Course content

This course offers an introduction to political behaviour. The students will be given an introduction to classical models on the topic of electoral behaviour, their theoretical development and relevant empirical studies of political participation, electoral behaviour, and opinion formation in Norway and other democracies.

Learning outcome

Knowledge - the student shall:

• have knowledge of the key concepts and the most central models in the study of political behavior.
• have a fundamental understanding of the Norwegian electoral system.

Skills - the student shall demonstrate the ability to:

• situate political science works within the context of a specific academic history and perspective.
• apply core concepts and basic models in political behavior in one's own analysis and to critically evaluate which approaches are best suited for one's research issue.
• demonstrate independence in the preparation of a semester assignment which fulfills the criteria for scientific writing.

Learning methods and activities

2 hours of lectures per week throughout the semester, 2 hours of group discussion in some weeks and term paper supervision. The term paper must be approved in order to take the exam. The term paper may be a joint project of up to 3 students. A list of possible topics will be presented.

Compulsory assignments

• Term paper

Recommended previous knowledge

None.

Required previous knowledge

None.

Course materials

To be decided at the start of the course.

Credit reductions