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Syllabus:

Approaches to Political Science, 15 Credits

Swedish name: Statsvetenskapliga analysinriktningar

This syllabus is valid: 2020-09-07 valid to 2024-09-01 (newer version of the syllabus exists)

Course code: 2SV036

Credit points: 15

Education level: Second cycle

Main Field of Study and progress level: Political Science: Second cycle, has only first-cycle course/s as entry requirements

Grading scale: Three-grade scale

Responsible department: Department of Political Science

Revised by: Head of Department of Political Science, 2022-10-07

Contents

The aim is to deepen the student's knowledge and understanding of current theoretical approaches in political science. The course will contribute both to a broad knowledge of theories in the field of political science and to individual specialization. Different theoretical approaches will be studied as well as their empirical application. Particular emphasis is placed on comparing approaches and on their commensurability with each other. The course encourages a critical and problematizing approach to theory.

The course literature consists of basic reading and literature on each of the theoretical approaches that are selected at the beginning of the course. For each such approach, the literature consists of (1) a book that introduces the approach (2) an article, book chapter or thesis that demonstrates how the approach can be empirically applied and (3) an article or book chapter that critically examines the approach.

Expected learning outcomes

In order to pass this course the student should, as far as knowledge and understanding are concerned, be able to:

  • in a critical and initiated way account for the main theoretical approaches that are used in contemporary political science
  • have advanced knowledge in one or several theoretical approaches in political science with particular relevance for the student's own research area
  • be able to take a critical stance to both established and new theoretical approaches

In order to pass this course the student should, as far as skills and abilities are concerned, be able to:

  • present theories in a clear and convincing way
  • be able to critically discuss another student's theory paper and place others' research in a broader theoretical perspective

Required Knowledge

Political Science, 90 credits or Peace and Conflict Studies, 90 credits including an individual thesis of 15 credits, or equivalent. Proficiency in English equivalent to Swedish Upper Secondary course English 6. Where the language of instruction is Swedish, applicants must prove proficiency in Swedish to the level required for basic eligibility for higher studies.

Form of instruction

The course consists of six sections. Each section is devoted to a particular theoretical approach. Three of these - Institutionalism, Rational Choice and Post-Structuralism - are compulsory. The remaining three are selected at the beginning of the course by the students together with the lecturer. Examples of approaches that may be relevant are behaviourism, critical realism, feminism, Marxism and green political theory. Each section consists of a presentation and a seminar. One or several students are in charge of the section, providing both the presentation and chairing the seminar. Guest researchers may be used as a complement. Comparisons are made successively during the course. Each student writes an individual theory paper that is examined during a final seminar, in which one other student act as discussant.

Examination modes

The course is examined by:

  • Compulsoryseminars which include oral presentations and written assignments (Fail or Pass)
  • An individual written assignment (Fail, Pass or Pass with distinction)

A final grade is given when students have completed and passed all assignments and presentations.Grades are Fail (Underkänd, U), Pass (Godkänd, VG) or Pass with distinction (Väl Godkänd, VG). The following is required for Pass: compulsory seminars and oral presentations (Pass); individual written assignment (Pass). The following is required for Pass with distinction: compulsory seminars and oral presentations (Pass); individual written assignment (Pass with distinction).

General rules with regard to examination
A student who does not meet the requirements to pass an examination can, if decided by the course instructor, be given a complementary assignment to reach the requirements to pass the examination. The complementary assignment can be individually modified to the specific requirements that the student has failed to reach, but the assignment must be of corresponding proportion to the original examination.
 
Ordinarily, the complementary assignment is given at the end of the course or when the grades at the original examination is announced. When the student has been given the complementary assignment, he/she should finish the assignment within ten days (not including weekends and holidays). If the student fail to finish the assignment within the required time, a new complementary assignment can only be given the next time the course is arranged, or during the two weeks of re-take exams the Department arranges every year during week 34 and 35.
 
If it is not possible to do complementary assignments (if so, it is stated next to each individual examination above), the student is required to do a re-take exam. The first re-take exam should be given two months after the original examination, at the latest, but no sooner than ten days after the grade on the original examination has been given (not including weekends and holidays). If the examination is given during May or June, the first re-take exam should be given no later than three months after the original examination. Two weeks of re-take exams are also arranged every year, which means complementary assignments are treated during this time independently of when the course was given. These weeks are arranged during week 34 and 35.
 
