Duration
30h Th
Number of credits
Lecturer
Language(s) of instruction
English language
Organisation and examination
Teaching in the first semester, review in January
Schedule
Units courses prerequisite and corequisite
Prerequisite or corequisite units are presented within each program
Learning unit contents
Scope of the course:
Comparing means traveling. Traveling across cultures, political systems, intellectual traditions. This course of Comparative politics is conceived as a travel among different socio-political worlds. Comparative politics is certainly one of the most commented and consolidated sub-disciplines of political science. Comparative politics is, also and in essence, transversal, as it touches to a variety of realities covered and studied by political and social sciences, with the aim of comparing them, essentially among the political units of reference, which are the nation-states. Democracy, autoritarism, or political regimes are classical objects of comparative politics, but the sub-discipline has recently paid more attention to other phenomenon such as globalization, wars and gender.
This course is introductory, with the aim of familiarizing the students to the main theories and themes developed in Comparative politics. The objective is not to provide an exhaustive view of the sub-field, but to initiate the students to the scientific and empirically-informed practice of comparison. More importantly, the course explores the logics of inclusion and exclusion structuring our contemporary collective forms of life and how globalization influences these dynamics. To do so, the sessions rely on a nuanced, but also problematized, trenchant and global approach to themes such as the (non)Western trajectory of the nation-state, democratization, gendered politics, war and pandemics.
Outline of the topics covered by the course:
The course is devided in two parts:
I - The classical objects of comparative politics
- The nation-state in the Western and non-Western world
- Democracy and democratization
- Authoritarism and hybrid regimes
- Political parties and representations
II - Contemporary debates in comparative politics
- Gendered politics
- Worlds of war: compared genealogies
- Political regimes and pandemics: Coronavirus politics and beyond
Learning outcomes of the learning unit
By the end of the course, the students will:
- have a consolidated understanding of the comparative approach and method in political science
- be able to use the comparative approach to analyse concrete socio-political dynamics
- have a strengthened ability to comment and analytically read scientific texts (articles, chapters, etc.)
- be in possession of a significant knowledge about the classical and new debates in the field of comparative politics
Prerequisite knowledge and skills
Prerequisite or corequisite units are presented within each program
The course will be taught entirely in English. Students will be required to read scientific articles, to participate in class and to pass a written exam, all in English. Therefore advanced notions of English are required.
Planned learning activities and teaching methods
The course prioritizes understanding over substance. It means that the objective is not to provide an exhaustive and unilateral panorama of comparative politics issues, but rather to focus on the essentials and take time to listen to the students. Consequently, a significant space will be dedicated during the sessions to the exchange between the teacher and the audience, whether through questions or collective activities.
The course combines ex-cathedra lectures, collective discussion and "revision" sessions. In the ex-cathedra classes, the teacher gives lectures about some of the comparative politics problematics listed in the learning content unit. The students are strongly encouraged to read the texts attached to these lectures, as it will amplify their understanding of the course and facilitate collective exchanges. Collective discussions on the readings during the course are highly welcomed and encouraged. It will consolidate the lecture, and the outcomes of the discussion will add original elements of reflexion.
Two "revision" sessions are organized in the semester, completing the two parts of the course. These sessions are dedicated to the students and their learning needs. These classes are collective talks about the previous sessions and the readings, the objective being to optimize the preparation of the students to the final exam. Therefore, in preparation to these sessions, students are strongly encouraged to think about the potential misunderstandings, knowledge needs, or other types of course-related questions.
Mode of delivery (face to face, distance learning, hybrid learning)
Face-to-face course
Additional information:
All the sessions will be taught onsite in a classroom setting.
Recommended or required readings
Status of the readings:
The readings are not compulsory, but recommended. At the exam, no questions will be asked about the texts themselves. However, the readings provide an in-depth analysis of the issues addressed. They are a very useful supports to consolidate your knowledge of comparative politics. By extension, it would be a plus for the exam, which aims to assess the way you master the learning objectives described above (see "Purpose of the course").
To stimulate the use of readings among the students, the texts will also serve as a basis for the lectures.
Two types of readings are proposed (except for the session 11 on pandemics). The primary readings address the core-issues of the session. The secondary readings explore more deeply and with more nuances the studied topics.
Recommanded readings:
Daniele Caramani. 2017. Comparative politics. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Carles Boix, Susan Stokes (eds.). 2007. The Oxford handbook of comparative politics. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Jeffrey Haynes. 2005. Comparative politics in a globalizing world. Cambridge: Polity.
Rod Hague, Martin Harrop. 2004. Comparative government and politics. New York: Palgrave MacMillan.
John Baylis, Steve Smith, Patricia Owens. 2017. The globalisation of world politics: an introduction to international relations. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Exam(s) in session
Any session
- In-person
written exam
Written work / report
Additional information:
The assessment is divided in two parts.
- First part: Sessions summary sheet (30 % of the final grade)
Beyond the evaluation, the exercise also serves the collective acquisition of knowledge. To do so, the students will have the occasion to briefly present their sheet during the "revision sessions". The sheets will be posted on ECampus, so that everybody can rely on it when preparing the exam.
2 deadlines for submission (by email): first revision session (November 15) & second revision session (December 13)
- Second part: Written exam in January 2023 (70% of the final grade)
The exam aims to assess the students' ability to master the main learning outcomes of the course (see "Purpose of the course").
Precisions about the formal aspects of the exam will be given during the semester.
Work placement(s)
Organizational remarks
Schedule
Tuesdays, 9.00am-11am (except for the first session - Friday 23 September, 3.00pm-5.00pm)
B.31 Marx
In-class sessions
Contacts
Dr. Julien Pomarède
Assistant Professor in International Politics, Departement of Political Science
https://www.uliege.be/cms/c_9054334/en/directory?uid=u240686
Bât. B31 International Politics
Quartier Agora
place des Orateurs 3
4000 Liège 1
Belgique
Office R.77, level 0
email: julien.pomarede@uliege.be
Association of one or more MOOCs
Items online
Course syllabus
Course syllabus
Slides
Slides