00895 - Political Science (O-Z)

Learning outcomes

By the end of the course, students will gain a basic knowledge of the main approaches and methods developed within political science; will be able to analyze political actors, processes and institutions; will be able to understand similarities and differences between political systems in a comparative perspective.

Course contents

The course is an introduction to the main topics studied in Political Science, with a focus on the strategic and methodological aspects that have become central to the study of comparative politics.

The course is divided into four parts. The first part introduces the main features of Political Science as a discipline. The first part also presents the main working methodologies of the political scientist, focusing in particular on the comparative method.

The second part explores topics such as the birth and formation of the modern state, processes of democratisation and the differences between democratic and authoritarian political regimes, paying particular attention to the economic and cultural determinants of democracy.

The third part of the course focuses on political actors, the mechanisms of representation and the institutional organisation of contemporary democracies. Central themes of this part of the course are: the role and characteristics of the main individual and collective political actors; the function of elections and the rules governing them; the functioning of internal political institutions.

After having explored the variety of formal and informal actors, rules and institutions that characterise contemporary democracies, the fourth part of the course aims to analyse whether this variety can be traced back to certain variants of democracy, assessing whether differences in performance exist in terms of the quality and effectiveness of decision-making.

A series of insights into the Italian political system will be offered during the course. A number of student presentations will be organised on the selected topics. Further details will be provided at the beginning of the lectures.

Readings/Bibliography

Foreign students are invited to contact the teacher at the beginning of the course to discuss about the programme.

Teaching methods

The course is structured in 30 lessons of two hours each, each devoted to a specific topic. Attendance is not compulsory, but recommended. Slides will be used to supplement frontal teaching.

Assessment methods

There are two written tests for attending students: one mid-course test on the first part of the syllabus and one end-of-course test on the second part. Each test includes 11 multiple-choice questions and one open question. The multiple-choice questions are worth 1 point each. The open question is worth a maximum of 6 points, giving a total of 17 points. The test time is 30 minutes.

The final grade is calculated as the sum of the marks obtained in both tests. Honours will be awarded to students who achieve a score of at least 33 points in the sum of the two tests and who distinguish themselves particularly well in class.

Attendance will be monitored in class. Students who have attended at least 75% of the lectures are considered to be attending.

For non-attending students or students who, despite having attended, did not participate in the tests or declined a test grade, the examination focuses on the entire syllabus. It includes 22 multiple-choice questions and two open-ended questions. The multiple-choice questions are worth 1 point each. The open questions are worth a maximum of 6 points, giving a total of 34 points. The test time is 60 minutes. Non-attending students must also answer an additional open-ended question on the additional text (20 minutes available). This question is graded in thirtieths and averaged with the mark obtained in the first part of the examination. In calculating the final grade, the first part is worth 80%, the second 20%.

All examinations will be conducted in-person on EOL (Esami online) in equipped computer labs.

The grade can only be withheld once.

Teaching tools

The slides and other teaching materials will be available on Virtuale.

Office hours

See the website of Luca Pinto