COURSE INFORMATION Course Title: KEY THEMES IN POLITICAL THOUGHT

Code	Course Type	Regular Semester	Theory	Practice	Lab	Credits	ECTS
PIR 104	B	2	3	0	0	3	5

Academic staff member responsible for the design of the course syllabus (name, surname, academic title/scientific degree, email address and signature)	Dr. Avdi Smajljaj asmajljaj@epoka.edu.al
Main Course Lecturer (name, surname, academic title/scientific degree, email address and signature) and Office Hours:	Dr. Avdi Smajljaj asmajljaj@epoka.edu.al
Second Course Lecturer(s) (name, surname, academic title/scientific degree, email address and signature) and Office Hours:
Language:	English
Compulsory/Elective:	Compulsory
Study program: (the study for which this course is offered)	Bachelor in Political Science and International Relations (3 years)
Classroom and Meeting Time:
Teaching Assistant(s) and Office Hours:	Marko Meraj
Code of Ethics:	Code of Ethics of EPOKA University Regulation of EPOKA University "On Student Discipline"
Attendance Requirement:	N/A
Course Description:	The course aims to introduce students to classics of political thought, starting from Socrates to Machiavelli. Themes related to politics, justice, state, governing, and others, will be dealt from the perspective of political philosophers. Their different point of views will be examined from the perspective of their context on which they developed, while trying to make a link with still present relevance and importance of these concepts and ideas. Students will be equipped with knowledge and skills to evaluate these ideas from their own perspective, while reflecting in today’s world.
Course Objectives:	The course offers a critical introduction to the main political debates and thoughts starting the ancient Greek political philosophers. It cover classical philosophers starting from Socrates contribution to political philosophy up to contemporary political philosophers. Within the course will be handled political themes according to different philosophical perspectives like: democracy, liberty and freedoms, state, citizenship, ethics, virtue, political systems, slavery, political rhetoric, secularism, civil disobedience, legitimacy, and so on.

BASIC CONCEPTS OF THE COURSE

1	State
2	Politics
3	Ancient political philosophers
4	Middle Ages

COURSE OUTLINE

Week	Topics
1	Introduction to the course
2	Socrates
3	Plato
4	Aristotle
5	Aristotle
6	Cicero St. Augustine
7	Aquinas, Marseglio of Padua
8	Machiavelli
9	Mid-term
10	Machiavelli
11	Hobbes
12	Locke
13	Rousseau
14	Course revision

Prerequisite(s):
Textbook(s):	David Boucher, Paul Kelly: Political thinkers - from Socrates to the present, Oxford, 2017. Alan Ryan: On Politics - A history of political thought - from Herodotus to the present, Liveright, 2012
Additional Literature:
Laboratory Work:
Computer Usage:
Others:	No

COURSE LEARNING OUTCOMES

1	identify the main contribution of classical philosophers to political thought
2	link and compare different perspectives of political philosophers on political concepts
3	argue and discuss about political issues from theoretical perspective
4	command a critical thinking in political thought
5	use political concepts, given by classical philosophers, to study politics in contemporary world

COURSE CONTRIBUTION TO... PROGRAM COMPETENCIES (Blank : no contribution, 1: least contribution ... 5: highest contribution)

No	Program Competencies	Cont.
Bachelor in Political Science and International Relations (3 years) 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.	5
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.	3
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.	5
7	Developing solutions about the problems and conflicts which are common in national and international arena.	3
8	Improving skills for leadership and research and analyze capacity of those who is responsible with national and international ones.	2
9	Knowing any foreign language enough to communicate with colleagues and understand actual researches and articles.	2
10	Gaining IT skills to use computer and technology) in order to reach actual knowledge.	1
11	Gaining skills to follow societal, scientific and ethic values during collecting, interpreting, conducting of data related to social and political developments.	2
12	Having consciousness about human rights and environment.	2
13	Gaining the skills to follow actual developments and pursue long-life learning.	5

COURSE EVALUATION METHOD

Method	Quantity	Percentage
Midterm Exam(s)	1	30
Presentation	1	20
Final Exam	1	40
Attendance		10
	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)	14	3	42
Mid-terms	1	10	10
Assignments	1	10	10
Final examination	1	15	15
Other			0
Total Work Load:			125
Total Work Load/25(h):			5
ECTS Credit of the Course:			5

CONCLUDING REMARKS BY THE COURSE LECTURER

The engagement of students in presentations during the semester proved very successful in developing the understanding of the content of the course among the students.