Universität Wien

210324 SE M7b SpezialisierungsSE: Political Representation (engl.) (2014S)

8.00 ECTS (2.00 SWS), SPL 21 - Politikwissenschaft
Continuous assessment of course work

First session 04.03.2014
Tuesday 14.00-15.30
Raum: Hörsaal H10 Methodenzentrum
Rathausstraße 19/2
Direkter Zugang über Landesgerichtsstraße 20, Stiege 1, Halbstock
1010 Wien

Please sign up to this course via univis before the start of the semester; this is mandatory. It is not possible to sign up after this.
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).

Details

max. 40 participants
Language: English

Lecturers

Classes

Currently no class schedule is known.

Information

Aims, contents and method of the course

Political Representation is a core feature of modern political systems. The core problem of representation concerns the structuring of the relationship between representatives and their constituents. Put it simply, the course explores two main questions: 1) What is it the 'will of the people'? Who do representatives represent? 2) How is the 'will of the people'; transmitted to the government? How do representatives represent? The seminar provides a basic and encompassing introduction to political representation as a concept and to representative government as a set of institutions. The seminar aims therefore to have both a theoretical and empirical focus.

Assessment and permitted materials

Active class-room participation (20%)
Oral presentation and critical discussion of a topic (20%)
Final paper (60%)

Minimum requirements and assessment criteria

Assuming that you have read the material and participated regularly in class you will by the end of this class:
- have a good knowledge of major empirical theories in political representation research;
- be aware and critically engage with the main debates and issues related to these theories;
- have a good knowledge of representative institutions and representative behaviour across established democracies;
- have improved your research and writing skills.

Examination topics

The seminar is organized in one weekly session every Tuesday. The sessions are devoted to the discussion of the assigned readings. Each seminar is introduced by students' presentations of about 20 minutes. My role is to provide some structure to the discussion and adding, where useful, additional information. Your role will be to lead the discussion. One of you will do so each week, in addition to providing the class (via Moodle by 12.00 noon on Monday) with a critical summary of the assigned readings. This summary should be no longer than two double-spaced pages. In addition to taking turns at leading the discussion, I expect each of you to participate in the discussion. Sub-groups will be formed during the first session. Readings for the sessions, if articles are available for download via Moodle, books will be available at the Department of Methods as a paper copy (which can then be photocopied on site). For each session two types of literature are offered. Required reading MUST be read by all participants. In addition, there is supplementary literature if you want to treat a subject in depth. Attendance for this course is mandatory and will be taken twice at every class meeting. One should attend no less than 13 out of 15 sessions.

Reading list

The literature will be available on Moodle and/or at the Department of Methods as a paper copy (which can then be photocopied on site).

Session 1. Introduction and task assignment

Association in the course directory

Last modified: Mo 07.09.2020 15:38