European Politics
Course offered :
- Current semester
- Next semester
Current programmes of study
Course offered by
| Number of credits | 10 |
| Course offered (semester) | Spring |
| Subject overlap | Total credit reduction with SAMPOL318 |
| Schedule | Schedule |
| Reading list | Reading list |
Language of Instruction
English
Pre-requirements
Bachelor degree in Comparative Politics or equivalent
Learning Outcomes
This master's course provides increased knowledge and understanding of the European integration as an empirical phenomenon and strengthens students´ academic skills in analysis of European integration processes. Students fulfilling the requirements of this course will be able to systematically inter-relate the integration processes and mechanisms that are observed in different segments of the EU political system and acquire a comprehensive understanding of the phenomenon. Lectures will enable the students to learn and use the key concepts, theories, and methodological approaches to European integration as part of their own independent academic work. Participation in various seminars and the focus on individual writing ensure the students motivation and ability to work independently in an academic or a professional setting.
Contact Information
post@isp.uib.no / studieveileder@sampol.uib.no/ 55583316
Course offered (semester)
Spring
Exam offered (semester)
Spring and autumn
Language of Instruction
English
Course Unit Level
Master level
Access to the Course Unit
The course is available to students at the master`s programme in comparative politics, or students accepted to other equivalent master programmes.
Aim and Content
Objectives:
- To increase students´ academic skills in analysis of European integration processes
- To introduce the key conceptual, theoretical and methodological approaches to European integration
- To increase students´ understanding of why and how European integration happens
- To encourage students to demonstrate understanding of the foregoing verbally in class discussions and through written work supported by their own reading of the relevant academic literature.
Content:
The course addresses the key dimensions, channels and actors facilitating or impeding the recent European integration after the Single European Act of 1986. Students are expected to know the integration processes that took place prior to 1985. European integration is problematized in several dimensions: The institutional dimension covers the development of the EU legislation and decision-making mechanisms. The focus on political integration is concerned with the development of a European party system and EP elections (numerical democracy), the trans-European civil society organizations (corporate-plural democracy), and the Europeanization of national media systems (the European public sphere). The societal dimension of the European integration is adressed with a focus on European citizenship and identity. Depending on the current state of the art in the field, different channels / dimensions / actors of European integration may be emphasized each semester.
- Theories of European Integration and the Rokkanian approach to European integration
- Institutional, political, and societal dimensions of European integration
- Channels of European integration: the numerical channel, the corporate-plural channel, and the European public sphere
- Key actors in European integration processes: supranational actors, intergovernmental actors, trans-European actors, national actors, and citizens/voters
Learning Outcomes
This master's course provides increased knowledge and understanding of the European integration as an empirical phenomenon and strengthens students´ academic skills in analysis of European integration processes. Students fulfilling the requirements of this course will be able to systematically inter-relate the integration processes and mechanisms that are observed in different segments of the EU political system and acquire a comprehensive understanding of the phenomenon. Lectures will enable the students to learn and use the key concepts, theories, and methodological approaches to European integration as part of their own independent academic work. Participation in various seminars and the focus on individual writing ensure the students motivation and ability to work independently in an academic or a professional setting.
Pre-requirements
Bachelor degree in Comparative Politics or equivalent
Recommended previous knowledge
Bachelor degree in Comparative Politics or equivalent. Methods courses at the master´s level.
Subject Overlap
Total credit reduction with SAMPOL318
Teaching Methods
Form: Lectures and Seminars
Hours per week: 2
Number of weeks: 12
Total number of hours: 24
Assessment methods
The students choose between a take-home exam and an essay.
Take-home exam: An essay of maximum 4500 words is written during a one- week period. The subject of the essay is given by the department.
Essay: An essay of maximum 4500 words is written during the term under supervision. The student chooses the subject of their essay independently but with assistance from their lecturers.
An essay that has been submitted and evaluated, can not be submitted to examination again unless the student in advance can demonstrate to the department that the essay provides answers to new research questions, and / or is based upon new empirical material (sources / data), and / or that a radical change is made in the analysis of the interpretation of empirical data (see "Supplementary degree and study regulations for the Faculty of Social Sciences").
Grading Scale
A-F
Course Unit Evaluation
Regularly
Contact Information
post@isp.uib.no / studieveileder@sampol.uib.no/ 55583316