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2022/2023

Contemporary World Politics

Code: 101099 ECTS Credits: 6
Degree Type Year Semester
2500259 Political Science and Public Management FB 1 2
2503778 International Relations OB 1 2

Contact

Name:
Gabriel Colomé García
Email:
gabriel.colome@uab.cat

Use of Languages

Principal working language:
catalan (cat)
Some groups entirely in English:
No
Some groups entirely in Catalan:
Yes
Some groups entirely in Spanish:
No

Prerequisites

There is not

Objectives and Contextualisation

This subject has a basic training character, aspiring to serve as a foundation for all the contents of the degree in Political Science and Public Management and the degree in International Relations.
 
The main objective of the subject is to offer explanations of the main phenomena, movements and processes that, on a global scale, have shaped the contemporary world. The essential problems of today's world will be located, and they will show how they have been formed and have evolved. The historical roots of the current world will be analyzed in its different dimensions: politics and democracy, economy and society, inequalities and poverty, collective political action and social movements ...
 
All these issues will be treated from different points of view and will take into account the contributions from academic disciplines that are dedicated to the study of these phenomena, movements and processes, such as political science, international relations, history, sociology, the economy and investigative journalism.
 
With regard to competences, the expected learning outcomes are three: to interpret the historical political and social frameworks as explanatory backgrounds of the current ones, to better understand the world of the present time; analyze information critically; and demonstrate a good level of oral and written expression.

Competences

    Political Science and Public Management
  • Demonstrating good writing skills in different contexts.
  • Distinguishing the discipline's main theories and different fields: conceptual developments, theoretical frameworks and theoretical approaches underlying the discipline's knowledge and different areas and sub-areas, as well as their value for the professional practice through concrete cases.
  • Interpreting political and social historical frameworks, as precedents of the actual ones, in order to better comprehending today's reality.
  • Managing the available time in order to accomplish the established objectives and fulfil the intended task.
  • Realising effective oral presentations that are suited to the audience.
  • Showing a good capacity for transmitting information, distinguishing key messages for their different recipients.
  • Synthesizing and critically analysing information.
  • Working autonomously.
    International Relations
  • Analyse the behaviour of international actors, both state and non-state.
  • Identify data sources and carry out rigorous bibliographical and documentary searches.
  • Students must be capable of communicating information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
  • Students must develop the necessary learning skills to undertake further training with a high degree of autonomy.
  • Use metatheoretical data to argue and establish plausible relation of causality and establish ways of validating or rejecting them.

Learning Outcomes

  1. Demonstrating good writing skills in different contexts.
  2. Describe political actors and critically evaluate political behaviour in different socio-political and historical contexts.
  3. Describe the main elements of the political process: socialisation, attitudes and political ideologies.
  4. Describing and properly using main concepts of the field of study of relationships between politics and society: social conflict regulation, political power and legitimacy, political system.
  5. Describing the political actors and critically assessing the political behaviour in several sociopolitical and historical contexts.
  6. Explaining the forms of government arising from the different relationships between the powers of the State.
  7. Identify data sources and carry out rigorous bibliographical and documentary searches.
  8. Interpreting political and social historical frameworks, as precedents of the actual ones, in order to better comprehending today's reality.
  9. Managing the available time in order to accomplish the established objectives and fulfil the intended task.
  10. Presenting the key elements that explain the emergence of the State and its evolution (from absolute state to welfare state).
  11. Realising effective oral presentations that are suited to the audience.
  12. Showing a good capacity for transmitting information, distinguishing key messages for their different recipients.
  13. Students must be capable of communicating information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
  14. Students must develop the necessary learning skills to undertake further training with a high degree of autonomy.
  15. Synthesizing and critically analysing information.
  16. Use metatheoretical data to argue and establish plausible relation of causality and establish ways of validating or rejecting them.
  17. Working autonomously.

Content

1) The Cold War: concept, overall interpretation
 
2) The origins and the first years of the Cold War
 
3) Western Europe, 1947-1973: economic growth, welfare states and social transformations
 
4) Economy, society and politics in the USSR and in Eastern Europe
 
5) Decolonization and Cold War in Asia
 
6) The historical roots of the Israel-Palestine conflict
 
7) The independence of African states
 
8) The Third World and the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries
 
9) From the movement for civil rights to Black Power
 
10) The Vietnam War and the opposition movement to the war
 
11) The revolts and the student movements of the 1960s
 
12) The Prague Spring
 
13) Feminisms and feminist movements
 
14) From the fronts of gay liberation to the LGTBI movements
 
15) Different paths to socialism in Latin America: the Cuban revolution and the Allende Chile
 
16) The economic crises of the 1970s and their consequences
 
17) The Second Cold War, the movements for peace and the end of the Cold War
 
18) The disintegration of Yugoslavia: secessionist processes and wars
 
19) Globalization and the alter-globalization movement
 
20) 9/11: the day the worl change
 
21) Jihadism and the global war against terrorism
 
22) The Arab revolts: Tunisia, Egypt and Syria
 
23) The Commercial Cold War:  China-USA

Methodology

The dedication to this subject is specified in various types of activities. Its value, 6 ECTS credits, implies a total dedication of 150 hours, which will be distributed as follows:

a.- Directed activities, with the presence of the teacher. They will include lectures and oral presentations by students about different historical documents.

