The course aims to provide the key concepts of political science, starting from the problem of the definition of matter itself, both in its historical manifestations, and above all because of the theoretical elements that constitute it. In this sense, the main methodological institutes of political science will be analyzed, the themes and research prospects that are at the heart of contemporary politics will be deepened: from parties to pressure groups, from electoral systems to the problems of political representation to the functioning of parliaments; from the transformations of democracy to the new challenges brought to it by populist movements and parties, from totalitarianism to the interactions between economy and politics in the logic of globalization.
In this sense, the educational objectives that the course pursues are:
1. Knowledge and understanding skills (being able of reading, understanding an summarizing political science texts);
2. Knowledge and understanding skills applied (being able of analyzing phenomena from the political science perspective);
3. Autonomy of judgment (being able of discussing about political phenomena and being able of assess the quality of political science papers and articles);
4. Communication skills (being able of public discussing about political concepts, theories and phenomena; being able of using a proper political lexicon; teamwork);
5. Ability to learn (being able of deepening his/her own political science knowledge).