| Course Name | Modernity and Its Critics |
| Code | Semester | Theory (hour/week) | Application/Lab (hour/week) | Local Credits | ECTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSIR 428 | Fall/Spring | 3 | 0 | 3 | 6 |
| Prerequisites | None | |||||
| Course Language | English | |||||
| Course Type | Elective | |||||
| Course Level | First Cycle | |||||
| Mode of Delivery | - | |||||
| Teaching Methods and Techniques of the Course | ||||||
| Course Coordinator | ||||||
| Course Lecturer(s) | ||||||
| Assistant(s) | ||||||
| Course Objectives | The primary purpose of this course is to introduce students to the controversies about modernity/modern society in political theory. |
| Learning Outcomes | The students who succeeded in this course;
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| Course Description | Particular attention will be paid to the experiences of imperialism, totalitarianism, genocide and the Holocaust; the paradoxes of capitalism and the nation-state; the destructive forces of global technology as well as the contemporary debates about the Anthropocene, political ecology, and climate change. |
| Related Sustainable Development Goals |    |
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| Core Courses | |
| Major Area Courses | X | |
| Supportive Courses | ||
| Media and Managment Skills Courses | ||
| Transferable Skill Courses |
| Week | Subjects | Required Materials |
| 1 | Introduction: Major Themes and Controversies | |
| 2 | Malaises of Modernity | 1) Charles Taylor, “Three Malaises”, The Malaise of Modernity (Anansi Press, 1991), 1-12. 2) Jane Bennett, “Modernity and Its Critics”, in Anne Phillips, Bonnie Honig and John Dryzek (eds), The Oxford Handbook of Political Theory (Oxford University Press, 2008), 211-224. |
| 3 | Alienation and Exploitation | Marx, “Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts”, The Marx-Engels Reader (W. W. Norton and Company, 1978), 70-101. |
| 4 | Ideology as Illusion | Marx and Engels, The German Ideology, (Lawrence & Wishart, 1974), 37-68. |
| 5 | One-Dimensional Society? | Herbert Marcuse, One-Dimensional Man (Beacon Press, 2002), 1-56. |
| 6 | Midterm I | |
| 7 | Imperialism | Arendt, “Part Two: Imperialism”, The Origins of Totalitarianism (Harcourt), 123-158; 185-207. |
| 8 | The Holocaust: Concentration Camps | Arendt, “Total Domination”, The Origins of Totalitarianism (Harcourt), 437-459. |
| 9 | Genocide | Raphael Lemkin, “Genocide”, Axis Rule in Occupied Europe (The Lawbook Exchange, 2008). |
| 10 | Midterm II | |
| 11 | Revolution and Politics | Arendt, “The Revolutionary Tradition and Its Lost Treasure”, On Revolution (Penguin, 1963), 215-281. |
| 12 | National Identity and Citizenship | Habermas, “National Identity and Citizenship” Between Facts and Norms: Contributions to a Discourse Theory of Law and Democracy (MIT Press, 1998), 491-515. |
| 13 | Secularism | Habermas, “What is Meant by a ‘PostSecular Society’?: A Discussion on Islam in Europe”, Europe: The Faltering Project (Polity, 2009), 59-77. |
| 14 | Anthropecene and Political Ecologies | 1) Jane Bennett “Political Ecologies”, Vibrant Matter: A Political Ecology of Things (Duke University Press, 2010), 94-109. 2) Christophe Bonneuil and Jean-Baptiste Fressoz, The Shock of the Anthroposcene (Verso, 2016), 1-30. |
| 15 | Concluding Remarks | |
| 16 | Final Exam |
| Course Notes/Textbooks | Required texts mentioned above.
*All course readings are available at the University Library and as open sources. |
| Suggested Readings/Materials |
| Semester Activities | Number | Weighting |
| Participation | 1 | 20 |
| Laboratory / Application | ||
| Field Work | ||
| Quizzes / Studio Critiques | ||
| Portfolio | ||
| Homework / Assignments | 2 | 30 |
| Presentation / Jury | 1 | 20 |
| Project | ||
| Seminar / Workshop | ||
| Oral Exam | ||
| Midterm | ||
| Final Exam | 1 | 30 |
| Total |
| Weighting of Semester Activities on the Final Grade | 4 | 70 |
| Weighting of End-of-Semester Activities on the Final Grade | 1 | 30 |
| Total |
| Semester Activities | Number | Duration (Hours) | Workload |
|---|---|---|---|
| Course Hours (Including exam week: 16 x total hours) | 16 | 3 | 48 |
| Laboratory / Application Hours (Including exam week: 16 x total hours) | 16 | ||
| Study Hours Out of Class | 12 | 3 | 36 |
| Field Work | |||
| Quizzes / Studio Critiques | |||
| Portfolio | |||
| Homework / Assignments | 2 | 15 | |
| Presentation / Jury | 1 | 20 | |
| Project | |||
| Seminar / Workshop | |||
| Oral Exam | |||
| Midterms | |||
| Final Exams | 1 | 35 | |
| Total | 169 |
| # | Program Competencies/Outcomes | * Contribution Level | ||||
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ||
| 1 | To be able to use the theoretical and practical knowledge acquired in the areas of Political Science and International Relations. | |||||
| 2 | To be able to have the basic knowledge of, and make use of other disciplines which contribute to the areas of Political Science and International Relations. | X | ||||
| 3 | To be able to distinguish the differences between classical and contemporary theories and to assess their relationship. | X | ||||
| 4 | To be able to recognize regional and global issues, and develop solutions based on research. | |||||
| 5 | To be able to assess the acquired knowledge and skills in the areas of Political Science and International Relations critically. | X | ||||
| 6 | To be able to transfer ideas and proposals on issues in the areas of Political Science and International Relations to other people and institutions verbally and in writing. | |||||
| 7 | To be able to identify the historical continuity and changes observed in the relations between the actors and institutions of national and international politics. | |||||
| 8 | To be able to examine concepts, theories, and developments with scientific methods in the areas of Political Science and International Relations. | X | ||||
| 9 | To be able to take responsibility as an individual and as a team member. | X | ||||
| 10 | To be able to act in accordance with the scientific and ethical values in studies related to Political Science and International Relations. | X | ||||
| 11 | To be able to collect data in the areas of Political Science and International Relations and communicate with colleagues in a foreign language ("European Language Portfolio Global Scale", Level B1). | |||||
| 12 | To be able to speak a second foreign at a medium level of fluency efficiently. | |||||
| 13 | To be able to relate the knowledge accumulated throughout human history to their field of experience. | |||||
*1 Lowest, 2 Low, 3 Average, 4 High, 5 Highest
