EPOKA UNIVERSITY
FACULTY OF LAW AND SOCIAL SCIENCES
DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE AND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
COURSE SYLLABUS
COURSE INFORMATIONCourse Title: DEMOCRACY: THEORY AND PRACTICE |
| Code | Course Type | Regular Semester | Theory | Practice | Lab | Credits | ECTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PIR 515 | B | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 |
| Academic staff member responsible for the design of the course syllabus (name, surname, academic title/scientific degree, email address and signature) | NA |
| Lecturer (name, surname, academic title/scientific degree, email address and signature) and Office Hours: | Salih Özcan , Monday 13:30- 16:30 hours |
| Second Lecturer(s) (name, surname, academic title/scientific degree, email address and signature) and Office Hours: | NA |
| Teaching Assistant(s) and Office Hours: | NA |
| Language: | English |
| Compulsory/Elective: | Elective |
| Classroom and Meeting Time: | E 210 |
| Course Description: | - |
| Course Objectives: | The student shall: - identify the principal meanings of, and criteria for, democracy; - distinguish democratic from non-democratic institutions and practices; - distinguish democracy from related concepts, such as freedom, equality, majority rule, republicanism, constitutionalism, and citizenship; - identify the leading models of democracy in terms of their central ideas and historical conditions; - critically evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of democratic theories and practices. |
|
COURSE OUTLINE
|
| Week | Topics |
| 1 | Introduction – General information about the module |
| 2 | Classical Democracy: Athens |
| 3 | Republicanism: Liberty, Self-Government and Active Citizen |
| 4 | The Development of Liberal Democracy: For and Against the State. Hobbes, Locke, Montesquieu |
| 5 | The Development of Liberal Democracy: Madison, Bentham, J. Mill and John. Stuart Mill |
| 6 | Direct Democracy and the End of Politics/ Marxists Democracy |
| 7 | Competitive Elitism and the Technocratic Vision (Weber, Schumpeter, and other Elitists) |
| 8 | Midterm exam |
| 9 | Pluralism and Democracy |
| 10 | Social Democracy |
| 11 | Participatory Democracy |
| 12 | Deliberative Democracy |
| 13 | Digital Democracy, Nation-State and the Global System |
| 14 | Democracy & Democratization in the Arab World: Historical Approach & Present Status |
| Prerequisite(s): | N/A |
| Textbook: | David Held, Models of Democracy, 3rd Edition, Stanford University Press, Stanford, California, 2006 F. Cunningham, Theories of Democracy: A Critical Introduction, Routledge, London, 2002 Anthony H. Birch, Concepts&Theories_of_Modern_Democracy_3rd.Ed. Routledge, 2007 Zotaj, e. (2014). Tranzicioni politik dhe roli i tij në marrëdhëniet e Shqipërisë me Bashkimin Evropian (Political transition and its role in Albania's relations with the European Union). Universiteti i Tiranës, Instituti i Studimeve Evropiane, Tirane. Krasniqi, A., & Hackaj, A. (N.D.). Shqiptarët dhe Modeli Social Evropian (Albanians and the European Social Model). Fes. Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung. Kajsiu, B. (2006). Politicizing Democratization in Albania: A Local Perspective. Centro Studi Politica Internazionale. Roma: CSPI. |
| Other References: | F. Hendrick, Vital Democracy: A Theory of Democracy in Action, 2010, OUP R. A. Dahl, On Democracy, Yale University Press, 1998; R. A. Dahl, Democracy and its Critics, Yale University Press, 1989; A. Arblaster, Democracy, Third Edition, Open University Press, 2002; Arend Lijphart, Patterns of Democracy, Yale University Press, 1999; Helena Catt, Democracy in Practice, Routledge, London, 1999; Roland Axtmann (Ed.) Understanding Democratic Politics: An Introduction, 2003 (Chapters 6,7,21 and 31); L. Whitehead, Democratization, OUP, 2002. |
| Laboratory Work: | N/A |
| Computer Usage: | N/A |
| Others: | No |
|
COURSE LEARNING OUTCOMES
|
| 1 | At the end of the course, students should be able to learn about the different types of democracies during the times including Classical, Social, Participatory, Deliberative, Digital Democracy etc. |
| 2 | To develop an understanding of different theories in regard with the democratic system and its forms. |
| 3 | To understand how various cultural perspectives and country orientations shape the nature of the government’s form. |
|
COURSE CONTRIBUTION TO... PROGRAM COMPETENCIES
(Blank : no contribution, 1: least contribution ... 5: highest contribution) |
| No | Program Competencies | Cont. |
| Master of Science in Political Science and International Relations Program | ||
| 1 | Having and using advanced knowledge and comprehension supported by textbooks including actual knowledge in political sciences and international relations literature, materials and the other scientific resources. | 5 |
| 2 | Analyzing data, ideas and concepts of current political issues and international relations, determining complex events and topics, making discussions and developing new suggestions in accordance with researches. | 4 |
| 3 | Having knowledge and thought about actual topics and problems together with their historical, social and cultural aspects. | 5 |
| 4 | Introducing those who are interested in politics and international events with the topics of Political Science and IR and teaching clearly the problems and the types of solutions. | 4 |
| 5 | Improving skills of working together with the main social science disciplines and other disciplines which are related to Political Science and International Relations. | 5 |
| 6 | Improving critical thinking and skills in making research independently. | 4 |
| 7 | Developing solutions about the problems and conflicts which are common in national and international arena. | 4 |
| 8 | Improving skills for leadership and research and analyze capacity of those who is responsible with national and international ones. | 4 |
| 9 | Knowing any foreign language enough to communicate with colleagues and understand actual researches and articles. | 4 |
| 10 | Gaining IT skills to use computer and technology) in order to reach actual knowledge. | 4 |
| 11 | Gaining skills to follow societal, scientific and ethic values during collecting, interpreting, conducting of data related to social and political developments. | 3 |
| 12 | Having consciousness about human rights and environment. | 4 |
| 13 | Gaining the skills to follow actual developments and pursue long-life learning. | 4 |
|
COURSE EVALUATION METHOD
|
| Method | Quantity | Percentage |
| Midterm Exam(s) |
1
|
20
|
| Project |
1
|
30
|
| Final Exam |
1
|
50
|
| Total Percent: | 100% |
|
ECTS (ALLOCATED BASED ON STUDENT WORKLOAD)
|
| Activities | Quantity | Duration(Hours) | Total Workload(Hours) |
| Course Duration (Including the exam week: 16x Total course hours) | 16 | 3 | 48 |
| Hours for off-the-classroom study (Pre-study, practice) | 16 | 2 | 32 |
| Mid-terms | 1 | 15 | 15 |
| Assignments | 1 | 20 | 20 |
| Final examination | 1 | 35 | 35 |
| Other | 0 | ||
|
Total Work Load:
|
150 | ||
|
Total Work Load/25(h):
|
6 | ||
|
ECTS Credit of the Course:
|
6 | ||