210130 SE M11: FOP Research Practice (2022W)

In this FOP we will deal with conflicts of values that were at the center of strong political controversies in the context of fighting the pandemic. We will use the Austrian “Obligatory Vaccination Law” as a case study to analyze such value-based controversies. The aim will be to do a mapping exercise by identifying the position held by different actors and analyzing their content.

We depart from the principle that the enormous polarization generated by mandatory corona measures is at least partly based on a conflict between different basic values that are of high relevance for democratic politics – for example a conflict between the defense of individual autonomy on the one hand and the promotion of the common good on the other hand. An in-depth study of the controversies surrounding the obligatory vaccination mandate therefore allows us to gain insight into one of the key conflicts of modern societies -- a conflict that leads to political and social polarization and to a potential renegotiation of the relationship between various core principles of liberal democracies.

The work in the FOP will be structured in such a way that the students, working in small groups, will engage in qualitative data collection and analysis. Each group will gather data and map the discourse of a specific political actor, group of actors, or institution. Examples of suitable data sources include parliamentary debates, press statements, written contributions submitted to Parliament during the evaluation process of the law, court documents, statements or postings by actors from the protest movement and so on.

Plenary units will alternate with phases of research work in teams (following the guidance of the lecturer). The research seminar will be structured as follows:

Phase 1: Introduction to the topic, discussion and presentation of basic texts, team building, definition of concrete research questions and concept development.
Phase 2: Refinement of the project design, start of data collection and first steps towards analysis.
Phase 3: Data collection and analysis.
Phase 4: Presentation and discussion of research experiences and research results.

Methods of the course
- Input on the FOP topic and on the corresponding research methods by the lecturer
- Independent work on selected texts and materials
- Presentation and discussion of the basic texts/materials in working groups and in the plenum
- Independent research under the supervision and guidance of the lecturer
- Presentation and discussion of the results in the plenum
- Final paper