30481 - CURRENT POLITICAL PHENOMENA I

The course aims at discussing current political phenomena in a workshop setting. Students are divided in groups and encouraged to critically present the assigned materials after a general lecture from the instructor.

The course deals with current political phenomena from an interdisciplinary perspective, with a blend of theoretical and empirical discussion. The covered topics include:

• Political competition and gerrymandering.
• The links between economic inequality, globalization, and political polarization.
• The economic and cultural determinants of populist movements.
• The impact of campaign information on voting behavior.

• Know the most recent literature in social sciences on political phenomena as diverse as the rise of populism and the impact of political campaigns on voting behavior.

• Use state-of-the-art scientific knowledge to interpret current political phenomena as diverse as the rise of populism and the impact of political campaigns on voting behavior.

• Face-to-face lectures
• Individual assignments
• Group assignments
• Interactive class activities (role playing, business game, simulation, online forum, instant polls)

Lectures are structured according to the standard format:

• The instructor presents and elaborate on the material contained in the required readings, which the students have read before class, so as to enhance in-class discussions and students’ participation.
• The instructor’s lectures are followed by classes where the students present (individually or in group) the assigned materials, also involving role playing in certain settings. Class interaction is powered by the use of the “Socrative” classroom app.

Attending students are evaluated only on the basis of their class participation, individual assignments, and group assignments.

Non-attending students are evaluated on the basis of a written exam based on the reading list provided during the course.

The reading list is provided at the beginning of the course.