Students who fail an examination may retake that examination. A student has the right to request a new examiner if he/she fails two sub-course examinations (i.e. an examination and a re-take). In such cases students should contact the Director of Undergraduate Studies (Studierektor). Examination in accordance with the same syllabus as during the original examination can be guaranteed for up to two years after the student's first registration.

The appointed examiner may decide to use other forms of examination if required by particular circumstances.

Credit Transfer
Students who wish to transfer credits from other Departments or universities (Swedish or foreign) should do so in accordance to the Principal's decision "Tillgodoräknandeordning vid Umeå universitet (Dnr. 545-3317-02)".

The application must be submitted in written form. The request should specify which module or course the request applies to. An official transcript should also be submitted. The transcript must include the following information: where and when the course was given, the discipline and level of the course, total course credits and grade received. A syllabus describing the course and a list of required readings should be submitted with the request. Where applicable, written research papers should also be submitted.
 
Upon completion of this course, the credits can be transferred to a selective course. However it is always the responsible Department or program that determines the possibility for credit transfers and the extent of the credit transfer. The student should therefore always contact the responsible Department or program before submitting an application for credit transfers.

Other regulations

At the end of the course, the student has the opportunity to make a written and anonymous evaluation of the course. During the course, student councils (kursråd) with an evaluative purpose are held and the students are also given the opportunity to provide anonymous comments in digital form.

Literature

Valid from: 2023 week 30

Core Reading

Hay Colin
Political analysis : a critical introduction
Basingstoke : Palgrave : 2002 : xiii, 314 s. :
ISBN: 0-333-75002-0 (inb.)
Mandatory
Search the University Library catalogue

Doing political science and international relations : theories in action
Savigny Heather., Marsden Lee.
Basingstoke : Palgrave Macmillan : 2011. : xiv, 321 s. :
ISBN: 0-230-24586-2 ¹65.00
Mandatory
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Theory and methods in political science
Lowndes Vivien, Marsh David, Stoker Gerry
Fourth edition : London : Palgrave : 2018 : 391 sidor :
ISBN: 978-1-137-60351-7
Mandatory
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Reflexive methodology : new vistas for qualitative research
Alvesson Mats, Sköldberg Kaj
Third edition : Los Angeles : Sage : 2018 : xii, 437 sidor :
ISBN: 9781473964242
Mandatory
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Literature on compulsory analytical approaches

Institutionalism

Why institutions matter : the new institutionalism in political science
Lowndes Vivien, Roberts Mark
Basingstoke, Hampshire : Palgrave Macmillan : 2013. : x, 236 pages :
ISBN: 978-0-333-92955-1
Mandatory
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Van Hees M.
Explaining institutions: a defence of reductionism
Included in:
European journal of political research
Oxford : Blackwell : 1997- : 32 : pages 51-69 :
Mandatory

The new Institutionalism: organizational factors in political life
March J. G., Olsen J. P.
Included in:
The American political science review
[Washington, D.C., etc.] : American Political Science Association. : 78 : pages 734-749 :

Peters B. Guy.
Institutional theory in political science : the new institutionalism
Fourth edition. : Northampton, MA : Edward Elgar Pub. : [2019] : xii, 293 pages :
ISBN: 9781786437921
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Poststructuralism and Social Constructivism

Belsey Catherine
Poststructuralism : a very short introduction
New York : Oxford University Press : 2002 : 117 s. :
ISBN: 0-19-280180-5
Mandatory
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Cole Mike
Might it be in the practice that it fails to succeed? A Marxist critique of claims for postmodernism and poststructuralism as forces for social change and social justice
Included in:
British journal of sociology of education [Elektronisk resurs].
London : Taylor & Francis : 1999- : 24 : pages 487-500 :
Mandatory

Selby Jan
Engaging Foucault: Discourse, Liberal Governance and the Limits of Foucauldian IR
Included in:
International relations
London : Sage : 2001- : 21 :
Mandatory

Discourse analysis as theory and method
Winther Jørgensen Marianne, Phillips Louise
London : Sage : 2002 : 229 s. :
ISBN: 0761971114
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Rational Choice

Hindmoor Andrew
Rational Choice
Basingstoke : Palgrave : 2006 :
Mandatory

Pathologies of rational choice theory : a critique of applications in political science
Green Donald P., Shapiro Ian
New Haven : Yale University Press : cop. 1994 : xi, 239 s. :
ISBN: 0-300-05914-0
Mandatory
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Explaining modes of participation: a dynamic test of alternative rational choice models
Bäck Hanna, Teorell Jan, Westholm Anders
Included in:
Scandinavian political studies
Oxford : Blackwell : 1998- : 34 : pages 74-97 :
Mandatory

Literature on selected analytical approaches

At the beginning of the course, the students and the lecturer select three additional approaches for further study.

