General provisions

Only for students admitted to the Teacher Education Programme.

Entry requirements

Sh A (specific entry requirements 6). Requirements have been lowered in relation to the original specific entry requirements.

Learning outcomes

On completion of the course in Political Science the students are expected to be able to present and discuss:

• the history of political ideas;
• the political government, public administration and the main features of the official political life in Sweden and other countries;
• the political problems of other political systems;
• the development of international politics during the 20th century;
• the development of the European Union and the role of Sweden on the international arena;
• questions of school democracy.

Participate actively and independently in seminar discussions and in a written assignment treat a defined research problem and in connection therewith:

• have practised the application of a scientific approach to sources and source material ;
• understand the value of, and bases for, good argumentation;
• be able to distinguish between theoretical literature and empirical findings;
• be able to separate personal opinions from the independent conclusions to be drawn from a source material;
• be familiar with the basics of source references.

Content

Politics in Sweden and other countries. The course consists of three parts.

Part 1: Political Ideas

The purpose of the course is to make the students acquainted with basic concepts in political theory. An introduction is given to the ideas of democracy with special focus on democracy at school. The perspective of gender is also accounted for. The student is trained to independently scrutinise and analyse political ideas and ideologies and to reason about relevant problems from the course literature, the lectures and the discussions in the seminar.

Part 2: Comparative and Swedish Politics

The objectives for this part of the course are to provide students with an orientation in the basic terminology, theories and methods within central areas of political science research as well as the presentation of research results from several essential research fields such as: democratisation processes; political parties; and political participation; institutions and implementation. It is intended that this course should be broad, with the objectives of providing students with elementary political science knowledge and skills which will create the basis for later continuation and specialisation courses within a number of areas. This part is based on a holistic perspective of politics and political systems and has the expressed aim of being comparative. The Swedish political system in constitution as well as the process of elections, the party system, organisations are accounted for. Also the students are able to study the role of the local communities in Swedish democracy. Basic features in nation-building such as electoral systems, party systems, parliaments, governments och public administration are discussed, as well as the role of interest organisations and media. Basic principles on democracy and power will also be discussed.

Part 3: International Politics

This part of the course shall provide students with an overview and enhanced understanding of international politics in general and Swedish foreign policy in particular. A number of central theoretical traditions and perspectives on international politics are introduced. The development of international politics after 1945 is presented and the Swedish neutrality- and security policy will be analysed. Processes of international politics such as conflict and cooperation will be discussed.

The course is designed to provide students with opportunities to develop basic communication, research, and analytical skills. The aim is to train and develop the students' own analytical and reflection skills through the participation in seminar discussions and the writing of a seminar paper.

Politics in Sweden and other countries, seminars, 7.5 credits

Part 1: Political Ideas

The purpose of the course is to make the students acquainted with basic concepts in political theory, presented in a historical perspective. An introduction is given to the ideas of democracy with special focus on democracy at school. The perspective of gender is also accounted for. The student is trained to independently scrutinise and analyse political ideas and ideologies and to reason about relevant problems from the course literature, the lectures and the discussions in the seminar.

Part 2: Comparative and Swedish Politics

The objectives for this part of the course are to provide students with an orientation in the basic terminology, theories and methods within central areas of political science research as well as the presentation of research results from several essential research fields such as: democratisation processes; political parties; and political participation; institutions and implementation. It is intended that this course should be broad, with the objectives of providing students with elementary political science knowledge and skills which will create the basis for later continuation and specialisation courses within a number of areas. This part is based on a holistic perspective of politics and political systems and has the expressed aim of being comparative. The Swedish political system in constitution as well as the process of elections, the party system, organisations are accounted for. Also the students are able to study the role of the local communities in Swedish democracy. Basic features in nation-building such as electoral systems, party systems, parliaments, governments och public administration are discussed, as well as the role of interest organisations and media. Basic principles on democracy and power will also be discussed.

Part 3: International Politics

This part of the course shall provide students with an overview and enhanced understanding of international politics in general and Swedish foreign policy in particular. A number of central theoretical traditions and perspectives on international politics are introduced. The development of international politics after 1945 is presented and the Swedish neutrality- and security policy will be analysed. Processes of international politics such as conflict and cooperation will be discussed.

The course is designed to provide students with opportunities to develop basic communication, research, and analytical skills. The aim is to train and develop the students' own analytical and reflection skills through the participation in seminar discussions and the writing of a seminar paper.

Written examination, 7.5 credits

Written examination

Instruction

The instruction for this course consists of a combination of lectures and seminars. Active participation is required. The students also write a seminar paper. Seminar attendance is mainly mandatory.

Assessment

The course will be examined via a written examination (7.5 ECTS) and the grades awarded are Fail - Pass - High Pass. Also the course will be examined via active participations in seminars and a written assignment (7.5 ECTS) and the grades awarded are the same as mentioned above. In order to receive a High Pass for all 15 ECTS credit points, half of the credit points have to be graded with a High Pass.

Grading System: Grades awarded Fail (U) - Pass (G) - Pass with Distinction (VG).

Course level in relation to degree requirements

The course is primarily based on course literature and some shorter scientific texts. At the following levels research books and more advanced scientific reports are introduced. The intention is to give the students an introduction to different research fields of political science and to present some of the research methods used. Much weight is placed on making the students realise what independent and critical thinking means, and to equip them with the necessary tools to evaluate conclusions and arguments. Concerning skills practice the most important thing in this course is the development of the writing ability in the form of a written final paper.