Department of Political Science and Sociology
(PSS)
Course Title: Introduction to Political Science
Course Code: POL 101
Lecture 1: Ice Breaking, Introduction (detailing about the course),
Defining and Difference with Other Discipline.
Nurul Huda Sakib
PhD (The University of Sydney)
Professor
Department of Government and Politics
Jahangirnagar University
Savar, Dhaka-1342, Bangladesh.
Let’s begin with our brief
introduction and answering few
questions
1. What is your name and educational background?
2. Why do you choose to study political science?
3. How you are coping with COVID-19? What the Challenges?
You do not have to read all the materials in the
course.
Read specific chapters that are relevant to the
class.
Things to do Bring some new issues in each class so that we
before can discuss (global and national)
coming to Browse news on political science.
the Class
Open mind and keep talking on the issues
related to political science.
Bring evidence based cases.
Did you find anything interesting related to political
science in the newspaper, TV or any other sources?
What are those?
Political Why is the news interests you?
Science is in
the News
Why do you think such way?
How do you summarise the news?
For Example: What does the news indicate?
Assessment Strategy
Task Description Marks
Final Exam 25%
Midterm Exam 20%
Class Test/Quiz During class time. Best two out of three 20%
Project Chose any topic from course outline and present 15%
paper/Assignments/Term your assignment combining a group of three to four
Paper (Group) including people.
Presentation
Individual Presentation 3-5 minutes presentation based on your reflection
from lecture, reading materials, news on political
science. 5%
Class attendance and Based on your presence and participation in the 5+5=10%
participation class.
Viva Oral Viva 5%
Total 100%
Rules for the Assignment
-We will conduct our presentation in Class 21 and 22.
-Assignment topic should be a comparative analysis of any particular topics. For example; if you
chose civil society try to analyse the topic in the context of two different countries. Maybe one
from developed countries and one from developing countries.
-Word limit: around 1000-1200 words.
-Should follow proper refereeing style. Which can be found:
http://libraryguides.vu.edu.au/apa-referencing/getting-started-in-apa-referencing
-Draft Structure (but not have to be the same):
-Introduction
-Rationale of choosing your topic
-Defining main concept and theory
-Comparative analysis
-Conclusion and Discussion
-Students should prepare a group PPT presentation.
Course Outline and Suggested
Book
•You will find the course outline in the goggle drive
List of Suggested Books;
Morlino, L., Berg-Schlosser, D., & Badie, B. (2018). Political science: a global perspective. SAGE
Publications Ltd.
Heywood, A. (2005). Political theory: an introduction (3rd ed.). Palgrave Macmillan
Heywood, A. (2019). Politics (5th ed.). Palgrave Macmillan
Badie, B., Berg-Schlosser, D., & Morlino, L. (2011). International encyclopedia of political science.
SAGE.
What is Politics?
•Human being is by nature political.
•Greek word: “Polis”: which means the city state.
•They never differentiated between personal life and social life.
Hence according to them politics was a total study of man, society,
state, morality and so on.
•From Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Machiavelli, they all laboured to
make case for a good society based on what they understand as
justice and equity but failed to provide a generally accepted
definition.
•Politics is who gets what, when, and how; a process of
determining how power and resources are distributed in a
society without violence (Lasswell, 1936).
•David Easton (1965); “authoritative allocation of values to the
whole society”- human interactions.
•Politics is struggle for power (Morgenthau, 1948)
•However, politics has undergone significant change.
What is Politics?
•Modern days political scientist tend to define politics
from various scope of politics.
•In general we can define politics; anything that has to
do with the government of a country – elections and so
on.
•This short definition was thought to be acceptable for a
very long time, and therefore two or three subjects
were seen as making up political studies: the study of
the constitution, constitutional law, and political
philosophy.
•This definition has become inadequate from an
academic point of view because of the developments
and change s in political life and because it narrows
down the “political” to only a concern with
government.
What is Politics?
• However, politics not only deals with government
but also outside the political arena. Such as;
-Public opinion and voting behaviour
-Political psychology
-Public administration and public sector
management
-The study of political parties and interest groups
-Political economy
-International relations
-Comparative politics
• Therefore, scope of politics has grown a lot and
deals with
What is Political Science?
Political science is that branch of the social sciences that studies the state, politics, and
government.
Political Science deals extensively with the analysis of political systems, the theoretical and
practical applications to politics, and the examination of political behavior.
The Greek thinker, Aristotle, defined political science as the study of the state.
Many political scientists view themselves as being engaged in fleshing out the connections between
political events and conditions,
This understanding they hope to construct a system of general principles that posit the way the
world of politics works.
Political scientists are much sought after these days because of the changing landscape of politics
across the world and since the society wants to understand how the political world works, they
need someone to explain the nuances of the political economy.
Any casual perusal of the newspapers and the television channels reveals that political scientists are
at the forefront of debates and discussions for their knowledge and expertise.
Difference Between Political
Science and Other Discipline?
•Political science is not a standalone field and it intersects many other branches like sociology,
economics, history, anthropology, public policy among others.
•However, in modern days it is very difficult to distinguish political science from other discipline
such as; Anthropology, Economic, History, Public Administration, International Relations.
•However, still there are some basic difference:
-Political Science Vs International Relations
-Political Science Vs Public Administration
-Political Science Vs History
-Political Science Vs Economics
-Political Science Vs Anthropology
Your Opinion
Why Should We Study Political Science?
Your Observation Please:
Your Observation
Please:
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/03/world/asia/tiananmen-tank-man.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/03/world/asia/tiananmen-
tank-man.html
The Sociological Imagination
• One sociologist might analyse video of people from different societies
as they carry on everyday conversations to study the rules of polite
conversation from different world cultures.
• Another sociologist might interview a representative sample of
people to see how texting has changed the way they communicate.
• Yet another sociologist might study how migration determined the
way in which language spread and changed over time.
• A fourth sociologist might be part of a team developing signs to warn
people living thousands of years in the future, and speaking many
different languages, to stay away from still-dangerous nuclear waste.
• Each of them looks at society using what pioneer sociologist C. Wright
Mills called the sociological imagination, sometimes also referred to
as the sociological lens or sociological perspective.
• Mills defined sociological imagination as how individuals understand
their own and others’ pasts in relation to history and social structure
(1959).
Thank You
