Consult the general program of the Master in Political and Social Sciences.
Pre-inscription: March 1st / May 18th 2007
Lecturer: Anna Cuxart, 5 ECTS credit, program The course is aimed to provide the basic statistical knowledge for the use and the analysis of quantitative data in empirical social science research. Techniques of data analysis, basic inference and simple linear regression will be the main topics. The course is problem-based, that is the theory is always presented in the context of a practical problem needing solution. In order to have an applied background required for each professional on social sciences, statistical software will support all the introduced concepts.
Lecturer: Miquel Salvador, 5 ECTS credits, program The course deals with how to make valid causal inference with qualitative techniques. It provides an overview of the existing qualitative techniques, it develops the capacity to define and make inferences about causal effects and the capacity to use comparisons, and it develop skills for choosing cases and avoid bias.
Lecturer: Robert Fishman, 5 ECTS credits, program Introduction to theoretical issues and practical problems and options encountered in empirical social and political research. Comparative methods, case studies and interviewing with both a survey and qualitative format will be studied. The course will develop the capacity to link practical research choices with broad theoretical issues. It will focus on developing skills for delimitation of the object of study, for collecting data and for developing causal hypothesis.
Carrying out of a research essay about one issue related wit the speciality studied which shows evidence of good level of knowledge on the research topic and of the satisfactory application of the methodology used.
Lecturer: Mariano Torcal, 5 ECTS credits, program This course is focused on the analysis and discussion of the most important comparative dimensions of public opinion and political culture. This course will also cover the process of formation and change of political attitudes, the impact of individual and contextual factors, and finally, the study of public opinion and its influence on the political process.
Lecturer: Mariona Ferrer, 5 ECTS credits, program The aim of this course is to acquire a competent knowledge of the concept and dimensions of political participation and their distinctive evolution overtime. It will contain a full discussion of new modes of political participation, their different motivations and the effects of political participation on the political process.
Lecturer: Francesc Pallarès, 5 ECTS credits, program The aim of this course is to acquire a competent knowledge of the different models of voting behavior and the most influential factors on the individual voting decision. This course will be comparative in nature and it will be also aimed to acquire good knowledge and enough skills for the analysis of electoral results and the formulation of electoral strategies.
Lecturer: Joan Vergés, 5 ECTS credits, programa Analysis of the main theories and institutions of democracy and political liberalism. The democracy of Ancient Greece and different conceptions of political liberalism and modern and contemporary democracy will be addressed from key concepts of political legitimacy: pluralism, participation, representation, citizenship, justice and multiculturalism.
Lecturer: Jürgen Nagel) (5 ECTS credits, program The course analyzes the main currents of federal thought (historical, philosophical and political). A number of different cases of historic and current federal agreements will be analyzed. Finally, we will ask how the current challenges of globalization and cultural pluralism affect federal systems and thought.
Lecturer: Ricard Zapata, 5 ECTS credits, program The relationship between citizenship and immigration is currently one of the main factors influencing of current social, political and cultural change. The main aim of this programme is to analyse these processes of change. Current lines of reasoning concerning on how to manage societies of immigration will be introduced, applying comparative and contextual approaches.
Lecturer: Jacint Jordana, 5 ECTS credits, program This course offers a review of the two theoretical approaches used in the analysis of public policies: The perspectives of new institutionalism and rational choice will be discussed during the first part of the course. In the second part of the course, we will consider diverse applications of the analysis of public policies, discussing the margin of variation of these from a comparative perspective, under the common denominator of the tensions between states and processes of globalization.
Lecturer: Salvador Parrado, 5 ECTS credits, program The aim of the course is to define in a both theoretically and practically way those dimensions that shape the realities and problems complex organizations face in their daily tasks (i.e., those dimensions referred to structures, the informal side of organization, administrative culture, human resources and technology). On the other hand, the program also aims to introduce new problems faced by modern organizations: management of outsourced services and of Information and Communication Technologies. The last part will be devoted to establish tools required to improve public organizations management.
Lecturer: Vicenç Navarro, 5 ECTS credits, program This course focus in one of the most important public policy interventions to determine the quality of life and wellbeing of the population. It includes elements of political economy and comparative politics. It analyses the evolution of the welfare state in the UE and in the OECD.
