Entry requirements

Master's students within the Social Science Faculty are prioritized.

Learning outcomes

The aim is to provide a broad introduction to the rich research about citizens, culture and behaviour, how these fields have developed over time and where they stand today. The course forms an advanced, cumulative, step in relation to the knowledge gained in these fields of research already at lower levels. In particular, "The State, Citizens and Policies" at the A-level and "Citizens, Attitudes and Participation" at the C-level contain elements that return in this course. The course presents various methodological approaches, and contains literature from political science, sociology and anthropology. The objective is to familiarise the students with both the latest research in these fields, but also have a retrospective perspective and dwell on classic contributions. There is a focus on methological approaches, and how to apply these to problems identified by the students.

After having completed the course the students are expected to possess the following skills and abilities:

- an adequate understanding of the present standing of the political sociological research field.

- an ability to summarise and critically evalutuate research on an advanced level in this field.

- a capacity to formulate independently generated and theoretically based research questions within political sociology.

Content

How do we understand and exercise political and social power? Under what conditions and for what purposes are social movements created? What role does networks and social capital play for the outcomes in political life? How are the values and beliefs constituting political culture formed and why is culture so central in order to understand politics and society? What do we know about political participation and the reasons for why it varies between classes and other groups? These are the major themes addressed in this course. Firstly, political culture is focused, followed by social capital and political participation. Thereafter, the concentration is on political and social power and social movements. The following week is devoted to political elites and social networks. The last weeks are reserved for the writing-up of a final paper of approximately 4000-4500 words concerning a theme addressed during the course. The paper should discuss a theoretical or empirical question on political sociology. Students are expected to make extensive use of the course literature, and if necessary, the use of additional literature (data, articles, books) is also welcomed. The paper should have an analytical focus; a pure review would not receive the highest grade.

Instruction

Lectures and seminars are the major forms of teaching.

Assessment

The course is examined by oral presentations and by written products. The students are supposed to participate actively in the seminar discussions. In addition, each student will make an oral presentation in English concerning a topic, a question or critique that he/she decides in accordance with the teacher. The written examination consists of two parts: 1) reading reports to every seminar and 2) final paper which addresses a topic of the course and makes extensive analytical use of the relevant literature. In case of a missed seminar, a longer more elaborated reading report should be written.

Grades awarded Fail (U) - Pass (G) - Pass with Distinction (VG). Oral presentations are graded only by U or G; written reports are graded by U, G or VG. For exchange students, grades will be given according to European Credit Transfer System (ECTS), that is using a seven-step scale.

Course level in relation to degree requirements

The course is at advanced level and research-oriented. The literature consists of research monographs and scientific articles, most of them in English. This implies that the students attending this course will develop their abilities to understand, and assess, scientific arguments and conclusions. The intention is to further strengthen the capacity to judge critically and be able to identity how choices made by the researcher or author about definitions, theories and empirical data affects the conclusions that can be drawn. In relation to that, a capacity to identify alternative methodological ways to investigate a given topic is also part of the course. In contrast to lower levels, some more emphasis is put on the oral skills in the sense of being able to present a material in front of an 'international' audience (that is in English). The capacity to write comprehensive yet analytically is trained throughout the course.

Other regulations

Students within the Master Programme in Politics and International Studies and the Master Programme in Development Studies are required to have obtained at least 15 credits within the programme.

Master's students within the Social Science Faculty are prioritized.