Political cultures in comparative perspective

-Political culture- is a commonly used concept in the social sciences, although there is little consensus about its exact meaning. It is so popular, because it helps to grasp quite different aspects of political life, particularly when comparing different countries. Which ideas or conceptions of politics and democracy do people from different countries have? Which traditions of political participation are prevalent? According to which rules or norms are political conflicts resolved within the political system? How do politicians present themselves in public? And how is a (national) political community represented in rituals, symbols and identities? These and many other questions are recurrently discussed under the concept of political culture, assuming that the latter has an effect on the way polities and politics are organized and work. The seminar aims to unfold the research agenda of this broad thematic area by highlighting basic concepts, theories and methods, and by helping to learn how to apply them in regard to empirically graspable topics and problems. For this reason, the seminar will not only recapitulate scholarly writing on the basis of a list of required readings. More importantly, the seminar is conceived of as a small research workshop, where students will be required to writte an own (comparative) study about one specific aspect of political cultures. The seminar will be English-speaking, but will include German readings as well, in order to allow for a more plural participation. Breit, Gotthard (Hrsg.) (2004). Politische Kultur in Deutschland. Eine Einführung. Schwalbach/Ts.: Wochenschau Verl., 2004. Caramani, Daniele (Hrsg.) (2008). Comparative Politics. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Eatwell, Roger (Hrsg.) (1997). European political cultures: Conflict or convergence. London: Routledge. Janoski, Thomas u.a. (Hrsg.) (2005). The Handbook of political sociology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Medien und Gesellschaft, Medien-/Sozialwissensch., Master, PO 2007 Die Veranstaltung wird voaurssichtlich auf Englisch durchgeführt werden, da die Veranstaltung auch von ausländischen Ststudierenden belegt wird. Die letzte Entscheidung wird in der ersten Sitzung getroffen. Sollte die Veranstaltung auf Englisch stattfinden, so soll auf unterschiedliche sprachliche Kompetenzen Rücksicht genommen werden, denn die Veranstaltung soll auch dem sprachlichen Einüben dienen. Die Bedingungen des Scheinerwerbs werden in der ersten Sitzung festgelegt. Universität Siegen SoSe 2011 Sozialwissenschaften, LA Gymnasium / Gesamt, PO 2004 Sozialwissenschaften, LA Haupt / Real, PO 2004 Univ.-Prof. Dr. Lahusen Christian