Understanding Political Concepts (Coursera)

Political science discourse brings us face to face with many important concepts like authority, democracy, and power. However, all of them are used differently in different contexts, and their specific meaning depends on the theory they relate to. There is no way around such puzzling diversity. Students of political science simply have to accept this challenge. Yet, the diversity of political science concepts can be used as a powerful resource for learning, through intellectual techniques for stirring personal creativity.

This MOOC teaches conceptual thinking and elementary theory-building through Hyperpolitics, an interactive dictionary for understanding and working with the most central concepts in political science. Its aim is to provide students with fresh critical insights about key political concepts, offering a methodology by which users can unpack and reconstruct them on their own. Its companion open-access website serves as a powerful tool for students' practice in forging their own vocabulary while learning how to make professional use of authoritative PS internet resources.

Throughout its 4 weeks, this MOOC comprises lecture sections, based on visualizations of the arguments presented; reading assignments; and practical exercises.

This course is part of the IPSAMOOC project, a joint venture Federica Weblearning-IPSA, the International Political Science Association.

Syllabus

Bringing Concepts Back In

Module 1

This module presents an initial first exploration in the field of “Hyperpolitics”. You will be introduced to conceptual thinking and elementary theory-building through Hyperpolitics, an interactive dictionary for understanding and working with the most central concepts in political science.

The Hyperpolitics Methodology

Module 2

This module presents an in-depth discussion of the Hyperpolitics methodology. You will learn about tools for conceptual thinking, such as property spaces and typologies, and will be introduced to the matrix building process.

The Concepts of Party and Legislature

Module 3

This module presents the first matrix and definition of a concept through the Hyperpolitics methodology, taking “party” as an example. You will learn about the origin and evolution of a key actor of contemporary political regimes, as well as how to navigate through linked matrixes on the online platform. Therefore, the module explores the concept of legislature, considered a basic ingredient of modern democracies.

The Concepts of Bureaucracy, Constitution and Corporation

Module 4

This module presents the matrices of the concepts of Bureaucracy, Constitution and Corporation. Adopting the Hyperpolitics methodology, you will learn about the growth of bureaucracy and the selection of bureaucrats, as well as the origin and evolution of the concept of constitution from a political science perspective. This module then navigates through the matrix of “corporation”, by reconstructing the historical and conceptual ties between ancient and modern corporations.