Political Science and International Relations (With Thesis)

PSIR 504 | Course Introduction and Application Information

Course Name

Contemporary Debates in Global Politics

Code	Semester	Theory (hour/week)	Application/Lab (hour/week)	Local Credits	ECTS
PSIR 504	Fall/Spring	3	0	3	7.5

Prerequisites	None
Course Language	English
Course Type	Elective
Course Level	Second Cycle
Mode of Delivery	-
Teaching Methods and Techniques of the Course	-
National Occupation Classification	-
Course Coordinator	Doç. Dr. Devrim SEZER
Course Lecturer(s)	Doç. Dr. Devrim SEZER
Assistant(s)	Araş. Gör. Funda SARICI

Course Objectives

This seminar course is designed to introduce graduate students to debates in global politics.

Learning Outcomes

#	Content	PC Sub	* Contribution Level
#	Content	PC Sub	1	2	3	4	5
1	to assess trends and problems in global politics from a theoretical point of view
2	to critically evaluate contemporary debates about global politics
3	to assess contemporary contributions to academic literature in the field of political theory
4	to participate in group work through seminar presentations and class discussion
5	to apply political theory to contemporary public debates

Course Description

This course aims to explore key debates and a wide range of topics in global politics. Among the themes to be investigated are the question of revolution in politics, the political theory of civil disobedience, the concept of state sovereignty, conceptions of genocide, theories of cosmopolitanism, secularism, and political ecology.

Course Category	Core Courses
	Major Area Courses	X
	Supportive Courses
	Media and Management Skills Courses
	Transferable Skill Courses

WEEKLY SUBJECTS AND RELATED PREPARATION STUDIES

Week	Subjects	Related Preparation	Learning Outcome
1	Introduction
2	Tocqueville on the theory and practice of French Revolution	Tocqueville, The Ancien Régime and the French Revolution (Cambridge University Press, 2011), 1-27; 76-124.
3	Tocqueville on the theory and practice of French Revolution	Tocqueville, The Ancien Régime and the French Revolution (Cambridge University Press, 2011), 127-185.
4	Arendt on Revolution I: Constitutio Libertatis	Arendt, On Revolution, (Penguin Books, 1963), 141-178, 179-214.
5	Arendt on Revolution II: The Revolutionary Tradition and Its Lost Treasure	Arendt, On Revolution, (Penguin Books, 1963), 215-281.
6	Paper Submission I	TAKE-HOME
7	The Meaning and Justification of Civil Disobedience: Thoreau and Rawls	1. Henry David Thoreau, “Civil Disobedience”, in Hugo Adam Bodau, Civil Disobedience in Focus (Routledge, 1991), 28-48. 2. John Rawls, “Definiton and Justification of Civil Disobedience”, in Hugo Adam Bodau, Civil Disobedience in Focus (Routledge, 1991), 103-121.
8	Civil Disobedience as Public Freedom: Hannah Arendt	“Civil Disobedience” Crises of the Republic (Harcourt & Brace, 1969), 49-102.
9	State Sovereignty: Carl Schmitt	Carl Schmitt, The Concept of the Political (The University of Chicago Press, 1996), 19-79.
10	Genocide as a Crime Against Humanity: Raphael Lemkin	1. Raphael Lemkin, “Genocide” Axis Rule in Occupied Europe (The Lawbook Exchange, 2008), 79-95. 2. William Schabas and Samantha Power, “Introduction to the First and Second Editions” Axis Rule in Occupied Europe (The Lawbook Exchange, 2008), vii-xxiii. 3. Seyla Benhabib, “International Law and Human Plurality in the Shadow of Totalitarianism: Hannah Arendt and Raphael Lemkin” Seyla Benhabib (ed), Politics in Dark Times (Cambridge University Press, 2010), 219-246. 4. The United Nation’s Genocide Convention, 1948.
11	Cosmopolitanism	Seyla Benhabib, Another Cosmopolitanism (Oxford University Press, 2006), 13-80.
12	Secularism and Constitutional Democracy	1. Jürgen Habermas, “Pre-political Foundations of the Democratic Constitutional State” The Dialectics of Secularization: On Reason and Religion (Ignatius Press, 2006), 19-52. 2. Jürgen Habermas, “What is meant by a ‘Post-Secular Society’?: A Discussion on Islam in Europe” Europe: The Faltering Project (Polity, 2009), 59-77.
13	Political Ecology	1) Jane Bennett “Political Ecologies”, Vibrant Matter: A Political Ecology of Things (Duke University Press, 2010), 94-109. 2) Christophe Bonneuil and Jean-Baptiste Fressoz, The Shock of the Anthroposcene (Verso, 2016), 1-30.
14	Documentary Film & Discussion	Documentary: The Watchers of the Sky
15	Paper Submission II and Review of the Semester
16	Final Exam

