Concepts of Political Science
Responsible for module
Prof. Dr. Ferdinand Müller-Rommel
Semester
Winter semester
Level
Master
Content
Basic concepts of political science; origin and development of the discipline and its relation to
the evolution of governments, politics and civil society; internal structure of the discipline in its
most important sections and subfields; relation of political science to other disciplines; basic
paradigms and controversies in political science; theoretical and methodological approaches to
research in political science
Skills and Competencies
Knowledge of basic political concepts and understanding of their meaning in politics and
political science; ability to analyse and evaluate political institutions, actors and policies and
their interrelations with civil society and cultural context
Professional skills
Overview of basic concepts and structure of political science; awareness of the historical
context which shapes and influences the discipline; ability to interpret and work with different
concepts of political science
Methodological skills
Ability to interpret, clarify and use political concepts; knowledge of different qualitative and
quantitative methods to analyse and evaluate political institutions, actors and policies
Social skills
Ability to interpret and use basic political concepts, methods and results of empirical studies
so that others can understand one’s reasoning, ability to critically evaluate political studies
and defend one’s judgement in case of doubt and controversy
Forms of Teaching and
Learning
Lecture (preparation, review, notetaking), seminar (presentation, handout, discussion,
moderation, evaluation, minute taking), self-study (literary research, reading, concept
clarification, paper writing), possibly tutorials (groupwork, assigned tasks, discussion)
Assignment
Written assignment
OR oral exam
OR presentation
Workload
5 ECTS
Attendance: 28h
Self-study time: 122h