CURRENT DEBATES IN POLITICAL THEORY

PSIR532

Course Code: PSIR532
Semester: -
Theory+Practice: 3 + 0
ECTS: 10

Course Type

Elective Course

Course Level

Master's Degree Without Thesis

Year of Study

Semester

ECTS

Name of Lecturer(s)

Assistant Professor Erdem Damar

Learning Outcomes

At the end of this course, the students;

Define major orientations and debate topics in contemporary political theory.
Analyze current political issues through theoretical perspectives.
Compare and evaluate different theoretical positions.
Interpret political discourses critically through conceptual analysis.
Develop original analyses by practicing theoretical reading and writing.

Mode of Delivery

Face to face

Prerequisites

Recommended Optional Programme Components

No recommended optional programme components.

Course Description

This course aims to explore prominent debates and theoretical approaches in contemporary political theory. It focuses on how current political issues?such as populism, inequality, migration, biopolitics, and ecological crisis are conceptualized at the theoretical level. Key texts from critical theory, post-structuralist thought, feminist and postcolonial perspectives will be read and discussed. The course intends to enhance students? analytical depth, develop their skills in con-ceptual analysis, and cultivate theoretical reflection on pressing political problems.

Course Contents

WEEK	TOPICS
1^st Week	Theorizing the Contemporary: Time, Space, and Theory
2^nd Week	The Evolution of Critical Theory: From the Frankfurt School to the Present
3^rd Week	Post-Structuralist Theories and Constitutive Contingency
4^th Week	Populism and Democracy: Sovereignty, Representation, and the People
5^th Week	Inequality and Political Exclusion: Recognition and Redistribution
6^th Week	Affect Theory and Political Emotions: Fear, Hope, and Anger
7^th Week	Technology, Data, and Sovereignty: The Politics of Digitalization
8^th Week	Ecological Crisis and New Materialism: Theorizing Nature
9^th Week	Migration, Displacement, and Belonging: Citizenship, Identity, and Communi-ty
10^th Week	Security and the Body: Biopolitics and Sovereignty
11^th Week	Feminism and the Theorization of Gender
12^th Week	Postcolonial and Decolonial Theories
13^th Week	Project Draft Presentations
14^th Week	Critique, Feedback, and Revision

Recommended or Required Reading

Bennett, Jane. 2010. Vibrant Matter: A Political Ecology of Things. Durham, NC: Duke Uni-versity Press.
Brown, Wendy. 1995. States of Injury: Power and Freedom in Late Modernity. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Butler, Judith. 2004. Precarious Life: The Powers of Mourning and Violence. London: Verso.
Esposito, Roberto. 2008. Bios: Biopolitics and Philosophy. Translated by Timothy Campbell. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
Foucault, Michel. 1980. ?Truth and Power.? In Power/Knowledge: Selected Interviews and Ot-her Writings, 1972?1977, edited by Colin Gordon, 109?133. New York: Pantheon Books.
Fraser, Nancy. 1997. ?Social Justice in the Age of Identity Politics: Redistribution, Recognition, and Participation.? In The Tanner Lectures on Human Values, Vol. 19, edited by Grethe B. Pe-terson, 1?67. Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press.
Latour, Bruno. 2004. Politics of Nature: How to Bring the Sciences into Democracy. Translated by Catherine Porter. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Mbembe, Achille. 2019. Necropolitics. Translated by Steven Corcoran. Durham, NC: Duke University Press.
Mouffe, Chantal. 2000. The Democratic Paradox. London: Verso.
Zuboff, Shoshana. 2019. The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: The Fight for a Human Future at the New Frontier of Power. New York: Public Affairs.

Planned Learning Activities and Teaching Methods

Lecture
Discussion
Presentation

Assessment Methods and Criteria

	Quantity	Percentage (%)
Assignment	4	60
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
Preparation for Quiz
Individual or group work	14	6	84
Preparation for Final exam	1	60	60
Course hours	14	3	42
Preparation for Midterm exam
Laboratory (including preparation)
Final exam	1	3	3
Homework	4	30	120
Total Work Load			309
Total Work Load / 30 (h)			10.3
ECTS Credit of the Course			10

Language of Instruction

Turkish

Work Placement(s)

Programme Qualifications / Learning Outcomes

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