Political Elites and Political Behaviour (Specialisation Seminar) - 2nd semester

Objectives

The Seminar aims to consolidate the theoretical and methodological competences and knowledge acquired by students, applying them to the specific field of research on elites and political behaviour. At the end, students are expected to write an essay with (i) a solid justification of the conceptual framework and explanatory hypotheses of their PhD research purpose, and (ii) a critical review of the specialized literature on the subject. Afterwards, this essay should be part of the final version of the research project for the PhD dissertation to be discussed by a jury.

General characterization

Code

73207104

Credits

10

Responsible teacher

Marco Lisi

Hours

Weekly - 2

Total - Available soon

Teaching language

Portuguese

Prerequisites

None.

Bibliography

Alcántara, Manuel (2012), EL OFICIO DE POLITICO, Madrid, Editorial Tecnos.
Dalton, Russell J., and Hans-Dieter Klingemann, eds. (2007), THE OXFORD HANDBOOK OF POLITICAL BEHAVIOR, Oxford & New York, OUP.
Genieys, William (2011), SOCIOLOGIE POLITIQUE DES ÉLITES, Paris, Armand Colin.
Immerfall, Stefan, and Göran Therborn, eds. (2010), HANDBOOK OF EUROPEAN SOCIETIES: SOCIAL TRANSFORMATIONS IN THE 21st CENTURY, New York & London, Springer.
Klingemann, Hans-Dieter, ed. (2012), THE COMPARATIVE STUDY OF ELECTORAL SYSTEMS, Oxford, OUP.
Rokkan, Stein (1999), STATE FORMATION, NATION-BUILDING, AND MASS POLITICS IN EUROPE, Oxford, OUP.

Teaching method

Along with a few sessions for discussing general themes, students have an individual tutorial orientation, thus receiving direct feedback on their work in progress at regular meetings with the academic responsible.

Evaluation method

Evaluation is based on a written essay (15-20 pages).

Subject matter

Due to the prevalent tutorial orientation of the Seminar, the syllabus is flexible, being adjusted to the specific research purposes of the students. Usually, three major themes are presented and discussed in the sessions attended by all the students enrolled in the Seminar: (i) elite transformation in contemporary societies; (ii) new trends in citizen politics (electoral behaviour, modes of protest…); and (iii) their impact on the functioning and the quality of democracies.

Programs

Programs where the course is taught: