Ateneo - UPO

The course offers an introduction to Political Science. It describes the specific features of the subject and focuses on four main issues: political regimes; the actors and dynamics of political systems; institutions and policies; the analysis of the major contemporary democracies and of the European Union.

For attending students:
Daniele Caramani (ed.), Scienza politica, Milano, Egea, 2021 (terza edizione): Introduzione, capitoli 1-13, capitoli online "Comunicazione politica" e "Welfare State".

For non-attending students, in addition to the above, a monograph must be selected from the following list:
1) Almond, Gabriel A., e Sidney Verba (1963), The Civic Culture: Political Attitudes and Democracy in Five Nations (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press).
2) Dahl, Robert A. (1990), Poliarchia. Partecipazione e opposizione nei sistemi politici (Milano: Franco Angeli).
3) Downs, Anthony (1988), Teoria economica della democrazia (Bologna: Il Mulino)
4) Duverger, Maurice (1961), I partiti politici (Roma: Edizioni di comunità).
5) Easton, David (1973), Il sistema politico (Roma: Edizioni di comunità).
6) Lijphart, Arend (2014), Le democrazie contemporanee (Bologna: Il Mulino).
7) Regalia, Marta (2021), Una democrazia dimezzata: autoselezione, selezione ed elezione nelle donne in Italia (Milano: Egea).
8) Sartori, Giovanni (1976), Parties and Party Systems: A Framework for Analysis (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press).
9) Sartori, Giovanni (2004), Ingegneria costituzionale comparata (Bologna: Il Mulino).
10) Verba, Sidney, Norman H. Nie e Jae-on Kim, (1978), Partecipazione e eguaglianza politica. Un confronto fra sette nazioni (Bologna: Il Mulino).
The instructor is open to considering other texts should student interests require it.

The aim of the course is to provide fundamental knowledge about the comparative method and its use in political science, the key concepts, models and theories for the analysis of contemporary democracies and their functioning, with reference to institutions, parties and party systems, electoral systems, representative assemblies, governments, forms of state and their mutual relations, as well as knowledge of the nature and functioning of specific political systems.

No formal requirements.

Given the large number of students, the course is divided into 24 lectures. In each lecture a reference framework of the topics covered is provided. Attendance is strongly encouraged.
Slides, if any, will be made available to students on the Uniupo Virtual platform (dir.uniupo.it).
Based on University provisions and subject to changes in the health situation and in the related safety protocols, lessons will be held in presence.
Questions, comments, observations are welcome at any time of the lecture. These interruptions do not cause disturbance, on the contrary, they allow for a deeper exploration of the material covered by the instructor

The teacher could add further material during the course.

Students with physical disabilities, Learning Disabilities or Special Education Needs can request specific services and tools via the Staff Sviluppo e Coordinamento Carriere e Servizi alle Studentesse e agli Studenti, consulting the University webpage: https://www.uniupo.it/en/services/servicesstudents-physical-or-learning-disabilities Students with disabilities, learning disabilities or special education needs, once they have contacted the University Staff, can refer to the tutor in charge of the course to define the examination modalities, concerning academic aspects.

The decision of whether to take the exam as an attending or non-attending student rests with the student.
To be considered an attending student, one must pass—with a minimum score of 16/30—two multiple-choice tests held approximately halfway through and at the end of the course. Students who do not take or do not pass both tests with the required score will be considered non-attending.

The grade will be awarded at the end of the course, following an oral examination consisting of three to five questions covering the entire syllabus; the exam aims to assess the student's mastery of the material, their ability to articulate it clearly, and their capacity to draw connections between the topics discussed.

Warning: It will in no way be possible to access the exam session without prior registration on the platform. Students are required to come to the exam with a university badge and an identification document. Non-registered students and students without a valid ID will not be admitted.

The course offers an introduction to Political Science. It describes the specific features of the subject and focuses on four main issues: a) political regimes (state, democracies, authoritarian regimes); b) the actors and dynamics of political systems (political cultures, political participation, political communication, interest groups, political parties, party systems); c) institutions and policies (legislatures, governments, electoral systems, policy-making, welfare state); d) the analysis of the major contemporary democracies (France, Germany, Italy, Spain, USA, UK) and of the European Union.

Integration of the gender dimension
A particular in-depth analysis relating to the gender dimension will be dedicated in the discussion of political representation

At the end of the course students can describe and interpret democratic and non-democratic regimes in their main aspects and their transformations. Students should be able to interpret political and social phenomena thanks to general theories and by means of a comparative methodology that underlines differences between the national cases and their historical evolution. They also possess the linguistic and logical tools to communicate the acquired knowledge.