Poslední úprava: Mgr. Lukáš Hájek, M.A., Ph.D. (04.09.2023)
The course introduces essential processes of contemporary politics. To do that, the course employs a teaching method of simulations, which is a unique approach to teaching political science. Importantly, the method helps students to understand events and processes of current politics from the perspective of participants. Seminars focus mainly on simulated debates, but a substantial part of the course also consists of preparing the discussions and evaluating them.
Cíl předmětu - angličtina
Poslední úprava: Mgr. Lukáš Hájek, M.A., Ph.D. (04.09.2023)
The course has the following objectives:
introduce a teaching method of simulation in political science,
familiarise students with some essential debates of contemporary politics,
teach students to employ soft skills (rhetoric, negotiation, acting tactically etc.).
Podmínky zakončení předmětu - angličtina
Poslední úprava: Mgr. Lukáš Hájek, M.A., Ph.D. (04.09.2023)
The final grade will consist of completing the following requirements:
Preparations (50%) – Before a simulation, students will write a preparation paper on the discussed issue (1,000–1,200 words, excluding the list of references). The content of a paper will be specified before each simulation based on the topic of the debate.
Simulations (20%) – The activity of students during each simulation will be evaluated. Students will assess their activity by themselves using anonymous questionnaires.
Feedbacks (30%) – After a simulation, students will write a paper (500–600 words) evaluating the simulation.
Within each of the three parts, the final grade will consist of the best four marks (there are five simulations). Importantly, late submissions will be penalised by decreasing the initial grade by four percentage points for each commenced hour of late submission.
Every student that starts to fulfil the course’s requirements will be graded at the end of the semester. The course uses the following grading scale of the Faculty of Social Sciences:
90.01–100.00% (A – excellent),
80.01–90.00% (B – very good),
70.01–80.00% (C – good),
60.01–70.00% (D – satisfactory),
50.01–60.00% (E – sufficient),
0.00–50.00% (F – fail).
Literatura - angličtina
Poslední úprava: Mgr. Lukáš Hájek, M.A., Ph.D. (04.09.2023)
Preparations for seminars consist of reading literature and studying media and primary sources relevant to a topic of a current simulation. The teaching method of simulation is based on the following sources, which are recommended for an additional study:
Asal, V., & Blake, E. L. (2006). Creating simulations for political science education. Journal of Political Science Education, 2(1), 1–18.
Baranowski, M., & Weir, K. (2010). Power and politics in the classroom: The effect of student roles in simulations. Journal of Political Science Education, 6(3), 217–226.
Baranowski, M. K., & Weir, K. A. (2015). Political simulations: What we know, what we think we know, and what we still need to know. Journal of Political Science Education, 11(4), 391–403.
Ben-Yehuda, H. (2020). All the World’s a Stage: The Theater of Political Simulations. Routledge.
Raymond, C., & Usherwood, S. (2013). Assessment in simulations. Journal of Political Science Education, 9(2), 157–167.
Robinson, J. A., Anderson, L. F., Hermann, M. G., & Snyder, R. C. (1966). Teaching with inter-nation simulation and case studies. American Political Science Review, 60(1), 53–65.
Usherwood, S. (2015). Simulations in politics: A guide to best practice. The Higher Education Academy. Accessed at https://www.heacademy.ac.uk/system/files/resources/Simulations%20in%20Politics%20-%20a%20guide%20to%20best%20practice.pdf
Wunische, A. (2019). Lecture versus simulation: Testing the long-term effects. Journal of Political Science Education, 15(1), 37–48.
Metody výuky - angličtina
Poslední úprava: Mgr. Lukáš Hájek, M.A., Ph.D. (04.09.2023)
The course employs a teaching method of simulated debates. Thus, the course is composed of six seminar meetings once a fortnight, and each of the seminars lasts for 160 minutes. Thanks to this format, it is possible to study specific issues and processes in the necessary details of a simulation accompanied by initial instructions about simulation settings and a final evaluation of the debate.
All students must prepare for a simulation by studying relevant facts to a specific debate. After a simulation, students must also evaluate the discussion in their own words. The very simulations are based on the active participation of students, which conditions the success of each simulation.
