00895 - Political Science (F-N)

Learning outcomes

After completing the course,  you will have a basic knowledge of the main approaches developed  within political science; you will master conceptual tools useful to understand political processes and institutions; you will be able to analyze similarities and differences among political systems in a comparative perspective.

Course contents

This course is intended to provide you the basic conceptual tools for understanding and analyzing political phenomena. The course will deal with the following topics: historical context (birth and evolution of the nation state; democratic and  authoritarian regimes); political actors and processes (political parties, voters, interest groups, party competition); political structures and institutions (electoral systems; legislative assemblies; goverments and bureaucracies).

Readings/Bibliography

For students who will attend class

D. Caramani (a cura di) Comparative Politics, Oxford University Press, 2014, III edition, Introduction, chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 e 10.

For students who will not attend class

D. Caramani (a cura di) Comparative Politics, Oxford University Press, 2014, III edition, Introduction, chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 e 10.

Arend Liiphart, Patterns of Democracy, Yale University Press, II edition, 2012.

Teaching methods

There are 30 teaching sessions of two hours each.

You are expected to contribute to discussing the various topics examined.

Assessment methods

Students may pass their exam by completing two written tests (midterm and final). The final score is the average of the marks obtained in both tests. Students who obtain a score > or = to 15 in the first test will be allowed to take the second test. Each test includes 15 questions, 5 of which are short answer questions and 10 multiple choice answer questions. Short answer questions are graded up to 1.5; multiple choice questions are graded 1 (correct) or 0 (wrong or missing).

For students who will not attend class

Students may pass their exam by completing a written test including 30 questions, 10 of which are short answer questions and 20 multiple choice answer questions. Short answer questions are graded up to 1.5; multiple choice questions are graded 1 (correct) or 0 (wrong or missing).

Teaching tools

Powerpoint slides will be available on line, at the web site http://campus.cib.unibo.it.

Office hours

See the website of Daniela Giannetti