IDENTITY AND POLITICS

PSIR547

Course Code: PSIR547
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;

Explain the concept of identity through the lens of political theories.
Compare different debates on identity ranging from national identity to queer politics.
Analyze the processes of social construction and political representation of identity.
Comprehend how identity is shaped through recognition, exclusion, and power relations by engaging with key theoretical texts.
Critically evaluate contemporary identity-based social movements.

Mode of Delivery

Face to face

Prerequisites

Recommended Optional Programme Components

No recommended optional programme components.

Course Description

This course examines the conceptual, theoretical, and empirical dimensions of identity within the context of political science and political theory. It explores how identity intersects with politics through themes such as national identity, ethnicity, gender, queerness, migration, religion, and postcolonial belonging. Guided by thinkers such as Brubaker, Butler, Taylor, and Asad, the course delves into key concepts including recognition, construction, representation, and performance. The primary goal is to help students understand identity not merely as a matter of belonging but as a site of power and struggle.

Course Contents

WEEK	TOPICS
1^st Week	What is Identity? Conceptual Debates
2^nd Week	Sociological and Political Roots of Identity
3^rd Week	Politics of Recognition and Justice
4^th Week	Social Movements and Identity
5^th Week	National Identity and Ethnicity
6^th Week	Race, Racism, and Postcolonial Critiques
7^th Week	Gender and Feminist Identity Politics
8^th Week	Queer Theory and Queer Politics
9^th Week	Migration, Borders, and Belonging
10^th Week	Religious Identity and Secularity
11^th Week	Postcolonial Identities
12^th Week	Identity and Populist Discourses
13^th Week	Student Presentations I
14^th Week	General Evaluation: A Critical Look at the Identity of Politics Nexus

Recommended or Required Reading

Brubaker, Rogers. 2004. Ethnicity Without Groups. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Hall, Stuart. 1996. ?Who Needs Identity?? In Questions of Cultural Identity, edited by Stuart Hall and Paul du Gay, 1?17. London: SAGE Publications.
Butler, Judith. 1990. Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity. New York: Routledge.
Taylor, Charles. 1994. Multiculturalism: Examining the Politics of Recognition. Edited by Amy Gutmann. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Fraser, Nancy. 2000. ?Rethinking Recognition.? New Left Review 3: 107?120.
Asad, Talal. 2003. Formations of the Secular: Christianity, Islam, Modernity. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
Gilroy, Paul. 1993. The Black Atlantic: Modernity and Double Consciousness. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Laclau, Ernesto, and Chantal Mouffe. 1985. Hegemony and Socialist Strategy: Towards a Ra-dical Democratic Politics. London: Verso.
Sayad, Abdelmalek. 2004. The Suffering of the Immigrant. Cambridge: Polity Press.

Planned Learning Activities and Teaching Methods

Lecture
Discussion
Presentation

Assessment Methods and Criteria

	Quantity	Percentage (%)
Assignment	10	40
Project	1	20
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	5	70
Preparation for Final exam	1	60	60
Course hours	14	3	42
Preparation for Midterm exam	1	40	40
Laboratory (including preparation)
Final exam	1	1.5	1.5
Homework	10	10	100
Project	1	20	20
Total Work Load			333.5
Total Work Load / 30 (h)			11.11
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	X
K3		X	X
K4	X	X
K5	X		X
K6				X	X
K7
K8