About the Course
In political science discourse we are confronted with many important concepts like authority, democracy, and power, all of them being used differently in different contexts and referring to contending theories in which they have their particular meanings.
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 recontruct 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 10 lessons, this MOOC comprises lecture sections based on visualizations of the arguments presented, reading assignments and practical exercises.
Prof. Mauro Calise
Mauro Calise is Professor of Political Science, University of Naples Federico II and the President of the Società Italiana di Scienza Politica (2008-10). He is the Editor and Director of the International Political Science Association Web Portal for Electronic Sources.
He has taught and lectured throughout Italy, Europe, and the United States.
His international activities include the International Political Science Association (Vice-President, 2000-2003); Visiting Professor, Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Paris; Visiting Professor and Research Fellow, Cornell University; Research Fellow, Harvard Center for European Studies.
He has published books, journal articles and newspaper columns in several areas, including state theory, political parties, executive elites, political communication and concept analysis. His recent interests focus on Internet epistemology and culture. He has developed and directed several web projects. His latest web project is Federica, an innovative e-learning platform. He is the author, with Theodore J. Lowi, of Hyperpolitics An Interactive Dictionary of Political Science, University of Chicago Press, forthcoming. Among his latest Italian books: Fuorigioco. La sinistra contro i suoi leader, La Terza Repubblica, Partiti contro Presidenti and Il partito personale and La democrazia del Leader. He's been writing a weekly column for Il Mattino since 1995.
Prof. Werner Patzelt
Prof. Patzelt received his Ph.D. degree and his “Habilitation” (Dr. phil. habil.) from the University of Passau in Germany in 1984 and 1990 respectively. Prof. Patzelt’s fields of study include comparative politics, comparative legislative studies, historical and evolutionary institutionalism and political communication. He worked at the Department of Political Science of the University of Passau from 1980 to 1990. He also worked as visiting professor at the University of Salzburg and the Dresden University of Technology. Between the years 1991 and 1992, he was in charge of founding the Political Science Department of the Dresden University of Technology. Since 1992, he has been working as the Full Professor of Comparative Government at the same university. Prof. Patzelt took part in projects funded by the German Research Association and Fritz-Tyssen-Foundation. He is a member of the Deusche Vereinigung für Politische Wissenschaft (German Association for Political Science), Kommission für Geschichte des Parlamentarismus und der politischen Partein e.V. (Commission for the History of Parliamentarianism and the Political Parties), and American Political Science Association. Prof. Patzelt was granted the East Bavarian Cultural Award for “Ethnomethodology” in 1985 and Science Award of the German Bundestag for “Members of Parliament in Representative Democracy” in 1995.
