Undergraduate Course: Populism In Comparative Perspective (PLIT10081)
Course Outline
| School | School of Social and Political Science |
College | College of Humanities and Social Science |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 3 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | The populist label has been applied to many political movements and politicians as different as Benito Mussolini, Mahatma Gandhi, Juan Peron, Joseph McCarty, Fidel Castro, Enoch Powel, Jean-Marie Le Pen, Ross Perot, Jeorg Haider, Umberto Bossi, Pim Fortuyn, Hugo Chavez, Evo Morales and Sarah Palin. In spite of being a widely used term in politics, populism has rarely been defined in political science. This course explores the phenomenon of populism and its complex and ambiguous relationship with democracy. It analyses populism, its meaning, its causes and effects in a systematic and comparative way. Populism is understood in its widest possible sense in this course so that we examine populism of the right and of the left, old and new, in agrarian as well as in industrial and post-industrial societies, in relatively homogeneous as well as in multi-cultural and multi-ethnic societies, taking into consideration a wider range of disparate cases from different parts of the world. The course has essentially two elements: the first is the examination of a range of different examples of populist movements, parties and personalities - North America, Russia, Europe, Latin America and India. The second element is to analyse and engage with the debates on how to conceptualise populism. The course will be empirically oriented allowing students to develop interests in a small number of cases with an eye to clarifying the students' positions on the wider conceptual debates regarding populism.
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| Course description |
Not entered
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | Visiting students should have at least 3 Politics/International Relations courses at grade B or above (or be predicted to obtain this). We will only consider University/College level courses. |
Course Delivery Information
| Not being delivered |
Learning Outcomes
* Identify the key instances of populism in a range of different geographical and historical settings and gain an in-depth understanding of at least three of these cases.
* Gain a greater understanding of the causes and dynamics of populist mobilisation.
* Develop a position on how populism should be understood and defined.
* Engage with debates about the relationship between populism and democracy.
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Not entered |
| Special Arrangements |
Special Arrangements for Entry: A quota of 45 students, with preference given in the following order:
(1) Politics Single Honours 4th year;
(2) International Relations Single Honours 4th year;
(3) Politics Joint Honours 4th year;
(4) Politics Single Honours 3rd year;
(5) International Relations Single Honours 3rd year;
(6) Politics Joint Honours 3rd year;
(7) Other SSPS students;
(8) Non-SSPS students
Please note: because of the high numbers of students enrolled, this course will almost certainly not be able to admit students from outside the College of Humanities and Social Science. |
| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Emanuele Massetti
Tel:
Email: E.Massetti@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Ms Ruth Winkle
Tel: (0131 6)50 4253
Email: Ruth.Winkle@ed.ac.uk |
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