Feminism

Donovan Josephine
Feminist theory : the intellectual traditions
4. ed., rev. and expanded. : New York : Continuum : 2012. : xvi, 287 p. :
ISBN: 978-1-4411-6830-6
Mandatory
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Regional development policies and the constructions of gender equality: the Swedish case
Hudson C, Rönnblom M.
Included in:
European journal of political research
Oxford : Blackwell : 1997- : 46 : pages 47-68 :
Mandatory

“This agenda will never be politically popular” : Central Europe’s anti-gender mobilization and the Czech Women, Peace and Security agenda
O’Sullivan Míla, Krulišová Kateřina
Included in:
International feminist journal of politics
London : Routledge : 1999- : 22 : pages 526-549 :
https://doi.org/10.1080/14616742.2020.1796519
Mandatory

Mohanty Chandra Talpade
Under western eyes. Feminist scholarship and colonial discourses.
Included in:
Feminist review.
London,c 1979- : 1979- : pages 61-88 :

Green Political Theory

Political theory and the ecological challenge
Dobson Andrew, Eckersley Robyn
Cambridge : Cambridge University Press : 2006 : 262 s. :
http://www.loc.gov/catdir/toc/ecip067/2006001738.html
ISBN: 0-521-54698-2
Mandatory
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Green political theory in a climate-changed world: between innovation and restraint
Symons Jonathan, Karlsson Rasmus
Included in:
Environmental politics [Elektronisk resurs].
London : Taylor & Francis : 2001- : 24 : pages 173-192 :
Mandatory

Carter Neil
The politics of the environment : ideas, activism, policy
2. ed. : Cambridge ;a New York : Cambridge University Press : 2007 : xxi, 410 s. :
ISBN: 978-0-521-68745-4 (pbk.)
Mandatory
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Critical Realism

Danermark Berth
Explaining society : critical realism in the social sciences
London : Routledge : 2002 : 221 s. :
ISBN: 041522182X
Mandatory
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Fleetwood Steve
Ontology in Organization and Managements Studies: A Critical Realist Perspective
Included in:
Organization
London : Sage : 1999- : 12 : pages 197-222 :
Mandatory

Kurki M.
Critical realism and causal analysis in international relations
Included in:
Millennium
London : Millennium Publ. Group : 1971- : 35 : pages 361-378 :
Mandatory

Marxism

Marxism and social science
Gamble Andrew, Marsh David, Tant Tony
Basingstoke : Macmillan : 1999 : 381 s. :
ISBN: 0-333-65595-8
Mandatory
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Burnham Peter
Class, capital and crisis. A return to fundamentals
Included in:
Political studies review
Oxford : Blackwell : 2003- : 8 : pages 27-39 :
Mandatory

Pearce Carol
A critique of Marxism-Leninism as theory and praxis
Included in:
Review of African political economy
19uu- : pages 102-114 :
Mandatory

Post-Colonialism

Loomba Ania
Colonialism/postcolonialism
Third edition. : 2015 : 304 pages :
ISBN: 1138807184
Mandatory
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Postcolonialism, feminism, and religious discourse
Donaldson Laura E, Kwok Pui-lan
New York : Routledge : 2002 : 219 s. :
ISBN: 0-415-92887-7 (inb.)
Mandatory
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Rattansi Ali
Postcolonialism and Its Discontents
Included in:
Economy and society
London : Routledge : 2000- : 26 : pages 480-800 :
Mandatory

Reimerson Elsa
Between nature and culture: Exploring space for indigenous agency in the Convention on Biological Diversity
Included in:
Environmental politics [Elektronisk resurs].
London : Taylor & Francis : 2001- : 22 : pages 992-1009 :
Mandatory