Restatement. Edited by Erin Kelly. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Kant, Immanuel. 1991. ?An Answer to the Question: What Is Enlightenment?? In Political Writ-ings, edited by H. S. Reiss, translated by H. B. Nisbet, 54?60. Cambridge: Cambridge Univer-sity Press.
Arendt, Hannah. 2003. Responsibility and Judgment. Edited by Jerome Kohn. New York: Schocken Books.
Butler, Judith. 2006. Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity. New York: Routledge.
Schmitt, Carl. 2005. Political Theology: Four Chapters on the Concept of Sovereignty. Trans-lated by George Schwab. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Taylor, Charles. 1985. ?Atomism.? In Philosophy and the Human Sciences: Philosophical Pa-pers Volume 2, 187?210. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Mouffe, Chantal. 2000. The Democratic Paradox. London: Verso.

Planned Learning Activities and Teaching Methods

Lecture
Discussion
Presentation

Assessment Methods and Criteria

	Quantity	Percentage (%)
Assignment	10	30
Project	2	55
Other	1	15
Total(%)		100
Contribution of In-term Studies to Overall Grade(%)		100
Contribution of Final Examination to Overall Grade(%)		0
Total(%)		100

ECTS Allocated Based on Student Workload

Activities	Quantity	Duration (Hour)	Total Workload (Hour)
Midterm exam
Preparation for Quiz
Individual or group work	14	5	70
Preparation for Final exam
Course hours	14	3	42
Preparation for Midterm exam
Laboratory (including preparation)
Final exam
Homework	10	10	100
Project	1	60	60
Literature review	1	30	30
Total Work Load			302
Total Work Load / 30 (h)			10.06
ECTS Credit of the Course			10

Language of Instruction

Turkish

Work Placement(s)

Programme Qualifications / Learning Outcomes

	LO1	LO2	LO3	LO4	LO5
K1				X
K2		X
K3	X	X	X		X
K4
K5	X	X		X
K6				X	X
K7	X	X	X		X
K8