Course Notes/Textbooks	All course readings are available at the University Library and as open sources.
Suggested Readings/Materials

EVALUATION SYSTEM

Semester Activities	Number	Weighting	LO 1	LO 2	LO 3	LO 4	LO 5
Participation	1	20
Laboratory / Application
Field Work
Quizzes / Studio Critiques
Portfolio
Homework / Assignments	2	30
Presentation / Jury	2	30
Project
Seminar / Workshop
Oral Exams
Midterm
Final Exam	1	20
Total

Weighting of Semester Activities on the Final Grade	4	70
Weighting of End-of-Semester Activities on the Final Grade	1	30
Total

ECTS / WORKLOAD TABLE

Semester Activities	Number	Duration (Hours)	Workload
Theoretical Course Hours (Including exam week: 16 x total hours)	16	3	48
Laboratory / Application Hours (Including exam week: '.16.' x total hours)	16		0
Study Hours Out of Class	12	8	96
Field Work			0
Quizzes / Studio Critiques			0
Portfolio			0
Homework / Assignments	2	15	30
Presentation / Jury	2	15	30
Project			0
Seminar / Workshop			0
Oral Exam			0
Midterms			0
Final Exam	1	21	21
		Total	225

COURSE LEARNING OUTCOMES AND PROGRAM QUALIFICATIONS RELATIONSHIP

#	PC Sub	Program Competencies/Outcomes	* Contribution Level
#	PC Sub	Program Competencies/Outcomes	1	2	3	4	5
1	To be able to improve theoretical and conceptual proficiencies on Political Science and International Relations and use them competently.		-	-	-	-	X
2	To be able to evaluate critically the relationships between various factors in the field of Political Science and International Relations such as structures, actors, institutions and culture.		-	-	-	-	-
3	To be able to determine and question the theoretical and empirical gaps in Political Science and International Relations literature.		-	-	X	-	-
4	To be able to identify the political and cultural conditions that generate discrimination mechanisms based on race, ethnicity, gender and religion at national and international levels.		-	X	-	-	-
5	To be able to gather and analyze data by using scientific research methods.		-	-	-	-	-
6	To be able to analyze and evaluate the historical continuity and changes observed in the relations between the actors and institutions of national and international politics.		-	X	-	-	-
7	To be able to present individual research and contemporary developments in Political Science and International Relations in written, oral, and visual forms.		-	X	-	-	-
8	To be able to take responsibility in generating solutions to the problems that arise in relation to the politics in daily life.		X	-	-	-	-
9	To be able to determine the institutional and political instruments for conflict resolution in domestic and international politics.		-	-	-	-	-
10	To be able to prepare a thesis/term project about Political Science and International Relations based on scientific criteria.		X	-	-	-	-
11	To be able to follow new research and developments in Political Science and International Relations and participate the debates in academic meetings through a foreign language.		X	-	-	-	-
12	To be able to have ethical, social and scientific values in the stages throughout the processes of gathering, interpreting, disseminating and implementing data relevant to Political Science and International Relations.		X	-	-	-	-