Representative democracy and political participation (The course is cancelled)

CANCELLED

Prerequisites

Basic and intermediate studies.

Compensations

The course is worth of 4 (ECTS) credits and compensates two books in the study unit P420.

Target group/Course level

Political science degree majors. Also for exchange students.

Objectives

The course analyses the role of political participation in the representative democracy from the point of view of the political system, representatives, and voters. The course firstly familiarises with the concepts of representative democracy and political participation and their mutual relationships. Next, the requirements for well-functioning representation and participation, i.e. publicity and political information, are discussed. Political participation is examined through voting, party politics and referendums. Also different views concerning the role of representatives are scrutinised. Whom should legislators represent? How do they represent? In addition, the course discusses the challenges for representative democracy such as difficulty to define constituency on territorial basis in the current complex political reality and the demands for more active role of increasingly well-educated, knowledgeable citizens.

Content

CANCELLED

Completion

The course consists of lectures, required reading material and written assignment. While the working language of the course is English, the assignment may also be written in Finnish.

Grading

The course work will be graded on a scale from 0 to 5 (exam 1/3, assignment 2/3). The grading criteria for assignment will be specified during the course.

Course results and retake

The results of the course will be posted on the notice board of the Department.

The exam retake will be held Mon 24.5. at 16-18, PI. Prior registration for the exam retake between 6.-13.5. in WebOodi. Don't mind if WebOodi informs you that you have already taken the course.

Course evaluation anddevelopment

During the last session, students will have an opportunity to give feedback on the course to the lecturer and to fill in an anonymous evaluation form. During the course feedback can be given anonymously.

When giving feedback, please evaluate the contribution of the teacher, your own contribution, the contributions of other students and the possible contribution of the Department office to the success of the course.