| Bemerkung |
<p><strong><span dir="auto" style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span dir="auto" style="vertical-align: inherit;">You can always register at my course by sending email at <a href="mailto:filipp.chapkovskii@uni-due.de">filipp.chapkovskii@uni-due.de</a></span></span></strong></p><p> </p><p><strong><span dir="auto" style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span dir="auto" style="vertical-align: inherit;">Course description</span></span></strong></p><p><span dir="auto" style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span dir="auto" style="vertical-align: inherit;">This seminar studies why and how societies split into hostile camps, how affective polarization (dislike across group lines) grows, and why populist movements gain traction. We focus on immigration, abortion, and gender rights as recurring flashpoints. The course links comparative politics with public policy: we ask which institutions and policy choices reduce hostility and which inflame it. Evidence comes from surveys, experiments, administrative data, text-as-data, and case comparisons across Europe and other regions.</span></span></p><p><strong><span dir="auto" style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span dir="auto" style="vertical-align: inherit;">Learning outcomes</span></span></strong></p><p><span dir="auto" style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span dir="auto" style="vertical-align: inherit;">Students will be able to: </span></span><br /><span dir="auto" style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span dir="auto" style="vertical-align: inherit;">Define and measure polarization, affective polarization, and intergroup bias. </span></span><br /><span dir="auto" style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span dir="auto" style="vertical-align: inherit;">Explain demand-side drivers (identities, threat, emotions, misinformation) and supply-side drivers (party strategies, media systems, institutions). </span></span><br /><span dir="auto" style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span dir="auto" style="vertical-align: inherit;">Evaluate empirical claims, with attention to causal identification in observational and experimental work. </span></span><br /><span dir="auto" style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span dir="auto" style="vertical-align: inherit;">Compare policy designs that aim to lower hostility (contact programs, curriculum, platform rules, party pacts, electoral rules). </span></span><br /><span dir="auto" style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span dir="auto" style="vertical-align: inherit;">Produce a short research design or policy memo on a chosen flashpoint.</span></span></p><p><span dir="auto" style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span dir="auto" style="vertical-align: inherit;">Format and workload </span></span><br /><span dir="auto" style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span dir="auto" style="vertical-align: inherit;">Weekly seminar, 2 hours. </span></span><br /><span dir="auto" style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span dir="auto" style="vertical-align: inherit;">Reading load: ~20–40 pages per week (articles and book chapters on the LMS). </span></span><br /><span dir="auto" style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span dir="auto" style="vertical-align: inherit;">Skills: light methods literacy; no prior coding required.</span></span></p><p><span dir="auto" style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span dir="auto" style="vertical-align: inherit;">Assessment and requirements </span></span><br /><span dir="auto" style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span dir="auto" style="vertical-align: inherit;">Preparation and participation (20%) : Complete readings and post one discussion question before each class. </span></span><br /><span dir="auto" style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span dir="auto" style="vertical-align: inherit;">Discussion lead (10%) : Once per term; 10-minute framing, 1-page handout, guide Q&A. </span></span><br /><span dir="auto" style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span dir="auto" style="vertical-align: inherit;">Two response memos (2 × 800 words) (20%) : Synthesize a week's readings around a clear puzzle. </span></span><br /><span dir="auto" style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span dir="auto" style="vertical-align: inherit;">Applied brief (1,200–1,600 words) (20%) : Either a mini research design (eg, survey experiment on out-group attitudes) or a policy memo (eg, school-based contact program, platform labeling, citizens' assembly). </span></span><br /><span dir="auto" style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span dir="auto" style="vertical-align: inherit;">Final project (3,500–4,500 words) (30%) : Deeper research design, comparative essay, or policy brief with an implementation plan. </span></span><br /><span dir="auto" style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span dir="auto" style="vertical-align: inherit;">Submission: PDF via LMS; consistent citation style. </span></span><br /><span dir="auto" style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span dir="auto" style="vertical-align: inherit;">Late work: 48-hour grace per assignment with small penalty; documented extensions possible. </span></span><br /><span dir="auto" style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span dir="auto" style="vertical-align: inherit;">Academic integrity : Cite all sources. Any AI assistance must be declared and limited to editing or formatting.</span></span></p><p><span dir="auto" style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span dir="auto" style="vertical-align: inherit;">Weekly outline (12 weeks) </span></span><br /><span dir="auto" style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span dir="auto" style="vertical-align: inherit;">Concepts and measures: ideological vs affective polarization; mapping hostility. </span></span><br /><span dir="auto" style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span dir="auto" style="vertical-align: inherit;">Identity and bias: social identity theory, perceived threat, moralization of politics. </span></span><br /><span dir="auto" style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span dir="auto" style="vertical-align: inherit;">Emotion and morality: abortion and gender rights as moral conflicts; Persuasion vs mobilization. </span></span><br /><span dir="auto" style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span dir="auto" style="vertical-align: inherit;">Immigration and diversity: contact vs threat; asylum, integration, and local policy variation. </span></span><br /><span dir="auto" style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span dir="auto" style="vertical-align: inherit;">Media, platforms, and misinformation: exposure, selective sharing, algorithmic amplification. </span></span><br /><span dir="auto" style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span dir="auto" style="vertical-align: inherit;">Economic geography and status loss: shocks, inequality, and grievance narratives. </span></span><br /><span dir="auto" style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span dir="auto" style="vertical-align: inherit;">Parties and populism: supply-side strategies, rhetoric, and issue entrepreneurship. </span></span><br /><span dir="auto" style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span dir="auto" style="vertical-align: inherit;">Institutions: electoral rules, federalism, referenda, and their effects on conflict. </span></span><br /><span dir="auto" style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span dir="auto" style="vertical-align: inherit;">Policy tools to cool conflicts: contact programs, norms messaging, school curricula, workplace design. </span></span><br /><span dir="auto" style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span dir="auto" style="vertical-align: inherit;">Deliberation and governance: citizens' assemblies, content moderation, transparency rules. </span></span><br /><span dir="auto" style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span dir="auto" style="vertical-align: inherit;">Radicalization and de-escalation: pathways to violence; policing and prevention. </span></span><br /><span dir="auto" style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span dir="auto" style="vertical-align: inherit;">Student workshop: presentations and structured peer feedback.</span></span></p><p><span dir="auto" style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span dir="auto" style="vertical-align: inherit;">Materials</span></span></p><p><span dir="auto" style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span dir="auto" style="vertical-align: inherit;">Readings and data resources posted two weeks ahead; replication files when available. Short guides provided for memo writing and basic causal diagrams.</span></span></p><p><span dir="auto" style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span dir="auto" style="vertical-align: inherit;">Policies and support </span></span><br /><span dir="auto" style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span dir="auto" style="vertical-align: inherit;">Attendance : More than two absences lowers participation unless excused.</span></span></p><p><span dir="auto" style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span dir="auto" style="vertical-align: inherit;">Key dates </span></span><br /><span dir="auto" style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span dir="auto" style="vertical-align: inherit;">Week 2: sign-up for discussion leads. </span></span><br /><span dir="auto" style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span dir="auto" style="vertical-align: inherit;">Weeks 4 and 8: response memos due. </span></span><br /><span dir="auto" style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span dir="auto" style="vertical-align: inherit;">Week 9: applied brief due. </span></span><br /><span dir="auto" style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span dir="auto" style="vertical-align: inherit;">Week 12: final project and presentation.</span></span></p> |