These activities represent approximately 33% of the student's work time.

b.- Supervised activities, carried out outside the classroom, and following the teacher's instructions. An individual work must be prepared.

This activity represents approximately 17% of the student's work time.

c.- Autonomous activities, carried out by each student on their own for the preparation of the syllabus, through the readings recommended by the teacher.

These activities represent approximately 50% of the student's work time.

The process of learning and acquisition of skills will be supervised by the teacher through individual tutorials.

The Moodle classroom will be the space that will convey the information related to the organization of the subject.

Annotation: Within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.

Activities

Title Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Type: Directed      
Master classes and Parcipatory Seminars 50 2 1, 11, 9, 8, 12, 15, 17
Type: Supervised      
Individual work 25 1 1, 9, 8, 12, 15, 17
Type: Autonomous      
Study and reading of materials 75 3 16, 1, 5, 2, 3, 4, 10, 6, 11, 9, 7, 8, 12, 14, 13, 15, 17

Assessment

The evaluation of the subject will consist of:
										
											
										
											- participatory seminars that have a value of 45% of the final grade
										
											
										
											- the completion of an individual work, which has a value of 40% of the final grade
										
											
										
											- the completion of 3 readings, which has a value of 15% of the final grade
										
											
										
											The procedure to pass the course is to pass the continuous assessment. .
The concurrence to one of the mentioned evaluation activities is incompatible with the qualification of "Not Presented".
 
There will be a compensatory evaluation for those students who, after following the continuous evaluation, have not passed any of the evaluated activities. The structure and content of this compensatory evaluation will be determined at the time by the professor of the subject.
 
The professor will establish a mechanism and some terms of revision of all the materials that are part of the evaluation. Students may request this revision from the teacher.

In accordance with article 117.2 of the UAB Academic Regulations, the evaluation of those students who have been enroled before may consist of a single synthesis examination. The students who wish to be evaluated this way should contact the professor at the beginning of the semester. 

Assessment Activities

Title Weighting Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Individual work 40 0 0 16, 1, 2, 3, 7, 8, 12, 14, 13, 15, 17
Seminars 45 0 0 16, 1, 5, 2, 3, 4, 10, 6, 11, 9, 7, 8, 12, 14, 13, 15, 17
readings 15 0 0 11, 9, 8, 12, 15, 17
recovery exam for students who have failed the final course work with a grade below 3.5 100% 0 0 16, 1, 5, 2, 3, 4, 10, 6, 11, 9, 7, 8, 12, 14, 13, 15, 17

Bibliography

most relevant bibliography:

FONTANA, Josep (2011), Por el bien del imperio. Una historia del mundo desde 1945, Barcelona, Pasado & Presente 

JUDT, Tony (2008), Postguerra. Una historia de Europa desde 1945, Madrid, Taurus

 Complentory bibliography:

ELEY, Geoff (2003), Un mundo que ganar. Historia de la izquierda en Europa, 1850-2000, Barcelona, Crítica.

HOBSBAWM, Eric (1995), Historia del siglo XX, Barcelona, Crítica

MARTÍNEZ, Fernando, URQUIJO, Mikel (2006), Materiales para la historia del mundo actual I y II, Madrid, Istmo.

NASH, Mary (2012), Mujeres en el mundo. Historia, retos y movimientos, Madrid, Alianza.

PRASHAD, Vijay (2012), Las naciones oscuras. Una historia del Tercer Mundo, Barcelona, Península.

ROGAN, Eugene (2012), Los árabes. Del Imperio otomano a la actualidad, Barcelona, Crítica.

SEN, Amartya (2007), India contemporánea. Entre la modernidad y la tradición, Barcelona, Gedisa. 

SHLAIM, Avi (2011), El muro de hierro. Israel y el mundo árabe, Granada, Almed.

SPENCE, Jonathan D. (2011), En busca de la China moderna, Barcelona, Tusquets.

STIGLIZ, Joseph E. (2010), Caída libre, Madrid, Taurus.

WESTAD, Odd Arne (2018), La Guerra Fría. Una historia mundial, Barcelona, Galaxia Gutemberg.

Software

No computer programs are used in this subject