LFU:online

Curr. § 6 (2) 5:The lecture gives an overview of the historical development and current theories of state, democracy and power. In this context, the fundamentals of normative political thought and contemporary issues of political philosophy are treated.

Learning Outcomes:
Students know how to differentiate and critically reflect and evaluate the most important theories of the state, democracy and power. They are able to work on exemplary texts in the field of theories of the state, democracy and power independently and theory-driven.

State, democracy, power – these are classical topics of political science, but also of political sociology. Sociology is particularly interested in the interactions between politics and society, whereby politics is understood as an (autonomous) subsystem of society and not merely as an appendage of the economy (as in Marxism). This lecture deals with political topics from the perspective of a general sociology. The aim is to apply concepts and concepts of general sociology to political phenomena and thus achieve a deeper understanding of social forms and social order. On the basis of topics such as power and domination, conflict or participation, a sociological basic question is negotiated: How is socialization possible in complex societies that are affected by individualization, high mobility, functional differentiation and increasing social inequality?

 Lectures and discussions

Written examination

Georg Simmel (1992): Soziologie. Untersuchungen über die Formen der Vergesellschaftung. Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp (Orig. 1908)

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