Lecturers: Gosta Esping-Andersen, Javier Polavieja and Sebastià Sarasa, 5 ECTS credits, program State of the art knowledge of research in social stratification. Capacities and skills for the analysis of inequalities of distribution and of life chances, with a strong emphasis on mechanisms of inter-generational social inheritance, mobility, and achievement in terms of education, careers, and income.
Lecturer: Francesco Billari, 5 ECTS credits Intermediate level topics of the demography of family dynamics are addressed, with attention to analysis of nuptiality, fertility, and living arrangements. The students will acquire the capacity to understand the scope and patterns of recent fertility and family changes in developed countries and the main theoretical contributions made by demographers, sociologists and economists to explain demographic changes. They will develop skills for understand, evaluate and discuss theoretical and empirical research papers.
Lecturer: Kees van Kersbergen, 5 ECTS credits Analysis of the actual debate about the effects of social policies in the structure of inequalities, in the economic growth and in the labour market efficiency. Knowledge about social policies in US and UE nations. Analytical and technical skills for understanding the theoretically predicted and empirical effects of social policies on labour markets and social stratification. Technical skills in using social indicators related to social expenditure and welfare benefits access.
Lecturer: Jorge Rodríguez, 5 ECTS credits, program The course is the continuation of the Techniques of Statistical Analysis I. Its goal is to deep and to enlarge the linear and non-linear modelization techniques with multiple explanatory variables. The stress is put on model diagnosis and in strategies to cope with situations in which there is a violation of the model assumptions.
Lecturer: Willem Saris, 5 ECTS credits, program Overview of the choices which are made when questions are formulated and the consequences of these choices. Discussion about how one can cope with the errors that remain in the questionnaires in the analysis of survey data. The purpose of the course is that the students become aware of the major problems which are connected with survey research, are able to develop proper questionnaires, can evaluate the quality of questionnaires of other people, have seen the effect of measurement error on survey results and have seen the problems of comparative cross cultural research.
5 ECTS credits The basic aim of this subject is to approach the main concepts, methods and techniques of the present day Political Theory. This subject deals with the research on the contemporary debate about the main normative and institutional perspectives, as well as the treatment of information and the historiography of political ideas.
Lecturer: Ignacio Lago, 5 ECTS credits program Advanced knowledge on the types of electoral systems and the way they work in democratic countries. Advanced competence on the institutional design of the electoral systems and on of the analysis of their effects.
Lecturers: John Loughlin and Alain Gagnon, 5 ECTS credits program Cultural diversity has become an important challenge for liberal democracies in the last years. Under the conditions of current globalisation, old collectives (majority and minority nations, national minorities, aboriginal peoples) and new collectives (immigration) coexist. These collectives have arisen claims in order to be recognised and politically accommodated in liberal democracies, changing some patterns of the traditional political legitimacy in these polities. This subject will present current research in this field from a political theory and comparative perspectives.
Lecturer: Javier Arregui, 5 ECTS credits, program Much has been written on the democratic deficit of the European Union Institution but not much attention has been paid to the public policies that are being developed by the European Institution as a consequence of that democratic deficit. This course will analyze the consequences of limited democracy in the EU and its impact on the public policies advocated and presented by the E.U. institutions (such as the European Commission and the European Central Bank, among others).
Lecturers: Amparo González and Pau Baizán, 5 ECTS credits, program During the past few decades, the world has witnessed a significant ease in the restrictions and an increase in the exchange of goods, services and information; these developments have only partially been accompanied by parallel trends in international migration. However, migration and the growth of ethnic minorities are becoming more and more an element of concern in both the receiving and the sending countries. The aim of the course is to give an introduction to the analysis of migration, with an emphasis in the methodological and theoretical aspects. In the first part of the course, we discuss data requirements and data problems. In the second part, trends in international migration are discussed, followed by an in-depth review of the main theories of migration. We will also pay attention to migration policies and the models of integration of migrants into host societies. By the end of the course students should be familiar with the main measures and data sources of migration; appreciate the diversity of migration flows and systems; understand the basics of the main theories of migration; be familiarised with theoretical and empirical research papers, including interpreting and assessing quantitative analyses; and have practised his/her presentation and discussion skills through participation in a seminar.