All the course materials, together with assignment instructions, will be uploaded to Moodle. Students will also use the platform to submit their work.
Sylabus - angličtina
Poslední úprava: Mgr. Lukáš Hájek, M.A., Ph.D. (04.09.2023)
1. Introduction, Simulation in Political Science (October 11)
The content of the course will be presented. Students will learn about a teaching method of simulations together with both advantages and disadvantages of the approach. Specific types of simulation will be differentiated. Last but not least, students will participate in the very first simulation of politics.
Reading:
Asal, V., & Blake, E. L. (2006). Creating simulations for political science education. Journal of Political Science Education, 2(1), 1–18.
Baranowski, M. K., & Weir, K. A. (2015). Political simulations: What we know, what we think we know, and what we still need to know. Journal of Political Science Education, 11(4), 391–403.
2. Coalition Formation (October 25)
The content of the simulation is a hypothetical post-election coalition formation in Germany. The parties to the negotiations are CDU, CSU, SPD, FDP, and the Greens, as entities that aspire to form a government coalition.
Reading:
Martin, C. J. (2013). Conditions for Successful Negotiation: Lessons from Europe. In J. Mansbridge & J. C. Martin (Eds.), Negotiating Agreement in Politics (pp. 121–143). American Political Science Association.
3. Same-Sex Marriage (November 8)
The discussion simulates a round table discussion on the actual draft amendment to the Civil Code, which introduces the possibility of same-sex marriage in the Czech Republic. Participants in the debate are representatives of parliamentary parties from both sides of the spectrum of opinion, as well as representatives of civic associations, as well as supporters and opponents of the amendment.
Reading:
Foster, C., Mansbridge, J., & Martin, C. J. (2013). Negotiation Myopia. In J. Mansbridge & J. C. Martin (Eds.), Negotiating Agreement in Politics (pp. 73–85). American Political Science Association.
Warren, M. E., & Mansbridge, J. (2013). Deliberative Negotiation. In J. Mansbridge & J. C. Martin (Eds.), Negotiating Agreement in Politics (pp. 86–120). American Political Science Association.
4. Civil War Settlement (November 22)
The simulation is based on a fictional three-way civil war in a fictional country in Africa. Participants need to agree to a cease-fire to stop further casualties and damages. Besides this, it is necessary to negotiate a comprehensive peace settlement to prevent a restart of the conflict and to secure a peaceful and prosperous future for the country.
Reading:
Du Toit, P. (2008). Rules and Procedures for Negotiated Peacemaking. In J. Darby & R. Mac Ginty (Eds.), Contemporary Peacemaking: Conflict, Peace Processes and Post-War Reconstruction (pp. 78–93). Springer.
Mitchell, C. (2008). Mediation and the Ending of Conflicts. In J. Darby & R. Mac Ginty (Eds.), Contemporary Peacemaking: Conflict, Peace Processes and Post-War Reconstruction (pp. 94–104). Springer.
5. Green Climate Fund (December 6)
International negotiations are based on a specific dynamic of discussions. Therefore, the simulation imitates a meeting of the Green Climate Fund board that needs to decide what projects will be financially supported by the fund.
Reading:
Odell, J. S., & Tingley, D. (2013). Negotiating Agreements in International Relations. In J. Mansbridge & J. C. Martin (Eds.), Negotiating Agreement in Politics (pp. 144–182). American Political Science Association.
6. Agenda-Setting (December 20)
The simulation focuses on the role of media in contemporary politics. To be more specific, several negotiations will mimic newsroom meetings of different newspapers, during which editors need to select a story on the front page of the newspaper.
Reading:
McCombs, M. E., & Shaw, D. L. (1972). The agenda-setting function of mass media. Public opinion quarterly, 36(2), 176–187.
McCombs, M. (2005). A look at agenda-setting: Past, present and future. Journalism studies, 6(4), 543–557.
Vstupní požadavky - angličtina
Poslední úprava: Mgr. Lukáš Hájek, M.A., Ph.D. (04.09.2023)
No special methodological or factual knowledge is required to enrol in the course. However, the prerequisite is an intense interest in current politics and at least basic knowledge of the actors and processes operating in it.
