Studying at the Chair of Political Theory and History of Political Thought
The Chair of Political Theory and History of Political Thought trains political scientists in Bachelor’s and Master’s courses as well as those on teacher training programmes. Our varied range of courses provide students with a broad spectrum of knowledge in political theory and the history of political thought and allow them to focus on areas of personal interest. We also equip students with key skills such as the ability to reflect, think systematically and be critical.
© Amac Garbe
An overview of our courses
Teaching in the Chair is oriented toward the educational aims of Bachelor’s (core and additional areas) and Master’s (politics and constitutionalism) degree programmes and of teacher training programmes for society, economics and social studies.
In their first semester, students start with the “Introduction to Political Theory” course. This guides students systematically through the theory of politics and the fundamental concepts. The lectures are accompanied by proseminars in which different political terms and modern theories of state and democracy are discussed.
The “Political Thought” course builds upon this knowledge, studying the basis of political thought as well as the history of political ideas and theories based on the following three political orders: polis - republic - democracy. The accompanying seminars are used to discus central fundamental questions and problems of modern democratic theory.
The seminars, project seminars and reading seminars that are additionally offered allow students to independently consolidate their knowledge of various areas of political theory and the history of political ideas. These cover a wide range of topics: Either classical ideas of political theory from ancient times through to the present day are presented (Aristoteles or Hobbes, Habermas or Luhmann). This is usually done by closely referencing, or even solely referencing, the primary literature. Or a systematic problem is laid out for which different theoreticians are looked at as being able to supply potential answers.
The course on “Theory and Development of the Constitutional State” offered to Master’s students provides an overview of the historical, theoretical and legal foundations of the modern constitutional state. The lectures focus primarily on the historical genesis and comparative analysis of constitutional orders.
Regular writing workshops are held to give students the opportunity to prepare for their seminar work and dissertations. The individual stages of the research process and the steps that need to be taken during each stage are also discussed in detail: From finding a topic, to narrowing it down and finally forming the question that is to be answered, structuring and organising the work and each step of your argument. The projects worked on here can then be put up for discussion in our research colloquium.
The regular political theory summer course in Dubrovnik allows students of the institute to attend a week-long seminar where they will meet international scientists to discuss a selected topic. Here you can link your scientific findings with insights into European cultural history.