210038 LK BAK6: The Austrian Political System and the EU (2023W)

(engl.)

6.00 ECTS (2.00 SWS), SPL 21 - Politikwissenschaft

Continuous assessment of course work

ON-SITE

Eine Anmeldung über u:space innerhalb der Anmeldephase ist erforderlich! Eine nachträgliche Anmeldung ist NICHT möglich.
Studierende, die der ersten Einheit unentschuldigt fernbleiben, verlieren ihren Platz in der Lehrveranstaltung.

Achten Sie auf die Einhaltung der Standards guter wissenschaftlicher Praxis und die korrekte Anwendung der Techniken wissenschaftlichen Arbeitens und Schreibens.
Plagiierte und erschlichene Teilleistungen führen zur Nichtbewertung der Lehrveranstaltung (Eintragung eines 'X' im Sammelzeugnis).
Die Lehrveranstaltungsleitung kann Studierende zu einem notenrelevanten Gespräch über erbrachte Teilleistungen einladen.

Moodle

Registration/Deregistration

Note: The time of your registration within the registration period has no effect on the allocation of places (no first come, first served).

Registration is open from We 06.09.2023 08:00 to We 20.09.2023 08:00
Registration is open from Fr 22.09.2023 08:00 to We 27.09.2023 08:00
Deregistration possible until Fr 20.10.2023 23:59

Details

max. 50 participants

Language: English

Lecturers

Timo Seidl

Classes (iCal) - next class is marked with N

This course will be held in English

    
    Thursday
    05.10.
    13:15 - 14:45
    Hörsaal 1 (H1), NIG 2.Stock
    
    Thursday
    12.10.
    13:15 - 14:45
    Hörsaal 1 (H1), NIG 2.Stock
    
    Thursday
    19.10.
    13:15 - 14:45
    Hörsaal 1 (H1), NIG 2.Stock
    
    Thursday
    09.11.
    13:15 - 14:45
    Hörsaal 1 (H1), NIG 2.Stock
    
    Thursday
    16.11.
    13:15 - 14:45
    Hörsaal 1 (H1), NIG 2.Stock
    
    Thursday
    23.11.
    13:15 - 14:45
    Hörsaal 1 (H1), NIG 2.Stock
    
    Thursday
    30.11.
    13:15 - 14:45
    Hörsaal 1 (H1), NIG 2.Stock
    
    Thursday
    07.12.
    13:15 - 14:45
    Hörsaal 1 (H1), NIG 2.Stock
    
    Thursday
    14.12.
    13:15 - 14:45
    Hörsaal 1 (H1), NIG 2.Stock
    
    Thursday
    11.01.
    13:15 - 14:45
    Hörsaal 1 (H1), NIG 2.Stock
    
    Thursday
    18.01.
    13:15 - 14:45
    Hörsaal 1 (H1), NIG 2.Stock
    
    Thursday
    25.01.
    13:15 - 14:45
    Hörsaal 1 (H1), NIG 2.Stock

Information

Aims, contents and method of the course

Course Description: Climate change and digitalization undoubtedly pose two of the most important challenges for the European Union. They will, as Commission President von der Leyen put it, "affect us all, wherever we live, whatever we do". Global warming is expected to cause (and is already causing) unprecedented disruptions to the earth's climate and may ultimately render parts of the globe inhospitable to human life. Digitalization, meanwhile, is transforming the ways we work, dwell, travel, consume, communicate, and inform ourselves; and promises - or threatens - to usher in even more fundamental changes. The EU has reacted to these challenges with a slew of policies and policy initiatives. The European Green Deal wants to make Europe climate neutral until 2050; the General Data Protection Regulation is meant to push back against 'surveillance capitalism' and make EU law the gold standard for data protection globally; and the Digital Services and Markets Acts are meant to rein in Big Tech. In this course, we will take a closer look at the EU's digital and environmental policies with a particular focus on the role of member states and especially Austria therein. After familiarizing ourselves with how the EU works, we will discuss recent political science research on the challenges of digitalization and climate change and on how the EU reacts to them. As part of this course, we will also visit the representation of the European Union in Austria to learn more about the multilevel dynamics of Austria in the European Union.

Learning Outcomes: The course aims to familiarize students with developments in the EU's climate and digital policy. At the end of the course, students should be able to

- identify and describe the nature of and policy dynamics of the 'twin transition';

- summarize and critically assess central theoretical and empirical insights of the political science research on the EU's digital and environmental policies;

- apply these insights to make sense of the politics of (EU) policymaking and the role of various political actors (including Austria) therein.

Assessment and permitted materials

Students are required to attend classes and come prepared (i.e., having done and thought a bit about the readings). In addition, there will be four types of assignments that together make up the final grade.

- First, for **one** sessions of their choosing, students need to write short response papers (half a page) that reflect on the readings. This will make up *10%* of their grade. The response papers are NOT meant to summarize the reading but pick up on of or two key arguments and critically reflect on them. This can be done by connecting them to other readings, recent events in the news, or by criticizing their assumptions or conclusions.

- Second, there is a short exam towards the end of the seminar that tests whether students remember key arguments from the readings and the sessions. The test ensures that students actually do the readings and pay attention in class. It will consist of around 15 short questions, most of them in multiple choice format. The test will take place in the first 10-15 minutes of one of the last sessions - so you will enough time to go over slides and readings again. This will make up *20%* of your grade.

- Third, students are required to deliver a very short input presentation (around 5 minutes) for **one** session as well as prepare one or several discussion points to kick off the discussion (e.g., questions, provocative arguments). This will also make up *20%* of their grade. Remember, the input presentation is not meant to be a comprehensive summary of the text (or the section of the text you were assigned within your presentation group). Rather, it is meant to pick up on key arguments, present and ideally discuss them critically, and connect them to real-world examples or theoretical debates. And again, the presentations can be really short, they don't need to be (and shouldn't be) longer than 5 minutes per person.

- Lastly, students need to write a relatively short term paper on a topic related to the course (2000-3000 words). This will make up *50%* of their grade. The paper can be theoretical or empirical and is meant to hone in on one particular question that the students can pick themselves (although they should briefly discuss this with me in advance). The deadline for the term paper will be **Sunday, Feb 18 2024**.

Minimum requirements and assessment criteria

See above

Examination topics